Vitamin D!
Most adults are simply not getting enough vitamin D for good health. During
the winter months, people don't spend enough time in the sun to get optimal exposure,
particularly in northern latitudes. In addition, the use of sunscreen blocks
vitamin D absorption so that in the summer months, people still may not get enough
for optimum health. Vitamin D has been linked to bone health, and shown to prevent
a variety of illnesses.
 Dr. Andrew Weill was told by Harvard Medical School
Professor Dr. Walter Willett that studies have shown
that an intake of 400 IU of vitamin D per day has
no impact on the risk of fractures, but that 700
to 800 IU per day, with or without calcium supplements,
does seem to reduce fracture incidence. He noted
that some evidence further suggests that a higher
intake of vitamin D may reduce the risk of prostate
cancer, colon cancer, other malignancies, and multiple
sclerosis.
Research published in the January 2003 issue of
the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed
that 1,700 IU was needed to bring blood levels of
vitamin D to optimal levels during winter months
in Nebraska (most multi-vitamins contain no more
than 400IU).
There is also mounting evidence that the reason
that winter is known as “flu season” is
because Vitamin D levels in our body plummet. Our
body is capable of storing Vitamin D, but after many
days without sunshine, our bodies use up any vitamin
D that has been stored. “After vitamin D
levels bottom out during the darkest days of the
cold and flu season, vitamin D levels rise again
in the spring and the incidence of colds and flu
steadily decrease until they virtually disappear
during the vitamin D rich summer,” states
the Vitamin D Council.
According to Dr. Michael Holick, Professor of Medicine
at Boston University Medical Center, “we have
a severe unrecognized epidemic of Vitamin D deficient
patients…There is a mountain of well conducted,
validated science that demonstrates that the production
of the activated form of Vitamin D is one of the
most effective ways the body controls abnormal cell
growth”.
Wearing shorts and a t-shirt outdoors in the summer
for 15 minutes can generate between 10,000 and 20,000
IU of vitamin D per day. And there is ample evidence
that supplementing your diet with 1,000 IU of vitamin
D will not cause any ill effects. Many experts are
beginning to recommend increasing your intake to
1,000 IU for the reasons stated above.
There are many vitamin companies that sell vegetarian
Vitamin D supplements. Vegetarianvitamin.com offers
a good selection of vegetarian vitamins.
Excerpts from this article came from:
+ Dr
Weill
+ Vitamin
D Council
+ The Stanford Inn by
the Sea & Spa Holiday Newsletter
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