Sunday
Dec072008
Vitamin D: Are you getting enough?
Sunday, December 7, 2008 at 10:05AM
Are you getting enough vitamin D?
Vitamin D is important for maintaining your calcium levels, boosting your immune system, assisting with blood pressure regulation, and it contibutes beneficially in the fight against osteoporosis, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease.
People living in the northern hemisphere usually don't get enough. Vitamin D can be easily obtained from the sun. To get vitamin D from the sun, you need to spend 20 minutes, daily, in the sun. And you need to have enough skin exposed to absorb it. And having a jacket on and your hands and face, with or without sunscreen, exposed, will allow you enough exposure for property absorption. You have to expose your chest and back to get enough in 20 minutes!
Now, I don't know about you all, but I live in Monument, where in the winter, there's usually always snow on the ground. The warmest it usually gets up here is 60 degrees. That's not warm enough for me to go walking with my chest and back exposed.
So, what to do? Supplements! How much? It's recommended that you consume 1000 units of Vitamin D, daily. And some people get vitamin D in their orange juice or milk, or other foods. Do you track it to be sure you're getting enough?
For me, it's easier to take the supplement, than to try to figure out, on a daily basis, how much I get from my milk...oh, and did I have enough orange juice, which is high in calories, and I really shouldn't consume at all.
Are you aware of your need for Vitamin D? Are you getting enough, daily?
Vitamin D is important for maintaining your calcium levels, boosting your immune system, assisting with blood pressure regulation, and it contibutes beneficially in the fight against osteoporosis, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease.
People living in the northern hemisphere usually don't get enough. Vitamin D can be easily obtained from the sun. To get vitamin D from the sun, you need to spend 20 minutes, daily, in the sun. And you need to have enough skin exposed to absorb it. And having a jacket on and your hands and face, with or without sunscreen, exposed, will allow you enough exposure for property absorption. You have to expose your chest and back to get enough in 20 minutes!
Now, I don't know about you all, but I live in Monument, where in the winter, there's usually always snow on the ground. The warmest it usually gets up here is 60 degrees. That's not warm enough for me to go walking with my chest and back exposed.
So, what to do? Supplements! How much? It's recommended that you consume 1000 units of Vitamin D, daily. And some people get vitamin D in their orange juice or milk, or other foods. Do you track it to be sure you're getting enough?
For me, it's easier to take the supplement, than to try to figure out, on a daily basis, how much I get from my milk...oh, and did I have enough orange juice, which is high in calories, and I really shouldn't consume at all.
Are you aware of your need for Vitamin D? Are you getting enough, daily?