Go read the Disclaimer again. I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. Seriously.
For some years now, the dermatologists have been attacking sun exposure as a leading cause of skin cancer. They have convinced a nation of tanners to wear hats and sun block all year long. Unfortunately, vitamin D is necessary for calcium absorption and a host of important cell regulation functions. By creating a nation of vitamin D deficient people (although not so deficient as to have rickets), some believe the recommendations to prevent skin cancer have led to an net increase in cancers. Since skin cancer is the most treatable and least lethal of cancers, this was not a good tradeoff. We do need to spend a few minutes soaking up the rays, most days. The darker your skin, the more time in the sun you need. The further north you live, likewise. You do not have to get naked to get the benefit; the amount of sun exposure we collect on our faces, hands and arms is probably enough. If you go veiled a lot of the time, you may have more trouble. If you have reason to worry that your breastfeeding baby is not getting enough vitamin D from you, take your baby out into the sun for a few minutes a day, with some skin exposed to the sun.
Unfortunately, because the deep water fish which are a good source of vitamin D also suffer from mercury poisoning themselves, eating the fish may or may not be a good idea for pregant or breastfeeding women. There are ways to supplement vitamin D in a way that has other benefits, and does not have this risk.
A friend attending Bastyr recently told me a horror story about a nutrition class in which a professor said that breastfed babies older than 6 weeks should be given formula to get the vitamin D or they'd be deficient. He also seemed to think that cod liver oil was too dangerous to take as a supplement, so that breastfed infants should instead be weaned to formula after six weeks, to deal with the hypothetical vitamin D deficiency. Recognize that there are some batshit crazy people out there repeating foolish things they were told in the past. Do not believe them, even if they have M.D. or Ph.D. after their names.
General Discussion of Supplementation
Copyright 2006 by Rebecca Allen.
Created January 24, 2006 Updated March 8, 2006