A 2017 study showed an increase in vitamin D deficiency diagnoses — which researchers linked to an uptick in vitamin D test requests, indicating a rising interest in the nutrient. As more and more people become aware of the effects of vitamin D deficiency — like a higher risk of developing osteoporosis and low mood and energy — and are diagnosed themselves, increasing one's intake may feel imperative.
Getting enough vitamin D is a challenge; yet it is "an essential vitamin, meaning that we have to get it outside of ourselves," because the body won't produce enough of the vitamin if you aren't getting sufficient sun exposure, according to Dr. LaTasha Seliby Perkins, a family physician at Georgetown University.
Vitamin D is a vital aid to calcium and phosphorus in the process of building bone, says Perkins, and vitamin D deficiency can increase a person's risk of developing osteoporosis.
It can take years of vitamin D deficiency to see effects on bone health, according to Dr. Alexa Mieses Malchuk, a board-certified family physician at One Medical in North Carolina.
"More immediately the things that I think about are fatigue and mood symptoms," Mieses Malchuk says. "There are plenty of people who report an improvement in their energy and an improvement in their mood once their vitamin D deficiency is corrected."
Vitamin D is also used in other metabolic processes, and there's "some evidence that treating vitamin D deficiency can even improve outcomes for people who have diabetes," she notes. "Vitamin D is also an anti-inflammatory, or an antioxidant, and so it can help protect the brain over time and can help with immune system function."
DON'T MISS: Do Americans have a vitamin D problem? Here’s what health experts say: ‘You have to be really careful’
But it can be especially challenging for black and brown people to meet the standard intake of vitamin D naturally, and there is a scientific explanation.
Melanated people have to 'work a little harder' to get the vitamin D they need
People with darker skin have more melanin than people with lighter skin, and there are some wonderful health benefits of having more melanin, Perkins says.
"Melanin is fantastic because it protects us against skin cancer, but in protecting us against skin cancer, it blocks the UVB rays, that your body needs to make vitamin D," she says.
"So in that case, it means that we have to work a little harder to get enough of the sunlight we need for our body to make vitamin D. So it's our melanin, that's helping save us. But also, we have to work against [it] a little bit to get that vitamin D."
For Black and brown people, this means getting more sunlight without sunscreen each day, eating foods high in vitamin D and potentially, speaking with your doctor about taking supplements, Perkins says.
"So when it comes to the sun, a fair skinned person can spend about 20 minutes in direct sunlight without sunblock, and that will help them get the amount of vitamin D that they need," she says. "Whereas brown people, we have to get at least 30 to 40 minutes, depending on how much melanin you have in your skin, in order to get the amount of sunlight you need to make the vitamin D."
It's also important to note that location matters when considering how much vitamin D a person gets, Mieses Malchuk says.
"Regardless of your skin color, if you live in the United States, you're probably not getting enough sun exposure to make sufficient amounts of vitamin D," she adds.
The standard recommendation of daily vitamin D intake is about 400 international units for anyone under the age of one, and around 600 IUs for people ages one and above, according to the National Institutes of Health. Those over the age of 70 should aim to get about 800 IUs.
Standard recommendations for vitamin D level intake start at base level, "assuming that you're not starting with a deficiency," Mieses Malchuk says. "And so the best approach is actually to talk with your family medicine physician."
You can find out your current vitamin D levels by bringing it up to your doctor. "This is one of the levels in your body that can be checked with a blood test. And from that blood test result, your doctor can tell you exactly how much vitamin D supplementation you need, to either get your levels back to normal or to maintain the current level that you have," Mieses Malchuk says.
Not every doctor will automatically check your vitamin D levels during a regular blood panel, so aim to ask during your next physical "if you've never known what your vitamin D levels [are]" and "you're a brown person," Perkins says.
When someone expresses that they're feeling depressive symptoms or have very low energy, doctors will "check your iron, we'll check your blood count, and we'll check your vitamin D because you may be feeling sluggish mentally and physically because you don't have the nutrients you need to build build bone or to make red blood cells," she adds.
Thankfully, it can be pretty simple to get more vitamin D.
The 3 best sources of vitamin D
1. Sunlight
Both physicians agree that sun exposure is the best way to get more vitamin D, though expert recommendations for how long you should sit in the sun without sunscreen do vary.
Perkins suggests at least 20 minutes of sunlight without sunscreen for everyone, and up to 30 or 40 minutes for Black and brown people.
Mieses Malchuk errs on the side of caution and recommends a bit less time: "I recommend that people spend no more than 15 minutes out in the sun unprotected, meaning have your arms and maybe your legs exposed, don't wear any sunscreen [and] sit in the sun for 15 minutes."
"And that should help your body naturally make some vitamin D. You do want to balance that with the risk of skin cancer and all the bad things that can come from sitting in the sun, which is why I tell folks do not do it for more than 15 minutes a day."
Harvard Health Publishing states the amount of sunlight that you need to get enough vitamin D is subjective. "Under the right circumstances, 10 to 15 minutes of sun on the arms and legs a few times a week can generate nearly all the vitamin D we need. Unfortunately, the 'right circumstances' are elusive: the season, the time of day, where you live, cloud cover, and even pollution affect the amount of UVB that reaches your skin," the health hub notes.
A 2021 systematic review published in "American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine" suggests 5 to 30 minutes of sun exposure without sunscreen, most days out of the week.
2. Food
There are also foods you can add to your diet that are rich in vitamin D, according to Perkins and Mieses Malchuk.
They include:
- Cow's milk
- Certain cheeses including cottage cheese
- Fatty fish, including mackerel, salmon, swordfish and sardines
- Egg yolk
- Fortified foods like certain non-dairy milks, orange juices and cereals
- Cod liver oil
3. Supplements
If you're struggling with a vitamin D deficiency, you may need to get extra help from a supplement to increase your levels.
Both physicians agree that you should never add any supplement to your diet without first consulting with your doctor about it.
For Black and brown people, Perkins recommends taking a supplement of 600 IUs of vitamin D a day. "But if you feel like I'm browner, and I definitely don't get [enough], maybe 1,000 IUs. If you're concerned, also go to your doctor to get your levels checked."
Mieses Malchuk echoes that around 600 to 800 IUs daily is a pretty safe range for vitamin D supplements unless your doctor has instructed you to take a higher dose.
Keep in mind that "anything over 2,000 [IUs] a day is too much unless you have a prescription," Perkins says. "If we have too much vitamin D, it can get in the way of absorbing other things like iron, vitamin C, sodium, phosphorus [and] calcium. You can start creating issues around how your small intestines does its job."
Taking more than 4,000 IUs of vitamin D per day can elevate your risk of toxicity, by drastically increasing the amount of calcium that enters your bloodstream and urine, Dr. Jad Sfeir, a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist, told CNBC Make It in August of 2022. Getting too much vitamin D can also cause symptoms like nausea, vomiting, kidney stones, cognitive changes and kidney failure, according to Dr. Kendall Moseley, medical director of the Johns Hopkins Metabolic Bone & Osteoporosis Center.
"Those higher dose supplements of 2,000, 10,000, even 50,000 IUs are used to treat deficiency specifically," Mieses Malchuk says. "So the worse your deficiency, the higher your daily dose of vitamin D needs to be."
Join the free virtual CNBC Equity and Opportunity Forum on March 21 at 1pm ET, where we'll talk to corporate leaders about how they are navigating DEI efforts, engaging employees and stakeholders, and working to create equity and opportunity for all. Register for free here.
