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Vitamin D is often called the “sunshine vitamin” because it is made by the body after the skin receives direct sun exposure<\/a>. This fat-soluble vitamin is also available from certain foods such as fatty fish, mushrooms, egg yolks, and fortified dairy products, but exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) light is a major contributor to people\u2019s vitamin D stores.<\/p>\n Given that there are fewer hours of daylight and less intense sunlight during the winter in many parts of the world, it can be hard to maintain sufficient vitamin D levels in your body. A 2023 study<\/a> from Slovenia found that 63% of adults who were not taking vitamin D supplements had insufficient vitamin D levels during the winter, compared to only 6% in the summer.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you are bundled up from head to toe and have limited sun exposure in the winter months in the northern hemisphere, your body is not absorbing as much vitamin D as it may in warmer conditions,\u201d says Kelsey Higgins, a nutrition support dietitian at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.<\/p>\n Adequate amounts of vitamin D are important for overall health and well-being. Besides promoting calcium and phosphorus absorption, which are critical for building and maintaining bone density, \u201cvitamin D plays a role in immune function, it decreases inflammation, and it helps with muscle coordination,\u201d says Carla Bouwmeester, a clinical professor in the department of pharmacy and health systems sciences at Northeastern University.<\/p>\n In kids, vitamin D is essential for preventing rickets, a bone-softening disease. And vitamin D has been found<\/a> to have mood-regulation benefits in adults.<\/p>\n How much vitamin D is enough?<\/p>\n \u201cSome people can meet some or all of their vitamin D needs through exposure to sunlight,\u201d says Dr. Elizabeth Ko, an associate clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and medical director of the UCLA Health Integrative Medicine Collaborative. \u201cHowever, the season, time of day, length of day, cloud cover, smog, skin melatonin content, and sunscreen use are among the factors that affect UV radiation exposure and vitamin D synthesis.\u201d<\/p>\n While guidance about sufficient intake of vitamin D doesn\u2019t change with the seasons, your body\u2019s level of vitamin D can, Ko says.<\/p>\n As far as dietary sources go, the recommended intake of vitamin D depends on your age: 600 I.U. per day for kids and adults up to age 70, and 800 I.U. per day for adults ages 71 and older<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read More: Can I Make My Sweet Tooth Go Away?<\/a><\/p>\n The trouble is, \u201cthere aren\u2019t a lot of robust food sources of vitamin D,\u201d says Joan Salge Blake, a clinical professor of nutrition at Boston University and host of the nutrition and health podcast Spot On! Vitamin D is present in fatty fish (such as trout, salmon, sardines, and tuna), beef liver, egg yolks, some mushrooms, and fortified foods such as cow\u2019s milk, some plant-based milks, and breakfast cereals\u2014but few other foods have it.<\/p>\n Certain people are at an elevated risk for developing vitamin D insufficiency all year long. These include older adults (partly because the skin\u2019s ability to synthesize vitamin D decreases with age) and people with certain medical conditions such as celiac disease, Crohn\u2019s disease, ulcerative colitis, and other disorders that interfere with the body\u2019s ability to absorb dietary fat. People who have had gastric bypass surgery can also become deficient in vitamin D, says Bouwmeester.<\/p>\n People with darker skin are also at risk for low vitamin D because the melanin pigment in their skin reduces their ability to produce vitamin D from sun exposure, Bouwmeester says.<\/p>\n And some medications\u2014including corticosteroids (like prednisone) and certain weight-loss drugs (like Orlistat)\u2014can reduce vitamin D absorption.<\/p>\n To supplement or not to supplement?<\/p>\n \u201cIn the winter months, we don\u2019t typically have enough sun exposure to make vitamin D,\u201d says Jacqueline Vernarelli, a public health nutritionist and associate professor at Sacred Heart University. \u201cThis means that in the winter we need to make sure we are getting more from foods or supplements.\u201d<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t typically consume sufficient amounts of vitamin-D-rich foods, you may want to consider taking a vitamin D supplement. Your best bet is to \u201cget your vitamin D level checked by your doctor,\u201d advises Salge Blake. A simple blood test can measure your body\u2019s vitamin D levels. Generally, blood levels of 20 ng\/mL are considered sufficient<\/a> for most people.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it\u2019s low, you can discuss taking a supplement,\u201d Salge Blake says. If you decide to take a supplement, have your vitamin D level checked again after a few months \u201cto make sure it\u2019s where it needs to be,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n Read More: Why Are People Obsessed With Hypochlorous Acid?<\/a><\/p>\n In supplement form, vitamin D comes as either vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) or vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). While both forms can raise blood levels of vitamin D, vitamin D3 increases blood levels of vitamin D \u201cto a greater extent than vitamin D2 and can maintain those higher levels for longer periods of time,\u201d says Ko.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re going the supplement route, \u201csince vitamin D is fat-soluble, it is better absorbed when taken with a meal that contains fat,\u201d says Vernarelli.<\/p>\n But keep in mind: \u201cWhen it comes to supplementation, more than enough is not necessarily better than enough,\u201d says Higgins. There\u2019s a tolerable upper limit for vitamin D intake from all sources\u2014foods, beverages, and supplements\u2014of 4,000 I.U. per day<\/a>.<\/p>\n Your best bet is to keep your intake somewhere between the recommended daily amount and the upper limit, Bouwmeester says. \u201cThe risks of excess vitamin D intake over a long period of time include increased calcium in the blood, which causes high calcium in urine and can lead to kidney stones,\u201d says Bouwmeester. Too much vitamin D in the blood also can lead to cardiac arrhythmias, Salge Blake says.<\/p>\n The last thing you want to do is trade one set of health risks for another\u2014which is why it\u2019s important to find and stay in the sweet spot with your vitamin D intake all year long.<\/p>\n