Can the sun give us enough vitamin D in the winter?

[WCCO-TV, December 19, 2017] For the first time in two and half weeks, the sun came out on Tuesday.

But was it enough to get us the vitamin D we need?

“This far north, most of us are not getting enough vitamin D in the winter,” said April Chu, a nurse practitioner of integrative medicine with Allina Health's Penny George Institute for Health and Healing.

Our skin needs UVB rays to synthesize and produce vitamin D. During the winter months, the angle of the sun is so low that the atmosphere blocks those UVB rays from reaching people.

“Most of us need to supplement,” Chu told WCCO News.