Sun, Skin, and the Summer Vitamin D Balancing Act
By Keili Mistovich, MD, MPH, Zest Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, Zest Pediatrics of Beachwood
Summer sunshine is the best… but also so tricky! Many of us power through the cold winter months, anxiously awaiting the warmer days and the feeling of sunshine on our faces. But like most things it’s all about balance. On one side is the priority of protecting our kids’ skin – slather on the sunscreen, cover up, stay in the shade, knowing that sunburns are dangerous. On the other side are the physiologic truths: kids need sunshine. Sunlight lifts mood, sets the body’s clock, and helps make vitamin D.
The good news is that you can do both! It’s a balance – and like most things in integrative pediatrics, our goal is to understand what the body needs and give it just that, without fear and without going to extremes. So this month, let’s untangle the sun, the skin, and vitamin D, and find a calm, sensible option that protects your child’s skin while also letting nature’s vitamin D do its important job.
Why Vitamin D Matters More Than We Often Realize
The conversation around Vitamin D has been getting louder over recent years. Many of us associate it with bone health. And while it is essential for building strong bones – its job is actually far bigger than that. Vitamin D acts more like a hormone than a simple vitamin, and receptors for it sit throughout the body, including in the immune system and the brain.
It plays a real role in how the immune system regulates itself, which is part of why low vitamin D levels have been linked to more frequent illness and to more reactive conditions like eczema and asthma. It also influences mood and energy – something many of us feel intuitively when the sun finally returns after a long winter. In other words, vitamin D is woven into systems we care about all year long: immunity, mood, sleep, and inflammation. Summer is simply the season when the body has the greatest access to it.
Finding the Balance: The Tricky Part
When UVB rays from sunlight hit the skin, they activate a process in the skin that is essentially a small, built-in vitamin D factory. However, the same UVB rays that help make vitamin D are also the rays that cause sunburn and, over time, skin damage. Sunscreen, by design, blocks much of that UVB – which means it also reduces vitamin D production while it’s on. So what wins?
A Sensible Summer Approach
Let a little unprotected morning light count. For most kids, short periods of sun on the skin – think 10-20 minutes of morning outdoor play before sunscreen goes on – Do this before 10am and you can contribute to vitamin D production without meaningfully raising burn risk. The key word is short and not during the peak sunburn hours from 10am-2pm. A bit of incidental light during ordinary summer mornings is usually enough to help, and it pairs nicely with the mood and circadian benefits of getting outside early.
Protect well when it counts. When kids are going to be out for a real stretch – the pool, the beach, a long afternoon at the park – sunscreen, hats, shade, and protective clothing are critical – especially between the hours of 10am-2pm. Sunburns, especially blistering ones in childhood, are the exposures we genuinely want to prevent to help reduce our risk of skin cancer. Protecting against those does not undo the small, incidental light your child gets the rest of the time. You can have both: a sun-safe child and a child who still benefits from being outdoors.
Remember that food and supplements fill the gap. Sunlight isn’t the only path to vitamin D, which is reassuring on cloudy stretches or for kids who burn easily and need more diligent protection. Fatty fish like salmon, eggs, and Vitamin D fortified foods (like cow’s milk) all contribute. And for many children – even in summer – a vitamin D supplement remains a reasonable, low-risk way to keep levels steady. This is especially true for kids with darker skin, who naturally make vitamin D more slowly, and for those who are diligently sun-protected. Talk with your pediatrician about whether supplementation makes sense for your child and at what dose.
Don’t forget the rest of the lifestyle picture. Vitamin D doesn’t work in isolation. It functions best alongside the same foundations we come back to again and again: whole foods, movement, good sleep, and a calm nervous system. Getting outside in the morning supports all of these at once – light for the body’s clock, movement for mood and sleep, and a small dose of sun for vitamin D.
Balance is Best
You don’t have to choose between protecting your child’s skin and letting the sun do its good work in helping the skin make Vitamin D. Both can be true in the same summer, often in the same day. A little unhurried morning light, smart skin protection when sun exposure runs long, good food, and a steady supplement when it’s needed.
So let your kids be outside. Let summer be a little sun-kissed and a little sun-safe at the same time. And if you ever find yourself stuck and wondering whether you’re doing it right, reach out to your Zest Pediatrician. That’s exactly the kind of question we’re here to help you think through.
