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Vitamin D Block? Sunscreen's effect on production said to be small
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Published: June 3, 2009
The claim: Sunscreen prevents vitamin D production.
The facts: Dermatologists routinely talk of the need to wear sunscreen. But the body needs sunlight to produce vitamin D, a crucial nutrient.
So is it possible that wearing sunscreen might interfere with the synthesis of vitamin D?
Yes. Studies have found that by blocking ultraviolet rays, sunscreen limits the vitamin D we produce. But the question is to what extent.
A few studies have concluded that the effect is significant -- a reduction as great as tenfold. But more recent, randomized studies that followed people for months and in some cases years suggest that the effect is negligible. Although sunscreen does hamper vitamin D production, these studies say, it is not enough to cause a deficiency.
That is in part because most people typically do not apply enough sunscreen to get its full effects, which in turn allows some sunlight through, said Dr. Henry Lim, the chairman of dermatology at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and a spokesman for the American Academy of Dermatology. And according to the National Institutes of Health, it does not take much sunlight to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D: perhaps as little as 30 minutes of daytime exposure (without sunscreen), twice a week.
Lim added that rather than cutting back on sunscreen, people concerned about vitamin D should consume more foods rich in vitamin D, such as salmon, milk and orange juice.
The bottom line: Sunscreen can reduce vitamin D production, but probably not enough to have a significant effect.
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