Did anyone hear the latest research results on Vitamin D consumption today?  Here is an article:

http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/7-1-0&fp=466abce2cb0f419f&ei=OQlqRuzHOIa6rgOb1sCVCA&url=http%3A//www.abcnews.go.com/Health/CancerPreventionAndTreatment/story%3Fid%3D3256349%26page%3D1&cid=1116995928

Just wondering if I should be upping my intake?  I do spend some time in the sun every day (well when it shines, that is) and I eat salmon and other edible bone fish.  Does anyone know how much vitamin D fifteen minutes in the sun buys you?  Anyone else considering supplementation?  Suze

I've been wondering about vitamin D, too- after all, most of us don't get nearly as much sun as the hunter-gatherers would have.  They were outdoors all the time, obviously (hmmm, although the name of this forum reminds me that perhaps some of our paleolithic ancestors lived in caves.  But they would have been the exception, not the rule, and they would still have had to go outdoors to forage, presumably). 

The article cites a study in which vitamin D is correlated with the incidence of colo-rectal cancer in a group of post-menopausal women.  That's a pretty narrow scope!  What about a vitamin D study of the general population of a diverse society such as the U.S., taking all types of cancer into account?  I get the feeling that since vitamin D is produced in the skin, it may have more to do with the incidence of skin cancer than other types of cancer.  Call me supersititous..

We've all heard the warnings about getting too much sun, with a higher incidence of skin cancer the dire consequences..  I'll wager that there is a higher incidence of skin cancer in a lot of Western societies, due to people living and working indoors and typically not getting much sun most of the year, then going out to the beach in the summer, and getting sunburnt.   I imagine that our paleolithic forebears got sunburnt rarely, and didn't have much skin cancer- they had daily sun exposure from when they were babies, and got more and more tan as they matured.

And yes, there is the question of skin tone vs. vitamin D production in sunlight.  Can anybody cite some stats?

I try to eat some salmon every week (I love salmon, so it's no problem for me!), and I jog a couple of times a week, most of the time in the sun (Southern California).  So hopefully, between my paleo diet and my weak emulation of the paleolithic outdoor environment, I'm getting enough D.

I just found this vitamin D calculator on Dr. Eades website, you type in your latitude and longitude and some other details, and it will tell you how much sun exposure you need to get the recommended vitamin D:

http://nadir.nilu.no/~olaeng/fastrt/VitD-ez_quartMED.html

When I get the chance I am going to be getting 5000 IU capsules, just in case for winter use.  Then pop 1 or 2 a day.  Supposedly good for weight loss.  No rush as I have been getting a lot of sun.  From what I understand you can take 30,000 IU once a month or 1,000 IU a day for identical results.

http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=15751
http://www.grassrootshealth.net/
Recommends 2000 IU
http://www.grassrootshealth.net/press-111308
Looking at the below small study, you could easily get this variation from chance.
http://www.grassrootshealth.net/press-20070607

To researcher bookworms out there, please don't give one group a placebo and another vit d.  Give the entire volunteer group vit D and compare it to the population.

17 minutes here in So Cal

6 minutes in Boston?  There must be other parameters we're setting differently.

I put in my latitude, longitude, altitude, dry concrete, midday, medium Caucasian, broken clouds: got 12 minutes.

I had some awesome sunshine time today. My DH noticed something funny. I have a solar lantern and solar radio that I put out in the sun every day to recharge. He said, "You're just like your solar lantern, coming out here to recharge!" :-) 

If you get plenty of sun throughout the summer, your body can store it to get you through the winter. Maybe just adding some coldwater fish like sardines and herring and mackerel, and eat pastured eggs, should be all you'll need.