Stop Avoiding Sun
I'm not suggesting that you bake, but a half-hour of sun between 10 and 3 will boost vitamin D, which is really a hormone. Vitamin D protects against many forms of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and multiple sclerosis. I have my own theory on how it does this. Since vitamin D must help the immune system (interesting that vitamin D deficiency in December coincides with "flu" season), it may prevent infections. People with 2 simultaneous infections, especially those that involve the sinuses, appear to have a much greater rate of MS. Also, relapse rate of MS symptoms is 33% in MS patients following an infection.
Even Medscape has an article about the studies that suggest that sunshine exposure in childhood appears to reduce the risk of multiple sclerosis by 60%! You can read the article if you register--it's free.
Canada has taken a national initiative to supplement vitamin D because their latitude is so far north that no one can be expected to make enough vitamin D there from just sun exposure.
Vitamin D is now the leading vitamin deficiency in Canada, the U.S., and Great Britain. If you have a dark complexion, you are at even higher risk for vitamin D deficiency. I believe that this is a factor in the health disparity between American blacks and whites, especially as it relates to diabetes.
For those of you who think you're getting all the vitamin D you need in your milk, but are drinking skim milk--think again. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin.
I'm waiting to hear that the cholesterol lowering drugs affect vitamin D production. Cholesterol is the substance in the skin that undergoes conversion to vitamin D following sun exposure. By the way, in one experiment, 97% of subjects experienced a 13% decrease in serum cholesterol two hours after exposure to ultraviolet light, and 86% maintained the drop in cholesterol 24 hours later (Circulation. 1953. 8. 438).
Svroll down to the links for great discussions of Vitamin D (actually a hormone) benefits.
| Vitamins A & D, Cod Liver Oil-Clarifications-by Sally Fallon, Mary Enig, PhD http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrition/clarifications.html |
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Weston A. Price Foundation-The Miracle of Vitamin D-by Krispin Sullivan, CNhttp://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrition/vitamindmiracle.html |
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