Use of UVB radiation in sunlight therapy

The popular Vitamin D is a fat-soluble, organic, steroid hormone, responsible for the body's calcium-phosphate balance and the skeletal system. An adult human body has more than 200 bones with a total mass of roughly 10kg in women and 12kg in men.

Medically, vitamin D is primarily used in prevention and treatment of diseases such as rickets, osteomalacia (bone softening) and osteoporosis (bone fragility). It also supports the immune system and helps muscle function.

Important forms of vitamin D for humans:

• Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol), found naturally in plants and yeast,
• Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), found naturally in animal organisms such as fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, swordfish, trout, tuna, sardines).

Vitamin D is not biologically active. Once consumed, it can be stored in the body for a long time - its' active form is formed when exposed to UVB radiation, which is why it's known as the sun vitamin.

Activating vitamin D in the body

The simplest and most natural way to activate vitamin D in the body is to spend ample time outside on sunny days - which, in this part of the world, is fairly easy to do in spring and summer, but much more problematic during fall and winter.

Insufficient exposure to sunlight during these darker seasons can be remedied by using a UVB-radiation lamp - a "sunlight therapy", if you will.