How important is the sun to our health?

I’m a native Floridian so I’ve spent much of my life exposed to sun. While I am fair skinned and therefore careful about the sun and using sunscreen, I still am used to getting most of my Vitamin D straight from the sun.

Fall is coming to Massachusetts where I now live and the new season has been ushered in by a week of dreary, rainy days lacking in any sunshine. I did fine for a few days but for the last two I’m pretty sure I’ve been losing my mind. Getting out of bed each morning has become more difficult. Plus I’m plagued by morning irritation that lasts until about 3 in the afternoon.

I've been doing a little research and found that one of the reasons many women are Vitamin D deficient is that other than sun exposure, the vitamin is hard to come by. It is found in some foods such as fish oils and in small quantities in liver, eggs and cheese. When most of us drank whole milk it was fortified with Vitamin D for better calcium absorption. But now that 1% or skim is becoming the norm, we aren't getting enough of the D. As a result, our bodies also aren't metabolizing calcium as well either.

Without Vitamin D our bones and muscles become weak which can lead to rickets, osteoporosis and insulin resistance which can lead to weight gain. Even with all these the bigger problem of Vitamin D deficiency is the symptoms of fatigue that lead to irritation and a general tendency to avoid doing anything.

If you are like me and don't take a multivitamin daily then you risk a Vitamin D deficiency contributing to the stress and weakness you feel on dreary days. I'm thinking that starting today I will be adding a multi to see if it boosts my fall and winter mood.