The answer is easy – No!   It’s true that you do need vitamin D to help protect your health and beauty, it’s essential to many bodily functions, and research suggests it may help protect against a wide range of health conditions from osteoporosis to breast health.  And, yes, your body does naturally produce it when your skin is exposed to the sun’s UVB rays.

The bottom line – it’s best to use your sunscreen when you know you’re going to be out in the sun for more than 15 minutes.  Most of us aren’t going to stop what we’re doing after 15 minutes of sunning to apply sunscreen. The American Academy of Dermatology states, it’s a lot simpler and safer to always wear sunscreen and focus on getting your vitamin D from your diet and supplements. 

Remember – sunburn on brown skin is also very dangerous.

Here are some foods that are vitamin D-rich:

1 Whole Egg – 25 IU
3.5 Ounces Fresh Salmon – 360 IU
1 Cup Vitamin D-fortified Milk – 115 to 124 IU
1 cup Vitamin D-fortified cereal – 40 IU

The minimum recommended number of International Units (IU) of vitamin D you should get every day is 400 IU but many doctors recommend as much as 1,000 IU. 

Since 75% of adults are vitamin D deficient and your body will not absorb calcium without it, it’s important to try to get this nutrient through the foods you eat and/or supplements.