This isn't quite the same, but I found some 1000iu chewable ones. They don't taste that bad, so eating 50 shouldn't be that bad. And even drops would be easy enough. You just have to measure it into a cup, note how much 50 drops correspond to and gulp it down.

www.iherb.com will ship to Canada, but only a 2 or 3 month supply. I have a bottle of LifeExtension Vitamin D3, 5000 IU capsules, 60 count, sitting right here that was shipped to me just a couple of weeks ago.

Anyone tried a Sperti lamp?



http://trit.us/basicnutrition/vitamindmiracle.html

http://sperti.com/

how do you see your computer screen? I always have too much of a glare

It was in partial shade from the trees. It depends on the angle, too.

I tell you, I wish someone would make a laptop that uses natural light instead of backlighting. I keep hoping this e-ink thing will catch on.

This is boloney. There are a good number of tanning lamps out there which provide in the neighborhood of 5% UVB. I bought a couple UV meters recently to see what percentage of real sunlight is UVB and so far it's looking like around 7%, though I'm still doing measurments. So some tanning lamps get close.

I'm doing some more research on UVB lights. Let me know if you learn anything interesting.

I did find that you can buy UVB lights for reptiles. Maybe I'll get one of those and put in on my desk. In fact, maybe I'll get a turtle to put under it as well.

So I have gotten the message.
Vitamin D is important. Get if from the sun if you can.

Next Friday I will be going on vacation, and no, I am not going to some hot mediterranean country with the intention to do nothing all day but lie in the sun.

I am just going to England, so the possibility that the weather there is worse than in Belgium is not little.

However, as it's vacation and as I have the opportunity, I most certainly will try and get a bit more sun than usual.

I am pale as a vampire, and when I was younger, I used to burn very quickly. The last years I have enjoyed the sun from behind a closed window and often even from behind curtains.

So finally the question is.... after I have exposed my poor body to the sun and have tried to tank the precious Vitamin D, what would be a good thing to do?

Normally after sunbathing you use an After Sun creme. Logically I will buy one, but I was wondering if there are any specific ingredients in certain After Sun cremes that will help my skin recover well and that will help it in adjusting to the UVA and UVB that it hasn't seen in a very long time.

But remember Vitamin D is made from the action of UVB on Cholesterol.
So low UVB and low cholesterol means..............low potential for making vitamin D3.

Everyone taking statins or consuming a cholesterol lowering diet will if successful be reducing their potential for vitamin D production. In the same way the amount of cholesterol in your skin declines as you age so those using cholesterol lowering strategies effectively are inducing premature ageing of their skin. If you are or have been cholesterol lowering it would be unwise to rely only on sun exposure for vitamin D3 production.

Low cholesterol = low vitamin D production

Similarly with UVB. What matters is NOT the amount coming from sunlight but the amount that reaches ground level where you are laying.

This paper explains how those older urban female gardeners in Belgium made less vitamin D while gardening despite the fact they received more UV radiation (refected from hard surfaces) when compared with female gardeners of the same age living at the same latitude but in rural locations (where UV is absorbed by vegetation)
When local atmospheric pollution is such that ozone is blocked then you cannot rely on laying in sunlight to make vitamin D3.

You MUST get tested regularly or you cannot be certain that the regime you have adopted is working effectively in your body.

You may be short of UVB or you may be short of Cholesterol.

UVB does not pass through glass therefore any time spent in UV radiation behind glass and/or curtains is counterproductive.
UVA does pass through glass and this damages your skin and converts vitamin D3 near the surface of the skin into suprasterols the human body doesn't use.
As the 25(OH)D circulating in your blood will pass near the surface of your skin it is inevitably degraded by UVA exposure.

Spending time outdoors with cholesterol replete skin and UVB replete sunlight (as close to midday as possible but whenever your shadow is shorter than your height) should create ample vitamin D3 however if you then spend time laying under glass or in otherwise UVB depleted sunlight or apply a sunscreen that converts UVB into UVA that time will be degrading Vitamin D3 remaining or circulating near skin surface.

Get dressed, cover the skin you have exposed to sunlight. Do not let any newly made vitamin D to get degraded or washed off your skin by showering, swimming, rubbing down or in strong UVA rich light (behind glass)


Most after sun cremes are absorbed by the body. It's only the sunblocks that remain visible on the skin surface that don't. A couple of hours after application they can be measured in urine.
If the ingredients of your creme are not edible then do not consume them either orally or transdermally.

There are plenty of ways to improve the natural sunscreen potential sun of skin. Raising Vitamin D status by effective strength D3 supplements BEFORE going in sunlight is probably the most effective. 1000iu/daily/D3 for each 25lbs you weigh.
Improving omega 3 ratio to below 5 omega 6 to 1 omega 3 That means taking an effective amount of omega 3 fish oil(2g EPA+DHA daily) while also eliminating all sources of industrially made seed oils (corn, soy, sunflower, safflower) and all the foods that contain them.
Improve anti oxidant status Vitamin E vitamin c lycopene etc.
Drink green tea as you main beverage, If you can't acquire a taste for it then apply green tea it directly to you skin.
It takes time to prepare your skin for sun exposure.
Ideally you will use UVB rich tanning tubes to keep skin hardened over winter.
changing omega 3 ratio in skin is a long term project. You can change blood levels in a matter of days but for each cell in your body to acquire the ideal omega 3 ratio is a long job allow 5 yrs for maximum effect but 2 yrs from now should see 50% of cells with reasonable omega 3 status.
Again with the antioxidant strategies allow 12 weeks before expecting measurable improvements in sun sensitivity.

Tomorrow I finally get the results of the blood tests taken last month. I expect (I hope) that the HDL will have improved and that LDL will have dropped slightly, remained the same or decreased somewhat. So the amount of available cholesterol should be fine.
Never took statins (and I am glad now that I didn't).
I am working hard at my vitamin D levels, and at my Omega 3 vs 6 ratio too. Less mayonaise, more fish and real butter.

I absolutely don't like drinking green tea. The idea of applying it to my skin is interesting though. Only tea I drink at the moment is Rooibos.

Many thanks for the tips
I know a bit better now what to look for in terms of After Sun creme, and I had already decided not to overdo it, as I have deprived my skin for such a long time of sunlight.

I wanted to emphasize this point. I just learned about this a couple of days ago. I have an indoor job and indoor hobbies/activities. But I always told myself I was getting a lot of sun during my 2+ hours of commuting every week day. It seems, though, that that sunlight has been stripped of its UVB rays by my windows. <sigh!>

Between my diet and lack of sun exposure, I'm guessing that I'm seriously vitamin D deficient.

Of course, this is ideal, but it isn't always possible. My job is indoors. For long stretches of the year it is dark when I arrive at work and when I leave. Midday during those parts of the year it tends to be overcast and cold.

I'm looking into supplements and possibly some kind of UVB lamp.

Or even a sunbed...
I have been thinking about that as well.
Only... not sure what to look for. I mean, many manufacturers can claim that their lamps/sunbeds are good, and that they supply adequate UVB, but how to be certain.

Paying a lot of money for such a lamp/sunbed, then coming to the conclusion that it's no good, makes me reluctant to buy one.

I did start supplementing though, a month or three ago. Still have a lot of "work" to do as far as supplementing is concerned but I feel confident that as far as supplements are concerned, I am on the right path.

I believe the vit d3 council reviewed some sunbeds, might want to check their site.

Thanks. I'll have a look. Like Pilili, I'm reluctant to spend a lot of money for something that doesn't work. I'm not sure I even trust the UVB detectors that are available.

And of course as capmikee said, there may be properties of sunlight that we aren't aware of. I was going to find a nice corner of the library and knit for 15 minutes on my break. Maybe I should go out for a walk instead. <sigh!>