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.
[Via Healthy Child, Healthy World blog]
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