Sun is a star player in the quest for vitamin D

[Editor-in-Chief]

Sun is a star player in the quest for vitamin D

By BARBARA QUINN

Knight Ridder News Service

My friend Michelle and I are working a food tent at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Dietitians like me enjoy observing what people order. Like the year a man walked up to our food tent with an empty thermos and asked for a vodka and orange juice. Then he added, "Hold the juice."

Sometimes we forget the health benefits (or lack thereof) in the food we eat. Vitamin D is a good example. Besides its well-known role as the director of calcium absorption for bone health, it's now recognized as a main player in a variety of body systems. It shows promise in the prevention and treatment of certain types of cancer, especially colon and prostate cancer. It appears to help deter inflammatory diseases such as arthritis and heart disease. And it may even help in the battle against obesity by its action on leptin, a hormone that tells your brain to stop eating when you are full.

The best place to get this essential nutrient is not food. The most active form of vitamin D is manufactured when our skin is exposed to sunlight. Some experts now advise "safe sun" -- exposing arms, legs and face to the sun for five to 10 minutes two or three times a week. That's enough, they say, for most bodies to make adequate amounts of D.

Although we can't overdose on sun-derived vitamin D (the body only makes what it needs) we can overdose on the harmful ultraviolet light that causes skin cancer. People out in the sun a lot need to cover up and use sunscreen.

We don't all live where we can sit in the sun year-round. And, like an old golfer who loses his swing, our skin loses its capacity to produce D as we get older. That's why we still need adequate amounts from food or supplements.

Few foods (fish, eggs and some types of mushrooms) contain D naturally. Other foods are fortified with it, including milk, some soy beverages and cereals.

Barbara Quinn is a registered dietitian at the Community Hospital of the Monterey (Calif.) Peninsula. E-mail her at bquinn@chomp.org.

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