The sunshine vitamin seems to do more than help build strong bones. A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that men with low vitamin D were at a higher risk for heart attacks.
Apparently, other studies also show that low vitamin d is linked with cancers of the breast, ovary, prostate, stomach, bladder, esophagus, kidney and lung. If you don’t get enough vitamin D, you may also be at risk for high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, periodontal disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, macular degeneration, mental illness and chronic pain. (Source: WSJ)
So, if sunshine is so good for us and supplements are cheap and plenty? Why aren’t we getting enough? How do we balance proper sun skin care and getting the Vitamin D that we need?
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My grandfather had skin cancer and severe sensitivity to sun exposure. He lived most of his adult life dealing with that quite well. It was the combination of other conditions and colon cancer that finally got the best of him.
One of my best friends is a skin cancer survivor, and he's rather young-ish (under 50). Like you, he's more concerned about the chemicals in the sunscreens!
What sunscreen do you use?
July 16, 2008 - 4:22pmThis Comment
i spoke with my dermatologist about sun exposure and skin cancer last year. he completely surprised me by saying that skin cancer is the most survivable of all cancers. and that sun screen truly prevents sun damage (i.e. premature aging) and in his opinion the jury is out about whether it prevents skin cancer itself.
i live in the far north, MT, where for 9 months of the year no one gets good sun exposure because we are so bundled up. having struggled with many fibromyalgia like symptoms for years, a naturopath recommended taking a vitamin D supplement. this helped me enormously this winter. my pain was greatly reduced and my winter depression was much milder. i have noticed for years that i always feel much "brighter" and have less pain in the summer months and now i think this may be vitamin D.
this is probably controversial, but i only use sun screen to prevent actual sun burn (which no one wants!). if i'm out in the sun all day, i wear an all natural, no chemical sun screen (i'm more afraid of the chemicals than i am of skin cancer), a big hat and i seek the shade. but for incidental sun exposure, i welcome the sun and let myself tan gradually so that there is less chance i'll burn. to me, this just seems like common sense. maybe i'll have more wrinkles when i'm 50, but reading the label on the conventional, very effective sun screen bottle just scares me. and i know that i'm getting my vitamin D over the summer without supplements.
i'd love to hear other women's opinions about this topic!
July 16, 2008 - 9:00amThis Comment
I think this is the link that gets you to the Jeffrey Dach article.
I tend to agree that we may not be getting enough vitamin D through sun exposure because we're more aware of the dangers of skin cancer and other disorders. I also think that the elevated level of harmful UV rays due to our current environmental challenges are also a factor. Then, there are those of us who already have a predisposition to sun-triggered conditions, like lupus.
July 15, 2008 - 6:12pmThis Comment
John Cannell and Vitamin D
I have noticed that, thanks to the efforts of Dr John Cannell, many mainstream docs in my area have begun to order Vitamin D tests and supplement when found to be low.
Satellite Maps of the Earth
Satellite maps of the earth showing UV Sunlight exposure correlate with serum Vitamin D levels, and the farther north, the lower the Vitamin D, and the higher the incidence of Cancer and Multiple Sclerosis in our population.
These NASA space satellite photos of North America color coded for UV sun exposure can be seen on Dr. Grant's Vitamin D Web Site. Here, you will see a pattern remarkably similar to the incidence of cancer and multiple sclerosis. This is thought to be due to differences in Vitamin D levels. The farther north with less sun exposure and lower Vitamin D levels, there is an increased incidence of cancer and multiple sclerosis.
Diseases Caused by, or Associated With Vitamin D Deficiency:
Again here is the list: Osteoporosis, Hypertension, Cardiovascular disease, Cancer, Depression, Epilepsy, Type One Diabetes, Insulin resistance, Autoimmune Diseases, Migraine Headache, PolyCystic Ovary Disease (PCOS), Musculoskeletal and bone pain, Psoriasis.
Vitamin D deficiency has been reported in 57% of 290 medical inpatients in Massachusetts, 93% of 150 patients with overt musculoskeletal pain in Minnesota, 48% of patients with Multiple Sclerosis, 50% of patients with lupus and fibromyalgia, 42% of healthy adolescents, 40% of African American Women, and 62 % of the morbidly obese, 83% of 360 patients with low back pain in Saudi Arabia, 73% of Austrian patients with Ankylosisng Spondylitis, 58% of Japanese girls with Graves’s Disease, 40% of Chinese adolescent girls, 40-70% of all Finnish medical patients. (the above is from Dr Cannell newsletter)
Low Vitamin D in Florida?
Surprisingly, we have been seeing low vitamin D levels even here in sunny Florida demonstrated by serum 25-OH Vit D blood testing. These people avoid the sun for fear of skin cancer.
To read a synopsis of Dr John Cannell's excellent work...Vitamin D Deficiency by Jeffrey Dach MD
Jeffrey Dach MD
July 15, 2008 - 5:09pm4700 Sheridan Suite T
Hollywood Fl 33021
954-983-1443
http://www.drdach.com
http://www.naturalmedicine101.com
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