☀️ Should you take vitamin D supplements in the summer?
Yes — you should! Even with longer, sunnier days, most of us still don’t get enough vitamin D from sunlight alone. This essential vitamin supports your bones, immune system, and mood all year long. 💪🧠💛
If you’re unsure how much you need, talk with your healthcare provider about starting a lower-dose supplement that’s right for you.
Hi, I’m Dr. Margie Egan with Just Between You and Me with Dr. Margie. Excuse my voice. I’m a little stuffy. I just got back from vacation and got a cold. But anyway, a question came in about vitamin D supplementation during the spring and the summer. It is recommended that you do stay on your vitamin D supplementation during the months that have longer days or longer sunshine exposure. If you’re worried about getting too much vitamin D, what you might think about doing is take a lower dose of vitamin D. So, I take uh vitamin D 5,000 IUs every day. If I was worried about it during the spring and summer, I might decrease that dose to 2,000 IUs per day. So, that’s one thing to think of, but just realize that there are some risk factors for not activating the vitamin D through your skin. People with darker skin, it’s like they have a natural sunscreen. So, they need much more sun exposure in order to activate as much vitamin D as someone with paler skin or lighter skin. If you wear sunscreen, anything above 30, you are blocking about 95% of the activation of vitamin D from your skin. And sunscreen’s great. We all need to wear it to decrease our risk of skin cancers. But just realize that you’re not then allowing your natural body’s ability to activate the vitamin D. And the other reason is if you have certain medical conditions, if you have difficulty with fat absorption such as those with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis or those with liver or kidney issues, again is a uh reason to stay on vitamin D supplementation. But always ask your provider about what is the good dose for you to take every day. And as I’ve stated, this is all medical opinion, not medical advice.
