It’s OK to spend a little bit of time in the sun, but it’s best to bring vitamin D levels up to par with proper supplementation.

Milk can help you get the vitamin D you need.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—At times, trying to figure out how much vitamin D we need, where to get it, and exactly why we need it seems more complicated than taking an advanced chemistry course. On one side, there’s a camp saying many of us can get all the D we need from the sun. Other experts say that’s a recipe for skin cancer. Among subscribers to that latter school of thought is the Skin Cancer Foundation, which recently released its own guidelines for acquiring enough D.

THE DETAILS: For years, vitamin D has been known as an essential partner to calcium because it aids in the body’s absorption of that mineral. But recently, studies have elevated the vitamin to miracle-worker status, linking sufficient blood levels of the vitamin to a reduced risk of cancer, diabetes, and even asthma. The problem is, vitamin D deficiency is an epidemic in this country, with more than half of Americans lacking the proper levels in their blood. While it’s generally recognized among the medical community that the current daily recommended allowance of 200 international units (IU) to 700 IU, depending on age, is dreadfully low, several organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and now the Skin Cancer Foundation, are posting their own guidelines. The AAP recommends 400 IU a day for babies completely or partially breastfed. (Formulas are fortified with vitamin D.) Now, the Skin Cancer Foundation recommends adults take 400 to 1,000 IU of the vitamin, but urges people to get it from supplements and food sources—not from the sun.

WHAT IT MEANS: Most of us could use a vitamin D uptick. Depending where you live, your body may get enough sunlight to make vitamin D in your skin. However, for people who live north of Atlanta, GA, the sun’s elevation is not sufficient to create the vitamin-D-producing effects through sun-to-skin exposure. This is where foods and supplements come into play.