Insane Factoid of the Day

 "I'm going to Florida. I'll stop my vitamin D because I'm going to lay in the sun." 
Wrong. 90% of adults over 40 years old have lost the majority of their ability to activate vitamin D in the skin. A typical response might be an increase in blood level from 25 to 35 ng/ml--a 10 ng increase with a dark brown tan. 

This 2007 study found YUP’IK ESKIMOS who consumed the most traditional foods obtained on average 1232iu/D from food

This underscores the fact that the foods such arctic people ate were quite different from what we can get on the grocery store. For example, the seabirds that the Yupik eat consume lichen, which means more vitamin D than chicken. 

Another comment noted that rural Belgian women retain the ability to use sunlight, but those in a polluted urban environment did not. Either way, this reminds me of the response to the thyroid post where some commenters said their problems failed to respond to dietary iodine. Perhaps because of thyroid toxins in our environment? Maybe even the paleo diet can't overcome the reality that it's not just our food that is awash in chemicals, but the entire environment. Furthermore, our food is different. It's just reality that domestic meat is different than wild meat and our soils have been depleted of nutrients. Supplementing shouldn't be seen as something only people on an inadequate diet need.