Comment on The essential guide to vitamin D and the sun by Sarah Best.
Since vitamin D production varies so much from individual to individual and depends on so many factors in addition to skin colour, I’m not sure it is possible to state any meaningful “IU per 10 minutes” figure. However, if you come across this info, do let me know – I’d be interested!
Recent Comments by Sarah Best
A cautionary tale: the “Raw Vegan Village”
Mine too, Amie. Thank you for the share, and for your kind words x
Is this common deficiency sabotaging YOUR health?
Hi Katie,
The 20g of carbs to which you limit yourself is not just a low carb diet but a *very* low carb diet – and my site is *not* a low (nor very low) carb diet site. While I appreciate the good reasons for limiting carbs and that of course it is very easy to overdo them, in my opinion, the negatives of restricting them to that extent far outweigh any positives.
There’s the stress and difficulty of keeping carb intake at such a low level, and all the healthy food options it cuts out (including the severe limits it puts on *fruit and vegetable* consumption – as illustrated so well by your comment). *Plus* the fact that anyone restricting carbs that much must by definition be getting a very high proportion of their calories from protein and/or fat. And there’s more convincing evidence that both of those might have negative health outcomes, than that increasing carbs to say 150g a day – still a low/restricted carb diet – would.
You say that you can’t have more than 50g of kale per day because of carb content, and that a person would have to be “crazy” to consume lentils, chick peas or brown rice… After falling into orthorexia in the past, what now seems crazy to me – as well as unhealthy – is that level of fear about eating moderate amounts of whole, natural foods.
As important as good nutrition is, we’re nourished not only by foods but by our emotions and relationships. As humans, we’re a highly adaptable species and can thrive on many different whole food diets. But we can’t thrive without joy and meaningful connections with others. And the reason I bring that in is that I know that at those times when I was preoccupied treating my diet like a stressful and complex mathematics puzzle that I had to get “right” every day – the times when I might have written a comment like the one you did – that took up so much time, energy and “bandwidth” that I had a lot less of those things available for connecting deeply with others and/or experiencing true joy.
And on those occasions when I was doing that in order to “balance the books” on a restricted carb regimen, we can add to that the physical, mental and emotional stress I so clearly remember experiencing, when trying to exist on a carb intake that was way lower than my body (and I would say most people’s) could happily sustain. And I’m talking there about times when I was trying to limit my carbs to no more than 100g a day.
This is genuinely meant to be helpful – to you and anyone else who might be reading it. You might not experience it that way and you might also disagree with every word! I’m unable to engage in further debate about those places where our opinions differ but I thank you for stopping by!
Sarah x
Is this common deficiency sabotaging YOUR health?
Yes
A cautionary tale: the “Raw Vegan Village”
Hi Luna,
Last I heard no one who lost money ever received it back. If anyone reading this knows differently, please comment!
Sarah xo
Is this common deficiency sabotaging YOUR health?
Hi Carol!
Thank you for the lovely feedback!
The sun dried tomatoes can be either kind.
Sarah xo