Where the sun no longer provides enough vitamin D until next spring

Many Americans living north of 37 degrees north latitude will soon need to find an alternative source of vitamin D, a vital nutrient.

Vitamin D helps the body build and maintain strong bones, in addition to supporting immune health, muscle function, and brain cell activity. Mayo Clinic.

While vitamin D can be obtained through several types of food, the body can also make its own vitamin D, but it needs sunlight to do so. Vitamin D production occurs when direct sunlight converts a chemical found in our skin into the active form of the nutrient, the Mayo Clinic said.

When the skin does not receive enough sunlight, the body cannot produce enough vitamin D to maintain certain functions.

This vitamin D deficiency is of particular concern for people who live in areas that don’t get much direct sunlight, especially when the seasons change. People who are exposed to sunlight during this period Summer Finally, you will face a lack of direct sunlight and vitamin D Fallwhen the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun.

Researchers say many of us are deficient in vitamin D and don’t know it

The boundary line for having and not having sunlight is around the 37th parallel or 37 degrees north latitude on the map. This horizontal line starts just south of San Francisco and crosses the northern border Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma and then along the northern border of North Carolina.

As autumn begins, people living in cities above the 37th parallel, such as Seattle, Billings, St. Louis and New York City do not receive enough direct sunlight to produce enough vitamin D. Because of this, they are at greater risk for vitamin D deficiency Harvard Medical School.

Related: Study shows that taking vitamin D can help prevent dementia

To combat this deficiency, residents over 37 miles may want to take a vitamin D supplement for the next few months. They will not receive enough direct sunlight to produce vitamin D Springwhen the Northern Hemisphere once again tilted towards the Sun.

However, when the abundant sunlight returns, people should consider dressing up Sunscreen To prevent excessive sun damage to their skin.

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