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"Recently I&amp;#039;ve been hearing a lot about vitamin D. Some experts say that most women are deficient (especially those of us in the northeast who don&amp;#039;t spent a lot of time in the sun), and that we need to get more if we want to reduce our risk of conditions like osteoporosis, heart disease, and even cancer. Yet others say that the evidence that vitamin D can actually prevent these conditions is inconclusive at best.  So what should you do? It seems to me that it can&amp;#039;t hurt to get your vitamin D levels checked, since that&amp;#039;s the only way to know if you&amp;#039;re lacking. It&amp;#039;s just a simple blood test, and you might be surprised by what you learn.If your doctor tells you that you do need extra D, then how you should get it becomes the next questions. Your body produces vitamin D naturally when exposed to the sun, but many dermatologists warn that leaving the house for even a brief time without sunscreen is a mistake. (They&amp;#039;d rather you take a vitamin D supplement.) Personally, I&amp;#039;m vigilant about protecting my fair skin when I&amp;#039;m spending several hours outdoors. But when I&amp;#039;m only going to be outside for 20 minutes so (like when I&amp;#039;m walking to work every morning), I just put sunscreen on my face and leave my arms and legs exposed. I haven&amp;#039;t gotten burned and my vitamin D levels are just fine (I got tested at a recent physical). Of course, you can also get vitamin D in a pill\u2013and many experts think you should do just that. But they&amp;#039;re conflicted about how much to take. (I&amp;#039;ve heard everything from 400-2,000 IUs.) What do you think? Do you worry about getting enough D? Do you take a supplement or trust that you&amp;#039;ll get enough from a little sun?   \u2013Barbara Brody, Health Editor "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/a45178/the-vitamin-d-debate-2181/>