By Perry Holman, Executive Director, Vitamin D Society

How did we get to this point in our relationship with the sun? If you follow the current health recommendations from some dermatologists you would live in perpetual darkness, in a bunker, and never let the sunshine hit your unprotected skin. Sunscreen use is advised to be applied to your skin everyday of the year regardless of the whether you are indoors or not. Regardless of your skin type. This action has unforeseen consequences that I hope to shine a light on for you.

For November, Vitamin D Awareness Month, we are focusing on educating people to the many benefits of sun and UV exposure. This is why we have named it UV→D NOW. Because getting UV exposure is important for vitamin D, nitric oxide and so many other photoproducts for your health. The lack of sun exposure is the main root cause of vitamin D deficiency, and studies have found that people with low vitamin D are at a higher risk of many serious diseases such as cardiovascular disease, major cancers such as breast and colorectal, autoimmune diseases such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis and even infections, flus, colds and much more.

Nov 12, 2020

By Perry Holman, Executive Director, Vitamin D Society

COVID-19 has spawned an entirely new angle of ultraviolet and vitamin D research in 2020 – bringing the role of UV and vitamin D into the health of your immune system into the forefront once again.

Research studies over the past 6 months have been consistent: People with higher vitamin D levels, naturally produced when your skin is exposed to UVB light from the sun, have a reduced risk of catching COVID-19 and a less severe outcome if they do contract the virus ^{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}.

COVID-19 cases dropped substantially during our Canadian summer when people were out in the sunlight making vitamin D in their skin.

This is why we are focusing Vitamin D Awareness Month in 2020 on the main source of vitamin D: sunshine.