SEPTEMBER 15, 2009 — A New York Times retrospective article this week looked back at the paper’s first-ever mention of vitamin D — with stories on consecutive days in 1922 about the discovery of a vitamin then thought to only affect bone health.

“On June 19, 1922, The Times reported that a team led by Dr. E. V. McCollum, ‘the famous biochemist,’ had ‘captured’ a hitherto unknown vitamin, which has been labeled vitamin D, the specific purpose of which is the protection of bone growth and the prevention of the disease known as rickets,” the Times reported in its article.

Interestingly, the next day The Times “reported that researchers at Columbia had shown in animal experiments that direct exposure to the sun produced vitamin D — even without its inclusion in the diet.”

And thus the term “Sunshine Vitamin” was born.

According to the Times story on Monday, “As we now know, it is almost impossible to acquire sufficient vitamin D from diet alone, without either supplements or sufficient exposure to sunlight.”

To read the Times story click here.