Vitamin D and the benefits it has for our immune system are now going mainstream. It has been known for quite some time that Vitamin D helps immune functions and is essential in fighting upper respiratory infections. Upper respiratory infections come from many different types of Coronaviruses including the common cold and the Flu. But confirming that vitamin D will help in combatting the coronavirus has gotten off to a slow start. Data has been released which confirms that individuals with vitamin D deficiency have a higher mortality rate.
It’s possible that many deaths could have been averted had this information had been shared liberally from the start. Most people living in northern latitudes are vitamin D deficient, and the darker your skin the more your skin filters the sun’s radiation and resulting in lower absorption of vitamin D. At midday you typically need 10-30 mins of sunlight exposure without sunscreen. The darker your skin the more time you need to spend in the sun to absorb the same amount of vitamin D. A study has revealed that 30 minutes of midday summer sun exposure in Oslo, Norway was equivalent to consuming 10,000–20,000 IU of vitamin D. We only need about 600 IU of Vitamin D per day. When it comes to Vitamin D absorption you can wear a hat and sunglasses and keep your face covered. But you want to keep as much of the rest of your skin exposed as possible.
One of the most disturbing headlines as of late is the higher frequency of which Black and Hispanic people are dying of the Coronavirus. It is well known that Black and Hispanic people are more deficient in vitamin D which may correlate in the higher statistical outcome in death rates due to the Coronavirus. As a Black male in America I have always noticed how Blacks and other minorities may avoid the sun to maintain a lighter skin tone, which came from centuries of racial trauma and mistreatment which in turn set having lighter skin as the beauty standard. But in the age of a deadly pandemic this mindset needs to be abolished and all shades of skin must step into the sun for our health and survival. We need Vitamin D like a plant that needs its Chlorophyll.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-from-sun#time-of-day