(NaturalNews) As the days grow short in winter, your body may be missing
invaluable Vitamin D needed for optimum health and disease prevention, according
to Creighton University researcher Joan Lappe, Ph.D.
During the summer, the body can convert solar energy into ample amounts of
vitamin D with just 10-15 minutes exposure daily to the sun. That`s not possible
during the winter months when the angle of the sun sinks lower into the southern
hemisphere.
Dr. Lappe, who is a professor of medicine and holder of the Criss/Beirne Endowed
Chair in the Creighton School of Nursing, goes on to say that if you live in
North American at latitudes above the 37th parallel you may be getting little or
no Vitamin D at all.
"From October until the end of March, the angle of the sun is such that, in much
of North America, no vitamin D is available from that source," Lappe said. "What
that means is most of us are deficient in vitamin D this time of year." The
amount of vitamin D you should take daily is a subject of great debate, Lappe
notes.
While there may be a great deal of debate about how much vitamin D is needed for
optimum health, there is little debate about how valuable Vitamin D is for human
health. Without Vitamin D there would be no human life. Among a very long list
of benefits associated with Vitamin D are prevention and treatment of :
infections and inflammation, cancer prevention, depression and neurological
disorders, cold and flu, diabetes, osteoporosis and tuberculosis.
Vitamin D is available from several sources besides the sun, although it`s
difficult to take in adequate amounts of vitamin D by eating alone. While you
can get some Vitamin D from the vitamin from food source, primarily fish oil and
fish, taking supplemental Vitamin D may be necessary to get enough of this
valuable vitamin. By far the most effective form of Vitamin D is Vitamin D3, the
form found in nature.
The U.S. government`s recommended daily allowance is 200 IU until age 50, 400 IU
for 50-70 year olds, and 600 IU after age 70. However, many medical experts
believe those recommendations are way too low.
The Canadian Cancer Society recently recommended that people with light skin
take 1,000 IU of the vitamin supplement during fall and winter, while people
with darker skin or limited sun exposure take that amount throughout the year.
The society`s recommendation coincided with the publication of the Creighton
(Cray-ton) research in June. The four-year study involving 1,179 Nebraska women
showed that women taking calcium supplements plus 1,100 IU of vitamin D3 daily,
experienced a 60 percent decrease in their risk of developing cancer than a
placebo group. On the other hand, Dr. John Cannell, of the prestigious Vitamin D
Council, recommends 5000 units of Vitamin D3 daily for optimum health, and many
in the field of natural health agree.
Note: due to concerns about Vitamin A toxicity, a growing number of health
experts, including Dr. Cannell and Dr. Mercola are recommending against cod
liver oil as a source of vitamin D3. Instead they recommend other forms of fish
oil, such as krill oil though concerns about the over-harvesting of krill are
leading many to switch to another potent source of vitamin D3, green-lipped
mussel oil.
Sources for this article included:
The Vitamin D Council
The National Institute of Health
Medical News Today
Doctor Mercola
