to have Courage....In Family Life, In Spirituality, In Health, In Living Simply

I'm on a journey...... as we all are. Learning, remembering, re-discovering about health, spirituality, relationships, emotions and the mind.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Vitamin D for All

You must have heard by now, over and over and over that many of us are deficient in Vitamin D.
There is a reason so many people are talking about it, and trying to inform us of how best to acquire the needed Vitamin D.  Our health depends on it.

The studies are showing over and over that many (if not most) of our dis-eases are caused from a lack or deficiency of this vitamin.  So you need to take note and follow with some action to make sure that you aren't one of the deficient ones, setting yourself up for dis-ease.

Here's some articles to read to inform yourself, if you haven't already done that.
Epidemic of Vitamin D Deficiency Sweeping the World
'Epidemic' of Vitamin D Deficiency
Demand Soars for Vitamin D

Some say that too much of the information about Vitamin D is circumstantial rather than scientific.  Believe what you will.  (You will anyways, regardless of what I have to say.)

But I believe that there truly is a link between sun exposure and our health.  Plenty of doctors, like Thomas Lodi know beyond a shadow of doubt that cancer rates along with other dis-eases increase for populations that live north & south of the Tropics of Cancer & Capricorn, respectively.

One study found that sunlight exposure lowered the risk of breast cancer by 30 to 40 percent. Dr. Robert Arnot in his The Breast Cancer Prevention Diet,  claims that national rates of breast cancer occurs at a much higher rate in colder, cloudier northern regions than in sunnier southern regions.

There was a ten-year epidemiological study done at Johns Hopkins University Medical School that showed that exposure to full-spectrum light is positively related to the prevention of breast, colon and rectal cancers.

In our culture today we tend to spend the vast majority of our time 24/7 in buildings or vehicles where we lack fresh air and sunshine.  The farther we live away from the equator, the more we hide inside, or when we do go outside we have more skin covered because of the colder temperatures.  The rays of the sun are weaker at these latitudes also, which would require us to spend even more time exposed to the sun to acquire the same benefits as those near the equator.

Don't think that I am suggesting long periods of time spent with unprotected sun exposure.  We must practice common sense (which isn't common any more).  But if we learn to listen to our bodies, and live productive lives we won't be laying exposed on a beach for 4 hrs near the equator at high noon, sweating away trying to get a good tan (with or without suntan lotion)  That is not a 'normal' thing to be doing.  Besides the topic of immodesty, it is unproductive and lazy.

I am sure that living here in Canada, my family members do not get enough vitamin D from the sun, which is obviously the best natural source.  Although many of us spend long hours playing and working outside during the summertime,  the warmer months where arms and legs are exposed just don't amount to very much out of 12 months.

So, what's the solution?  There are a couple of suggestions, each requiring your own diligent research to find out what works best for you and your family situation.  Some natural sources of vitamin D include salmon, tuna, fish oils and vitamin D supplements.There is liquid Vitamin drops (make sure its Vitamin D3), and now there are even nano-sprays.  There are sun-beds you can use at a day spa, or even those you can set up in your own home.

2 comments:

  1. We live in Arizona where the sun shines almost every day of the year...so, needless to say, we get hefty doses of Vitamin D (perhaps too much of it!). :)

    stephanie@metropolitanmama.net

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  2. Good for you, one of those priviledged ones to live where the sun shines! However, lots of ppl who live where the sun shines lots still don't get enough of it because they stay in buildings, or cover themselves up too much, or always use suntan lotion which blocks out those beneficial rays.
    Our family spent the winter of 2008/9 in Maricopa,AZ and LOVED the sunshine and daily walks. We sooo want to move to the sunshine somewhere.

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