Asked by: Steven Collins, by E-mail
You don’t absorb vitamin D from the Sun, your skin synthesises it in response to sunlight. It’s the UVB portion of the ultra-violet spectrum that’s needed.
This wavelength range is effectively blocked by glass so you can become deficient in vitamin D if you don’t go out and don’t eat enough oily fish or dairy products to compensate.
Read more:
Subscribe to BBC Focus magazine for fascinating new Q&As every month and follow @sciencefocusQA on Twitter for your daily dose of fun science facts.