Health tip: sensible exposure to direct sunlight is good for your health

(Inside Aotea, November 2010)

Vitamin D is essential for strong bones and getting calcium into the blood stream, as well as a range of other important functions.

We get more than 90 percent of our Vitamin D from direct exposure to sunlight. There are only a few foods (salmon, tuna and sardines, for example) that contain good levels of Vitamin D.

So, with summer on the way, getting out into the sun will be important. But, with the high levels of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) that we have in New Zealand, it is also important not to get sunburnt.

The Cancer Society says it has been estimated that people with fair skin who burn easily can achieve sufficient vitamin D levels in summer by exposing the face, arms and hands or the equivalent area of skin to a few minutes of sunlight on either side of the peak UVR periods several days a week. People who tan more easily or have darker skin will need a longer exposure time to achieve the same effect.

It is better to expose larger areas of skin for shorter periods rather than exposing smaller areas of skin for longer periods.