Is it Wise to Relay on Sun Exposure to Get Your Vitamin D Requirement?

Safaa Ali Mahran

Department of Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt

Safaa Ali Mahran, Department of Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.

Keywords: Vitamin D; UVB Radiation; Dietary Supplements; Tan Beds

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency is encountered in the daily practice. A lot of physicians still advise their patients to get exposed to the sun to have their vitamin D dose. This review article spots the light on some facts- about vitamin D sources- that could help the physician in making their decision in treating vitamin D deficiency. Although sun exposure is the main natural source of vitamin D, many factors decrease the amount of vitamin D formed beside its carcinogenic effect on the skin. Vitamin D supplements are available in the market. Physicians can choose between them and be guided by regular checking of 25-OH-D3 level in the blood.

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).