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Comment by wheelerof4te | Hacker News Reader

Or, I don't know...go outside if you need vitamin D.

Above or below a certain latitude, sunlight cannot give you enough vitamin D during certain parts of the year.

And to add to that, skin pigment greatly influences all of this.

Sun goes up at 09:34 and down at 15:16, most of us are at work. And that doesn't include the mountains blocking the sun, some weeks it barely goes above them. So there's light, but no direct sun light. And when it's -10C, only a few square centimeters of my skin is exposed to the elements, not really producing any vit D.

Also not much help if the daytime sky is clouded much of the winter. Might as well go outside in Alaska.

It's significantly below freezing in much of the northern U.S. and virtually all population centers of Canada.

Indeed, I had no problems with vitamin D levels when living in Georgia (the state), especially since I regularly ran or otherwise exercised outdoors after work and most weekends year round (even when it got cold, it didn't get that cold, and there was no ice to speak of south of Atlanta). But during my first winter in Colorado, hah! Good luck getting sunlight during the week when the sun sets by 4:40pm and the sidewalks and trails you run on are covered with ice even if you do get outside before then.

Aha, didn't know you guys have it so rough up there.

Can't tell if trolling or if you genuinely believe north = up = closer to the day star

No, this doesn't work. You'd have to be outside in summer sunlight with your shirt off to get enough.

In the Northern Hemisphere about half the year it's impossible to get enough Vitamin D by going outside.

If Russians can do it, so can you!

Don't be a small cat!

A quick search online suggests that Russians also tend to be at higher risk for vitamin D deficiency and that the local climate/weather is a large contributing factor. I feel pretty comfortable saying that people who live in northern climates like Russia should be getting their Vitamin D levels checked, and potentially taking supplements or using sun lamps.

Big cats especially need proper nutritional intake, or they'll turn into small malnourished ones :)

Well, they just bring the UV indoors: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photo-of-the-day/photo/ul...

OK you go first big cat! :)

There are many photos of Russian children in a circle around a sunlamp with only bottom underwear on.

There are many reasons why it's not that simple.

1. We need to dress up to go outside, exposing only minimal amounts of skin.

2. People of color produce less vitamin D (most likely due to skin pigmentation).

3. Pollution and shadows significantly reduce UV light within cities.

I recently read, via HN, that the sunlight that helps produce vitamin D is mostly taken in via the eyes.

Rather decrease my risk of Melanoma from UV skin damage and just supplement Vitamin D by popping a few pills everyday

Some of us live at higher latitudes and work during the day. It's not as simple or easy as just going outside.

Well, gee, thanks. I'm in Central Europe and it's middle of winter.

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