Friday, May 1, 2009

Vitamin D

vitamin-d
This important vitamin is often over-looked. It's actually not a vitamin though, it's like or hormone regulator or something. And how many genes in your body does it regulate? 2,000 out of 30,000 is how many.

Sure, it's only 2,000, which may or may not seem like a lot to you. But it doesn't take a whole lot of mutated genes to cause cancer or a mutation or something.

Think back about 300 years when your ancestors probably spent tons of time in the sun, gardening, playing, or whatever. Were people always getting skin cancer back then? No.

I recently saw this graph about how much skin cancer/melanoma had risen in the past 30 years. The rates have tripled for men, and doubled for women. I found that information on a sunscreen company's website. If you think about it, have we been getting more sun over the past 30 years than our ancestors? Have we been putting on less sunscreen? The answer for both is no. We have been getting a lot less sun and slathering on chemicals that are supposed to protect us, but really only protect us from absorbing vitamin D. Not only are most sunscreens full of chemicals, they also keep block the vitamin D that your skin needs.

So get out in the sun. I know this is really hard to do, so you can also supplement your vitamin D. Get D3, not D2. D2 is artificial and produced by plants. D3 is more like the kind your body produces.

Supplementing

Right now, I take about 2,000 IU's a day. Some people need more, some need less, I take more on the low side, just to be safe. You can get your levels tested, but that means pricking your finger, which I don't want to do in the near future. You can also use your own health as a guide. However much makes you feel the best is the right level for you.

Exposure to Sunlight

Or you can go out in the sun. About twenty minutes (with a lot of skin exposed) lets you absorb 20,000 IU's. Once you have enough, your body will stop absorbing it. This is the safest way.

Do not get sunburned though, because that is not healthy.

Something else to keep in mind is that the darker your skin, the more sun you'll need. Also, if you are older, than your body absorbs less. And a general rule is that if your shadow is longer than you, then you are probably not absorbing (at least very much) vitamin D.

So start keeping tabs on how much sun you get, and don't be like how I was, a shade-seeking, sunscreen-slathering freak!

Symptoms

This is Dr. Mercola's (I love is newsletters!) of things that are at least partially a result of a vitamin D deficiency:

Cancer, Hypertension, Heart disease, Autism, Obesity, Rheumatoid arthritis, Diabetes 1 and 2, Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, Cold & Flu, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Tuberculosis, Septicemia, Signs of aging, Dementia, Eczema & Psoriasis, Insomnia, Hearing loss, Muscle pain, Cavities, Periodontal disease, Osteoporosis, Macular degeneration, Reduced C-section risk, Pre eclampsia, Seizures, Infertility, Asthma, Cystic fibrosis, Migraines, Depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and Schizophrenia

FIGHT BACK FRIDAY'S!
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