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Comment by Liquix | Hacker News Reader

5000 IU is very high, might be beneficial during the winter for folks with very fair skin. but most probably shouldn't take that much every day

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You mean very dark skin?

It's my understanding that northern Europeans evolved fair skin in order to cope with the lack of vitamin D in their diet.

yes, i had it backwards - thanks for the correction.

You got it backwards, it would be more beneficial in areas with few hours of sun for darker skin folks, since they do not absorb as much Vitamin D as fair skin folk do.

absorb or create?

i understand it as: absorbing is in the intestine, generating D happens in the skin when exposed to the sun

Correct, what I meant was absorbing UV light, that then as you state creates D.

That's equivalent to about 10 minutes of sun exposure. Not very much when you look at it that way.

That comparison doesn't work. Only 10-20% of the vitamin D we intake is delivered through food and the body cannot process more sourcing from food. Even if you take more you will not benefit in an unlimited way, processing more. The skin is much better at generating/making/doing it.

The skin is definitely much better, but a higher than "recommended" dose is definitely (anecdata) effective at bringing up and maintaining the measureable Vitamin D3 level in your blood if you are under the recommended range. It's an important metric to track in your regular blood tests.

I think you mean for those with very dark skin, not fair?

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