Sunday, February 28, 2010

Sunshine or Vitamin D Supplements



Vitamin D is in the news these days.

Do we lather on our daily dose of sun screen and risk health challenges in the coming years, or do we exposure ourselves to the sun and risk skin cancer?

We have been through many experiences of experts recommending potentially safe health practices that were found incorrect decades later. Margarine's transfats were thought to be better than butter.

Right now the Vitamin D recommendations are quickly changing. Why?

Vitamin D protects our body and works more like a hormone than a vitamin. We produce some vitamin D when we expose our body to sunlight for about 15-20 minutes on skin that is not usually exposed, say our belly or our back between 10 am and 2 pm. Of course we do not want to overexpose ourselves at high noon. Take in fifteen minutes of sunlight and then cover up or use sunscreen when the sun is high.

However there are a few details we must consider. Many people live in an area where fall, winter or spring sunlight does not provide us with adequate levels of Vitamin D. Also, as we get older we naturally produce less vitamin D. However supplementation or ultraviolet B light can be administered to increase our vitamin D blood serum levels. It is recommended that we test our vitamin D levels to make sure they are at 75 and 150 nmol/L (30–60 ng/mL).

Recently some studies are showing that individuals with cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, chronic kidney disease, may need to be tested and then to increase the vitamin D available in their system. In fact we may all need to be tested and increase our vitamin D levels, especially in the winter.

Please read more about it in the Anti-Cancer Newsletter,

Vitamin D is Essential For the Prevention of Cancer, Heart Disease and Osteoporosis

40 International Scientists & Physicians Call For New Recommendations

and online at the medical research site Medscape: http://search.medscape.com





Recipes to increase Vitamin D

1. Take a half hour walk along the beach, down the road, up the hill, in shorts and a tee shirt,
then almond butter cookies, figs and your favorite homemade herbal lemonade with a pinch of sea salt and honey.

2. Read a book munching on apples with almond butter on your porch in your open shirt.

3. Enjoy tea and a sprouted grain toast smoothered in almond butter with cinnamon in the yard in only your shorts.

4. Join a friend and garden in your favorite old bathing suite and shorts. Enjoy some fruit dipped in freshly made almond butter.




Speaking of Almond Butter

Vitamin D is fat soluble and is stored in fat. Having healthy fats diet will provide you with energy and a place to store your vitamin D. Here is a simple Almond Butter Recipe that can be used as a spread or in recipes for sauces and deserts.

2 cups Organic locally purchased soaked, sprouted, dehydrated almonds
(Of course any organic almonds will do, but the above procedure will increase the
nutrient density of the almonds.)
1/2 cup Organic Coconut Oil
pinch of sea salt

In a food processor, chop the almonds until they are like a flour.
Add the coconut oil, melted if you like, and salt
process until all is smooth.

Some folks like to add sweetener, I personally think the almonds are sweet enough. However if you like it sweet, a pinch of stevia or a teaspoon of honey will add sweetness.

Enjoy!

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