Vitamin D for “Dynomite”

photo by Pink Sherbet Photography

As you are enjoying this holiday season, hopefully, you get to go outside. In addition to getting some exercise, relaxation and pure enjoyment from a walk, Aundrea Tucker, our favorite holistic health counselor, is sharing a great health benefit of being outdoors --- getting your body enriched with Vitamin D.

As we get well into winter it’s vitally important that we make concerted efforts to get the Vitamin D we so desperately need. Collectively we have a Vitamin D deficiency epidemic across a variety of U.S. populations. Just take a look at these statistics:

o 32% of doctors and medical school students are vitamin-D deficient.
o 40% of the U.S. population is vitamin-D deficient.
o 42% of African American women of childbearing age are vitamin-D deficient.
o 48% of young girls (9-11 years old) are vitamin-D deficient.
o Up to 60% of all hospital patients are vitamin-D deficient.
o 76% of pregnant mothers are severely vitamin-D deficient, causing widespread vitamin-D deficiencies in their unborn children.
o Up to 80% of nursing home patients are vitamin-D deficient.

1. Vitamin D prevents osteoporosis, depression, prostate cancer and breast cancer, and even effects diabetes and obesity. Vitamin D is perhaps the single most underrated nutrient in the world of nutrition. That’s probably because it’s free; your body makes it when sunlight touches your skin. Truth is, most people don’t know the real story on vitamin D and health.


2. Vitamin D is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from natural sunlight.


3. The healing rays of natural sunlight that generate vitamin D in your skin cannot penetrate glass. So you don’t generate vitamin D when sitting in your car or home.


4. It is nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from your diet. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate vitamin D in your own body.


5. A person would have to drink 10 tall glasses of vitamin D fortified milk each day just to get minimum levels of vitamin D into their diet.


6. The farther you live from the equator, the longer the exposure you need to the sun in order to generate vitamin D. Canada, the UK and most US states are far from the equator.


7. People with dark skin pigmentation may need 20 to 30 times as much exposure to sunlight as fair-skinned people to generate the same amount of vitamin D. This is why prostate cancer is epidemic among black men—it is a simple but widespread sunlight deficiency.


8. Sufficient levels of vitamin D are crucial for calcium absorption in your intestines. Without sufficient vitamin D, your body cannot absorb calcium, rendering calcium supplements useless.


9. Chronic vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed overnight; it takes months of vitamin D supplementation and sunlight exposure to rebuild the body’s bones and nervous system.


10. Even weak sunscreens (SPF 8) block your body’s ability to generate vitamin D by 95%. Sunscreen products can actually cause disease by creating a critical vitamin deficiency in the body.


11. It is impossible to generate too much vitamin D in your body from sunlight exposure: your body will self-regulate and only generate what it needs.


12. If it hurts to press firmly on your sternum, you may be suffering from chronic vitamin D deficiency right now.


13. Vitamin D is activated in your body by your kidneys and liver before it can be used.


14. Having kidney disease or liver damage can greatly impair your body’s ability to activate circulating vitamin D.


15. Even though vitamin D is one of the most powerful healing chemicals in your body, your body makes it absolutely free. No prescription required.

So how do you know if you have a deficiency? See your doctor and get your level tested through a blood panel.

How do you get Vitamin D? Hit the great outdoors, but be smart about your sunlight exposure. Time it right: If you have a fair complexion, you’ll need just 5 to 10 minutes of sunshine on your arms, legs, or back—without sunscreen (yes, it shuts down the production of D)—between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. three days a week, Dr. Lee says. Women who have medium skin tones may need 15 to 20 minutes’ exposure, and darker-skinned women may need up to 30 minutes’ worth. And remember: Do use a sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher on your face and wear a wide-brimmed hat, especially if you’re going to be outside for any length of time.

(Information derived from “The Healing Power of Sunlight and Vitamin D: An Exclusive Interview with Dr. Michael Holick,” by Mike Adams)