Ah, fall. The days are shorter than a month ago, the kids have somewhat settled back into their school routines, and the Halloween decor is up. We've swapped out our shorts and Birkenstocks for cozy sweaters and boots. These crisp fall mornings are beautiful, especially if you're up early enough to watch the sun come up, showing the beautiful shades of pink and orange. This time of year is lovely, but we can't avoid what's next: the darker days of winter. With these shorter days comes a shorter supply of something our bodies need: vitamin D.
Julie D. Anderson, a registered dietitian at Ridgeview, says it's pertinent to get the right amount of vitamin D in the winter, especially for us Minnesotans.
"Vitamin D plays a critical role in maintaining the balance of calcium in your blood and bones," Julie says. "It helps prevent osteoporosis and fractures, as well as rickets (soft bones) in children. Research also shows that vitamin D may be helpful for cancer prevention and be beneficial for cognitive health and immune function."
Our shortest day of the year, December 21, gives us just under seven hours of sunlight compared to almost 16 hours on June 21. That's half the opportunity to get our daily dose of vitamin D from the sun.
"Our bodies make vitamin D from adequate sun exposure," Julie says. "No other vitamins can be made from the sun. Those of us who live in Waconia live above the 37th parallel latitude, which means the sun's rays aren't strong enough to make any vitamin D between October and April."
So unless you're lucky enough to be a snowbird who flies somewhere sunny for the winter, what can you do about it?
Julie encourages people to get the vitamin from their food. Some great sources of vitamin D are fatty fish such as salmon and tuna (a serving of wild-caught salmon provides a whopping 1,000 IU of vitamin D) and fortified foods such as milk, yogurt, cereal, and orange juice. You can also get vitamin D from eggs (keep the yolk). Julie says the following amounts of vitamin D are the recommended daily allowances through either food intake or supplement:
- Infants 0-12 months: 400 IU daily
- Children 1-13 years: 600 IU daily
- Teens 14-18 years: 600 IU daily
- Adults 19-70 years: 600 IU daily
- Adults 71 and older: 800 IU daily
- Pregnant or breastfeeding mothers: 600 IU daily
If you're worried you may not be getting enough vitamin D, you might be right. According to the Cleveland Clinic website, about half of the adult population is vitamin D deficient. Some of the symptoms include:
- Bone pain
- Fatigue
- Mood changes
- Muscle weakness, aches, or cramps
The good news is it's an easy fix. Simply eat more foods with vitamin D, take a daily supplement, or pack your bags and head south this winter. But then you'd miss out on all the beauty and wonder of winter in Minnesota, and who wants to miss that?
Those of us who live in Waconia live above the 37th parallel latitude, which means the sun's rays aren't strong enough to make any vitamin D between October and April.