Vitamin D is Another Reason To Change Our Lives

For the past year, more news coverage has been given to Vitamin D than in years past. And with good reason.

For years, I've been saying the advent of sunscreen was going to be our largest downfall, creating a D deficiency and osteoporosis at a scale never before known. Unfortunately, I'm right. Between the sunscreen actually working, causing us to not be exposed to the UV rays we need to live, and the chemicals being smeared on our largest organ causing an unknown affect on our health, we've created a large host of problems. Compounding the issue is our culture of sedentary indoor living.

Humans, and animals in general, are not designed to be in such an isolated environment. Add that we've expanded our territory far beyond the med latitudes that we were designed to live in, we are at a great disadvantage to survive and thrive. So what do we do? We go further north (or south, depending on which side of the Equator you're on), create shelters to protect us from the cold, only to live in them during the milder months. We cover ourselves year-round with clothes and then smear our bodies with chemicals to hide from the sun even more.

Does anyone else see something wrong with that cultural adaptation?

But we fortify foods like milk and dairy products with Vitamin D to make up for this, and are further lulled into a false sense of security.

Enter my sister. She has a severe dairy allergy that has made it impossible for her to consume any amount of dairy for her entire life. She also had an adverse reaction to an antibiotic that has made her skin react to sun light - true sun poisoning. She's always been active, but further health issues have made it difficult to remain as active as her early youth (we prefer to think of ourselves as being in mid youth). Recently, she had blood work done, along with an x-ray of her back and found she is depleted of Vitamin D. Not deficient. Depleted.

The doctors have prescribed a supplement of 50,000 iu per week for 12 weeks, with the possibility of 3 more rounds of this 12 week regimine. Ew! They are that concerned.

Now, the USRDA is 400 iu per day. In fairness, this is being re-examined in light of the recent studies showing Americans are deficient in D. Many scientists are now advocating a minimum of 1000 iu per day. Some are saying forego sunscreen. Others are saying you only need 15 minutes a few times a week of unprotected sun exposure to gain the benefits of natural D production. That's it?! I'm doubting it highly.

First off, how much skin exposure? 10%, 20%, 30%? What time of day - 10am, noon, 4pm? And 15 minutes? We were designed to be outside 24 hours per day. Admittedly, seeking out shade is a good thing, but you're still out, and get reflected sunlight along with direct. And all of the hype about skin cancer and sunscreens - the retail industry just loves selling through fear. Common sense, not fear, should drive decisions and purchasing. However, our culture has taught us to not think, someone else will for us. How sad!

An example - Dr. Edward Giovannucci, a Harvard University professor of medicine and nutrition who laid out his case in a keynote lecture at a recent American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Anaheim, Calif. His research suggests that vitamin D might help prevent 30 deaths for each one caused by skin cancer.

What D is known to help prevent or lower your risk factors:

Cancers - Breast, Colon, Lung, Lymph, Melanoma, Ovarian, Prostate, Rectal.
Breathing - Asthma, COPD
Brain Chemistry - Depression, SAD, Cognitive Function, Alzheimer's, Autism
Hormonal - Pregnancy, Menopause, Parathyroid Function, Liver, Thyroid, Diabetes, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Gastro-Intestinal - Inflammatory Bowel Disease, general function
Diseases - Cerebral Palsy, Parkinsons, Epilepsy, Cystic Fibrosis, HIV AIDS, Heart Disease, Hypertension, Multiple Sclerosis, Rickets, Osteomalacia, Osteoporosis

Vitamin D Council

Pretty extensive there, huh?

From the National Institute of Health:

Season, geographic latitude, time of day, cloud cover, smog, skin melanin content, and sunscreen are among the factors that affect UV radiation exposure and vitamin D synthesis [28]. The UV energy above 42 degrees north latitude (a line approximately between the northern border of California and Boston) is insufficient for cutaneous vitamin D synthesis from November through February [6]; in far northern latitudes, this reduced intensity lasts for up to 6 months. Latitudes below 34 degrees north (a line between Los Angeles and Columbia, South Carolina) allow for cutaneous production of vitamin D throughout the year [14]

Complete cloud cover reduces UV energy by 50%; shade (including that produced by severe pollution) reduces it by 60% [29]. UVB radiation does not penetrate glass, so exposure to sunshine indoors through a window does not produce vitamin D [30]. Sunscreens with a sun protection factor of 8 or more appear to block vitamin D-producing UV rays, although in practice people generally do not apply sufficient amounts, cover all sun-exposed skin, or reapply sunscreen regularly [31]. Skin likely synthesizes some vitamin D even when it is protected by sunscreen as typically applied.

The factors that affect UV radiation exposure and research to date on the amount of sun exposure needed to maintain adequate vitamin D levels make it difficult to provide general guidelines. It has been suggested by some vitamin D researchers, for example, that approximately 5-30 minutes of sun exposure between 10 AM and 3 PM at least twice a week to the face, arms, legs, or back without sunscreen usually lead to sufficient vitamin D synthesis and that the moderate use of commercial tanning beds that emit 2-6% UVB radiation is also effective [11,28]. Individuals with limited sun exposure need to include good sources of vitamin D in their diet or take a supplement.

So where am I going with this lengthy diatribe? Go outside! Let the sun shine on your skin! Play! Quit eating Burger King and Pizza Hut and go buy some REAL food and eat that! Change the way you live. You'll feel better than the completely artificial life you live now.