There has always been one odd kink in the modern evolution of vitamin D research. Ask any researcher one-on-one what the best source of vitamin D is, and without hesitation they’d tell you the obvious:

It’s the sun. No contest.

For the longest time if you asked the same question in public — at a forum or in a news report — the reply would do a somewhat-clever dance around the real answer, saying something like, “There are several sources, including exposure to the skin.”

To those who know that you can’t attain sufficient vitamin D levels through diet alone, that sounded a little like, “There are several sources of oxygen, including air.” It is short-selling the whole story.

But those days appear to be over. The giants in the vitamin D research community have come out strongly to clarify their position: Sunlight exposure to the skin is the main source of vitamin D, and getting the right amount of UV is key in getting the vitamin D you need. In the past few months, this message has been of particular focus.

Click here to read the entire article in the latest issue of Smart Tan Magazine online.