By Dr. John Cannell, Vitamin D Council

Winter is here in the northern hemisphere. At many latitudes, all the UV that is present in the winter is UVA wavelength, not UVB. Remember, UVB rays are responsible for your body making vitamin D. So in the winter, it’s impossible to make much vitamin D if you’re living north of about 35 degrees latitude — and you still won’t produce much between 30 and 35 degrees latitude.

Despite this shortcoming in wintertime sun exposure, evidence has been presented that UV light does more than just make vitamin D. For example, it was UV light in general, and not 25(OH)D levels, that improved quality of life indicators in a recent study.

So I still seek sun exposure in the wintertime, even without the UVB. While I continue to get UVA in the winter from sughine, I keep a UVB light in my office for the winter as I think both moderate amounts of UVA and UVB light are important for health.

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