Find your next home with Luxist's "Estate of the Day"

This or That?

CFLs or LEDs?

Read More

Vitamin D, the "sunshine vitamin"

We've all been inundated with information about protecting ourselves from the damage of the sun's rays, and the importance of using sunblock (make it safe one!), but are we going overboard?

A recent Washington Post article outlined the current debate over Vitamin D guidelines, otherwise known as the "sunshine vitamin." Studies have shown that low levels of vitamin D make men more likely to have heart attacks, breast and colon cancer victims less likely to live, and children more likely to develop diabetes, as well as increasing the risk of dying prematurely from any cause. Vitamin D deficiency may be common, with up to half of adults and children getting inadequate levels. The question is, how do we raise Vitamin D levels?

Experts say it is too early to start popping large amounts of vitamin D supplements. According to Dr. Vieth at the University of Toronto, physicians should test patients for vitamin D deficiency, and more people, especially African Americans, should take supplements and increase their sun exposure.

With people spending so much time indoors and using sunblock when they are outside, the vitamin D that people create in their bodies has been falling. Dr. Michael F. Holick, at Boston University, recommends that people take 1,000 international units a day of Vitamin D along with a multivitamin with 400 i.u. and that people expose their arms and legs to the sun for about 15 minutes several times a week.

For more about the benefits of sunshine, see this Healthy Child, Healthy World article.

[Via Healthy Child, Healthy World blog]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Green Daily Video

Green Daily Series

Tip of the Day

Resist the stacks of napkins given from fast-food joints and eateries.

Celebrity and Entertainment
Celebrities (715)
Movies, TV and Books (343)
News and Politics
Activism (640)
Climate Change (582)
News (1494)
Plants and Wildlife (396)
Polit-eco (579)
Home, Health and Fashion
Fashion (487)
Fitness (117)
Food (991)
Health (634)
Home (1527)
Kids and Parenting (442)
Natural Body Care (205)
Gadgets, Tech and Transportation
Alternative Energy (651)
Cars and Transportation (818)
Gadgets and Tech (585)
Travel and Vacation (219)
Tips and Advice
Green on Campus (74)
Reference/Green 101 (93)
Shopping Guide (495)
This or That (58)
Tip of the Day (288)
Tips (439)

Green Daily bloggers (30 days)

#BloggerPostsCmts
1Cat Lincoln220
2Josh Loposer210
3Kristen Seymour10

Most Commented On (7 days)

Sites We Love