This concerns much more than KPD's. What if I told you I could reduce your risk of colon cancer by 60% and your chance of heart attack by 30%? What if I threw into the mix, just for the heck of it, reductions in insulin resistance, improved beta cell function and defense against osteoporosis? I bet you would start to like me even though you know that whatever I'm going to tell you will probably involve 40 miles of bad road. What if I told you that you didn't have to do anything but take a pill, once a day? Guess what, it's all true and the little genie that's going to pull this off "Vitamin D". Hey, I can feel the love already.
First you need to look at this chart. Vitamin D incidence prevention
What you see are some of the problems that Vitamin D is involved in.You also see the level that's needed in your body to get these effects. The level needed is 60. Now the bad part, if you are like most people you are probably around 25. Here's the problem, you get Vit D from the sun and most of us don't get enough good sunlight to get a healthy dosage. The fact is that is we live in a temperate zone on the planet, the angle of the sun striking our skin does not allow us to get enough Vit D. If you're dark skinned, you are seriously screwed.
I live in Michigan and it is known that if you live above Atlanta, Georgia there is no way to get enough sunshine in the winter months. Fair skin helps here. Sunlight hitting fair skin rapidly creates Vit D. Fair skin is a necessity in the north or south temperate regions. This is because the colder temps force people to cover up to preserve body temperature. This means the sun has less surface on which Vit D can be created. Being pale is an advantage here. Being dark, however, means that you will almost never get the needed Vit D, if you live in a cold climate.
This isn't a problem. You can go out and buy Vitamin D at your local drug store and make sure it's Vitamin D3 and not D2. Get the 2000 IU version, take two little pills a day and you should at least get up to 30 or 40. If you're, like me, dark skinned then taking 4 pills a day would get you up to 70 or 80. Who knows, this could change your luck.
Mike
PS If you continue to eat wheat, you might need a lot more since wheat, for whatever reason, tends to be antagonistic to Vitamin D.
First you need to look at this chart. Vitamin D incidence prevention
What you see are some of the problems that Vitamin D is involved in.You also see the level that's needed in your body to get these effects. The level needed is 60. Now the bad part, if you are like most people you are probably around 25. Here's the problem, you get Vit D from the sun and most of us don't get enough good sunlight to get a healthy dosage. The fact is that is we live in a temperate zone on the planet, the angle of the sun striking our skin does not allow us to get enough Vit D. If you're dark skinned, you are seriously screwed.
I live in Michigan and it is known that if you live above Atlanta, Georgia there is no way to get enough sunshine in the winter months. Fair skin helps here. Sunlight hitting fair skin rapidly creates Vit D. Fair skin is a necessity in the north or south temperate regions. This is because the colder temps force people to cover up to preserve body temperature. This means the sun has less surface on which Vit D can be created. Being pale is an advantage here. Being dark, however, means that you will almost never get the needed Vit D, if you live in a cold climate.
This isn't a problem. You can go out and buy Vitamin D at your local drug store and make sure it's Vitamin D3 and not D2. Get the 2000 IU version, take two little pills a day and you should at least get up to 30 or 40. If you're, like me, dark skinned then taking 4 pills a day would get you up to 70 or 80. Who knows, this could change your luck.
Mike
PS If you continue to eat wheat, you might need a lot more since wheat, for whatever reason, tends to be antagonistic to Vitamin D.
Posts
The evidence for the benefits from vitamin D is nothing short of astonishing and keeps coming in. From helping to ward off cancer to possibly curing the common cold to preventing influenza and other positive findings, the sunshine vitamin has a bright future indeed. When you throw in that because of poor diet and a modern lifestyle which decreases exposure to sunshine average vitamin D levels are likely lower than in the past, it is not a stretch to speculate that very many of the diseases of modern society may be directly related to or partially influenced by a deficiency of this lion of a vitamin. There is a little bit of an intro to the topic here,
ReplyDeletehttp://healthjournalclub.blogspot.com/2009/11/introduction-to-vitamin-d-part-i.html
and here
http://healthjournalclub.blogspot.com/2009/12/dr-cannell-interview-on-vitamin-d.html
if anyone is interested. Also the web abounds with resources on the topic. Oh yes don't forget help with heart disease, obesity, asthma and bone health
So get out and enjoy the sun on your face this Spring. Won't even cost your a dime.
What got me to thinking about Vitamin D was the high levels of KPD in people of dark skin. Darker skin obviously hinders the manufacture of Vitamin D from sunlight. The Finnish studies prove without a doubt that Vit D is implicated in diabetes so I think there is a connection but where it is eludes me.
ReplyDeleteexcellent post
ReplyDelete