Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Defending Against Disease – With Vitamin D

Finally, a good thing for being a fair-complexioned white.

It's long been known that D is crucial for strong bones. But new research suggests that it also protects against a wide variety of diseases. A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine last month found that men with low D had a higher risk for heart attacks. Other studies have linked low D with cancer of the breast, ovary, prostate, stomach, bladder, esophagus, kidney and lung. Low levels of D also have been associated with high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, periodontal disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, macular degeneration, mental illness and chronic pain.

Milk is fortified with Vitamin D. Cow's milk sold in markets in cardboard packages.

The strongest source, by far, is ultraviolet B rays from the sun, which convert a form of cholesterol into vitamin D in the skin. A person sitting outside in a bathing suit in New York City gets more vitamin D in 20 minutes than from drinking 200 glasses of milk.

Good old, fee, sunlight is significantly more effective than cow's milk, then.

Dark-skinned and elderly people don't process vitamin D from the sun as efficiently as younger, fair-skinned people. UVB rays also don't penetrate glass or sunscreen with a factor of 8 or more.

I know I burn under the sun; now I maybe should think of it as overdosing on Vitamin D<

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