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TUCSON - Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin, because sunlight exposure to skin is the best and only natural source for it. It's known to be essential for bone health, but research shows it's also crucial for fighting all kinds of diseases.

Todd Whitthorne, a health and wellness expert said, "We're finding that when we measure thousands of patients, the vast majority of them are low."

And Dr. Richard Honaker, a family practice physician, sees the same trends, "If you're low on vitamin D, your immune system does not function as well, or you're more susceptible to infections. There's a greater incidence of heart attacks and strokes in people that are vitamin D deficient versus people who are okay on their vitamin D levels."

Low vitamin D levels are linked to chronic pain, fatigue, depression, osteoporosis and more. "We work inside, we live inside, if we go outside, we're taught to wear sunscreen because we want to lower the risk of skin cancer, which makes sense, but a sunscreen of SPF 15 or greater blocks 99 percent of the synthesis of vitamin D," Whitthorne explained.

It turns out darker-skinned people are more at risk: the American Medical Association says nearly all non-Hispanic blacks and most Mexican-Americans have insufficient vitamin D levels. In some cases, doctors are prescribing supplements.

Dr. Honaker said, ""I would recommend that every patient, every person in America get their vitamin D checked, because so many people are low and the ramifications of having low vitamin D are so severe."

Many health groups now recommend adults take 1,000 to 2,000 units of vitamin D daily; that's five to ten times the old recommendation.