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That's a bit of an exaggeration, Vitamin D does not require hours in the sun:

> Recommendations to Obtain Adequate Amount of Vitamin D.

> Sun exposure to the face, arms, hands, and legs without sunscreen for 5 to 30 minutes at least twice a week or more between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm

Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8299926/

Now that's for most people: if you live in Alaska then during the winter maybe you need a litle more or something ... but the point is most people just need a little sun, < 30 minutes twice a week.

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I'll say track and test yourself, since it depends highly on skin tone and weather.

That study also claims 12-20ng/mL 25-hydroxyvitamin D is sufficient. My doctor says the post-COVID studies suggest 75ng/mL is closer to optimal, and <30ng/mL had been considered deficient for about a decade before COVID.

Personally I had no problem hitting 20ng/mL through sunlight alone and I'm pretty fair skinned but live somewhere sunny. But I haven't been able to get anywhere near 75ng/mL even when I've made an effort to increase vitamin D through supplements and exposure to the sun.

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For several months of the year, vitamin D synthesis is near zero in latitudes as low as like 40° or 45°. Boston is 42°.

In Calgary, it's almost half the year that you basically cannot rely on the sun at all for vitamin D.

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