process

Sunlight

UVB exposure can trigger vitamin D synthesis in uncovered skin.

About Sunlight

Season, time of day, cloud cover, skin pigmentation, age, and other factors change UVB exposure and synthesis. Those variables make a single safe exposure target unreliable.

Where does vitamin D come from—and where does it go?

Related topics

  • Sunlight helps skin make vitamin D.

    UVB radiation can convert a compound in uncovered skin into previtamin D3, which then becomes vitamin D3.

References

Source-checked local draft.
Human editorial review pending.

  1. NIH Office of Dietary SupplementsVitamin D: Fact Sheet for Health ProfessionalsChecked 2026-09-05