Same Thing...Again!!!

Have you ever purchased a new car and suddenly the same kind of car was everywhere? Well, that’s how I feel about Vitamin D. Every time I turn on the TV or read something on-line or in a book, Vitamin D is being discussed again. It’s been like this since my Dr. asked to have my Vitamin D levels checked last summer.

So, to reiterate, research has shown that most people, in the US, have very low levels of Vitamin D. It is felt that our lifestyle is a contributing factor, ie., we work indoors and wear sunscreen when we are outdoors, and a great many of us live too far north to even get any help from the sun for the majority of the year. Low levels of Vitamin D are associated with more cancer, heart disease, pain, osteoporosis, viral infections, and diabetes, to name just a few maladies. The research suggests, that with optimal levels of Vitamin D, our bodies utilize our nutrients more effectively, and our immune system operates at a higher level.

There is a move afoot to raise the RDA of supplemental Vitamin D. Canada has already done this. The new suggestion is 400 IU for children daily and 1,000 IU daily for adults, Minimum! When a person is shirtless out in the sun during the summer months, their bodies produce 10,000 to 20,000 IU a day, with no adverse affect. I purchase my supplemental Vitamin D on-line at www.iherb.com or at www.swansonvitamins.com. It is very inexpensive and well worth the effort, which is minimal. My suggestion, for children, would be to make sure that they are getting 400 IU in their multivitamin. Also, serve cold water fish, like salmon, and make sure that their grains and dairy have Vitamin D. Even if you, as a parent don’t give your children a daily vitamin, you might want to rethink this, if only to get Vitamin D. The suggestion is one should have fewer colds when getting optimal levels of vitamin D, due to it's anti-viral properties. Then again, you might not notice any difference. However, when your child is 40 and hasn’t contracted any life threatening diseases, they may thank you for giving them a little extra Vitamin D.

A few years back I read an article that was talking about skin cancer and what might be the reasons that it is so prevalent now and wasn’t in years past. Why now and not then? What has changed? They discussed diet as a possibility, specifically the amount of sugar and toxins that the average person ingests now as compared to then. Hmmm? Just a thought.

Anyway, you know I’m all about natural and supplements and personal responsibility, when it comes to health. These suggestions for Vitamin D supplementation make sense to me and we (I and MDH) have upped our Vitamin D intake.

As always, these are just my thoughts and musings. I'm just presenting my interpretation of things that I read.

Healthy Days to You, Your Smiling Maven