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Vitamin-D
Vitamin-D
Part of the family of fat soluble vitamins, this vitamin is often found in food items like other vitamins.
However, what's unique is the fact that it can also be gotten from adequate exposure to ultraviolet rays of the sun.
It seems that sunshine is a great source of vitamin -D in the body not because it actually provides vitamin -D but it hastens the synthesis of vitamin -D in the skin.
An exposure of about 10 to 15 minutes under the sun is more than enough to produce this vitamin.
One must remember though that several factors can affect the amount that you'll get from the sun.
The season, the time of the day, even the geographic location can affect the levels.
Smog, cloud formation and even the sunscreen that you use may also lessen the amounts that you can provide.
For instance, less of the vitamin can be absorbed by the body when the season is cold.
Cloud formations can lessen the amount by as much as 60 percent while the sunscreens with sun protection factor of about 8 or greater can block the UV rays that actually aid in the production in the skin.
Still, because of the threat of skin cancer through excessive sun exposure, it is important that one also use sunscreen all the time.
There are actually different forms and each has a different level of activity.
For instance, calciferol, one of its forms, is the most active.
Active forms can serve as hormones as it sends messages to intestines, helping in the faster absorption of calcium and phosphorus.
For inactive forms of the vitamin that are produced in the skin or gotten from the foods that we eat, the liver and the kidney aid in the conversion to the active form called 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D.
This is the physiologically active.
Basically, the main function is to make sure that the levels of both calcium and phosphorus in blood remains normal.
It's also necessary in the absorption of calcium.
This is essential in the formation and maintenance of strong teeth and bones through mineralization.
This is especially with children who are still in the development stage or the elderly who need to maintain strong skeletal support.
Studies have shown that the lack of vitamin-D can actually lead to misshapen and brittle bones.
This is also the reason why a deficiency of the vitamin can result to conditions called rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.
Both these condition are characterized by weakening of the bones.
In addition, it's also important in terms of being a support vitamin to other vitamins and minerals, helping in the faster absorption.
It is also found to help in keeping the immune system in peak shape as well as regulate cell renewal and growth.
Vitamin -D, as mentioned before, can be consumed through food items.
Among the good sources are cod-liver oil, margarines and shortenings.
Eggs and other milk products are also rich sources of the vitamin.
Because rickets had become a nationwide health problem in the United States way back in the 1930s, food and milk were fortified with it in an effort to eliminate the problem in the next generations.
This is perhaps the reason why most foods in the country have adequate levels of the vitamin.
In fact, about 98 to 99 percent of the milk being sold to American consumers have about 10 micrograms of the vitamin.
This is equivalent to about 400 international units (IU).
Vitamin-D ~ Update
After over 20 Years of Deceit, New Evidence that Dermatologists and Sunscreen Makers Are Making Us All Disease Magnets.
Bad, but widely accepted advice just might be killing you slowly, if you buy into what they say about the dangers of our native sun.
They want you to avoid sunshine... slather on chemical sunscreen if you go outside... stay indoors during peak sun hours... wear long-sleeved shirts and sunglasses even when it's not sunny... and strive to cut your sun exposure to none.
Abide by these instructions and it could spell disaster for your health. By following their "no safe level of sun exposure" rule, you'll put yourself at higher risk for deadly cancers, heart disease and more.
It's time to set the record straight. Real science supports more, not less, sun exposure. If you know how to safely take advantage of the sun, you'll live a happier, longer life for it. You'll see how to enjoy the warm, golden, mood-lifting rays of the sun once again.
The True Crisis is a Deficiency of Vitamin-D
When the sun's rays strike your skin, an amazing hormonal reaction begins.
Your skin absorbs the light and uses it to make vitamin D3. Think of it as the human version of photosynthesis.
Next your liver and kidneys metabolize the vitamin D3 into an active hormone called 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3.
It's quite a mouthful, but this substance plays an important role in almost every system of your body. For example:
• Vitamin-D helps build healthy bones.
Vitamin-D deficiencies contribute to osteoporosis, other bone-weakening conditions, and unhealthy teeth.
• Vitamin-D helps keep the immune system tuned.
Vitamin-D deficiencies promote a number of painful autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
• Vitamin-D helps keep your circulatory system healthy. People with heart disease commonly have a vitamin-D deficiency.
• Vitamin-D helps keep cells healthy.
There's a link between higher rates of several deadly cancers and vitamin-D deficiency.
Sunlight is the best source of vitamin-D available.
Because of the dire warning about the sun, many doctors recommend you avoid sunlight.
This well-meant advice about sun-avoidance is creating an epidemic of vitamin- D deficiency.
Twenty percent of children and adults up to age 50 don't get enough vitamin-D every day.
After fifty, deficiencies affect as much as 95% of the population.
Let the Evidence Shine... You Need More Vitamin-D
Many studies show that vitamin-D provides a myriad of specific health benefits like: • Research reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition correlated widespread vitamin- D deficiency with osteoporosis, increased cancer risks, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and diabetes.
Increased, but safe, sun exposure is a way to counteract vitamin-D deficiency. • Studies show that vitamin-D reduces the risks of colon cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancer.
Your risk of mortality from each of these deadly cancers falls as your vitamin-D levels rise. • More research shows that adequate vitamin- D levels help to control blood pressure levels in patients with high blood pressure.
It also helps control blood glucose levels in patients with adult-onset diabetes.
The most natural and effective way to get adequate vitamin-D levels is from sunshine. You want to be sure you get enough sunlight, that you get safe sun exposure, and that you know how to give your vitamin D levels a boost when sun exposure isn't enough.
Sunshine: Get What You Need to Prevent Deadly Disease
The big concern most people have about sun exposure is skin cancer.
The vast majority of skin cancers are basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas.
Both of these cancers need attention and you want to avoid them, but they are not deadly cancers.
The third type of skin cancer-melanoma, is very serious and can be deadly. However, safe sun exposure can help protect you against this skin cancer.
Research shows that people who get regular sun exposure as part of their jobs are less likely to get melanoma skin cancer than people who work inside all the time.
So, let's give the rules of safe sun exposure to you in three basic steps.
1. Expose as much of your skin as possible.
A swimsuit is perfect.
And go without sunglasses.
2. Depending on your pigmentation, go out in the sun for at least 10 to 20 minutes, two or three times a week.
If you are fair-skinned, your body can make enough in just minutes.
If you have darker skin or a deep tan, it will take longer for you to get the amount you need. 3. Do not allow your skin to burn.
This is very important.
A sunburn will damage your skin, can contribute to all three types of skin cancer and cause aging changes in your skin.
You want to get your dose safely...that means getting out of the sun or putting on protective clothing before you burn.
If you live in the southern states, then this is all you need to know to keep your vitamin-D levels high year round.
However, if you live anywhere north of Georgia, then you need to give your body a vitamin-D boost in the winter months.
The low angle of the sun during those months prevents the vitamin-D synthesis that your body needs.
How to Get Your Vitamin D in the Winter
Between late fall and early spring, if you live in a northern state, there just isn't enough UV light reaching you to make adequate vitamin-D.
The government recommended amount of vitamin- D every day is 400 IU.
Yet research shows that your body will use 3000 IU in a day, as long as it is the natural form of vitamin- D, cholecalciferol. When you choose a supplement, avoid the man-made form of vitamin D, ergocalciferol.
Short of sunshine, the best natural source of vitamin- D is cod liver oil.
A single tablespoon of cod liver oil contains 1360 IU.
In the table below, you can see other sources of natural D and how they match up to cod liver oil.
Food Source....................Amount................Vitamin-D
Cod Liver Oil..................1 tablespoon...............1360 IU
Sardines (canned)............3.5 ounces.................270 IU
Salmon (cooked)..............3.5 ounces.................360 IU
Tuna (canned).................3 ounces..................200 IU
Egg (yolk)........................1 egg.......................25 IU
Beef Liver (cooked)..........3.5 ounces..................15 IU
Swiss Cheese..................1 ounce......................12 IU
Make cod liver oil a part of your daily supplement routine each and every winter and make safe sun exposure a habit all year round.
Make sure you get a brand that is free of mercury and PCB's.
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