Vitamin D And A Little Sun Is Good For Your Heath

What's a patient to do?  For years doctors have warned us to stay out of the sun.  That's because one in five people develops skin cancer, so too much sun is definitely bad.  But, not getting enough sun is bad too.  When we are in the sun, our skins produce vitamin D naturally.  Studies show that vitamin D is more important to our health than even doctors realized.  No doubt, most of us know vitamin D promotes strong bones by helping with the absorption of calcium.  But recent medical studies link a lack of vitamin D in the blood to disease, including diabetes, muscle and bone pain and certain cancers.

Doctors now believe a little exposure to the sun is beneficial. Getting enough vitamin D may reduce your risks for cancers of the breast, colon, esophagus, ovaries, prostate and the lymph system.  It suppresses cancer cell growth, as well as, the formation of blood vessels, which feed tumors.  An adequate dose of vitamin D may also prevent heart attacks, arthritis and multiple sclerosis.  It reduces heart disease by lowering blood pressure.

Sunlight and/or vitamin D also seems to lessen migraines, depression and chronic fatigue, but doctors haven't established what the connection is, and scientific research is ongoing.

According to many doctors, including Drs Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz of the You books, adults need 1,000 IU of vitamin D daily.  You can get some from fortified foods like milk, orange juice and breakfast cereals.  But it's difficult to get all the vitamin D you need from diet alone.  Vitamin D3 supplements help, but some doctors now advise us to expose our bare arms and legs to the sun [i.e. no sunscreen] for 10 to 15 minutes a few times a week and use sun protection the rest of the time.  Your skin will produce 10,000-25,000 IUs (and safely store what it doesn't use).  That's all the sun we need to meet our vitamin D requirements without significantly increasing our risks for skin cancer.

Read more <here> on vitamin D deficiency by Dr. Frank Lipman.  He combines western, eastern and wellness medicine.


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