You Are My Sunshine (in a vitamin)
February 14th, 2010 at 02:42pm Under Food & Nutrition+ Womens' Health
Florida calls itself the Sunshine State … California also falls into that category (usually). Washington state … well, not so much. Even if it’s not pouring rain, we have plenty of “gray days” during our winters. Its liquid sunshine not withstanding, I do love the Pacific Northwest with its clean air and water, evergreen trees, and snow-covered mountains. We enjoy mild summers with (surprise!) plenty of sunshine and temps that seldom top 80 degrees, at least here in western Washington … hot enough to grow a healthy crop of tomatoes without causing me to keel over from heat stroke. But winters? You must be kidding. Seriously.
One of the ways to get vitamin D is through our skin via sunshine … about 15 minutes daily … but given the winters up here I can either 1) scurry to the deserts of California or Arizona for three months, or 2) get it through food sources and nutritional supplements..
Despite expensive advertising campaigns, the amount of vitamin D in breakfast cereals is minimal at best … don’t rely on them as a source unless you want to eat the equivalent of a box of cereal a day. Salmon is king up here in the Pacific Northwest, but I must confess I don’t care for salmon (or mackerel, or sardines), so I get my vitamin D from high-quality Omega-3 fish oil capsules or other supplements containing vitamin D.
For my money, supplements are a good and consistent source … vitamin D can be found in prenatal vitamins, multivitamins, and some calcium-combined supplements. Be sure to choose a high quality supplement for best absorption, and select those that contain vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). It has been shown that vitamin D2 is 25 percent less effective than D3.
Growing research has raised strong doubts about currently recommended levels. Based on a number of studies, levels once considered adequate to prevent bone problems such as rickets in children are not enough to counter the list of serious ailments now linked to low D levels in adults. Inadequate vitamin D has even been linked to heart disease and cancer. A team of nutrition experts noted in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that doubling the intake of vitamin D from the government-recommended dose (400 I.U.) to 800 I.U. greatly reduced fracture risk, even without the addition of calcium. These findings seem especially important with regards to post-menopausal women concerned about osteoporosis.
We’re not talking only about women and children … men need it, too. And for those who aspire to be a jock, take your vitamin D and you’ll not only have better bone density but create more muscle mass. Other studies have shown it to be a factor in reducing the incidences of MS and diabetes. In addition to the benefits of bone protection for humans, vitamin D has also been demonstrated to strikingly reduce tumor growth in animals.
So to all you who live in sunny climes, get out there in the warm sunshine and soak up your vitamin D. I’ll just continue taking my supplements and dream of California.
Yours in health …
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