Good Day Sunshine

For as long as I can recall, at least two or three decades, I have been teaching people to take a 20 minute walk at noon, even on cloudy days, to get sun exposure to help maintain vitamin D levels.

Now you know that the "new guidance", like most health discoveries, is actually old data in a new wrapper.

This just happens to be one of the benefits of following a skilled and experienced health care practitioner and educator instead of a glossy on-line tabloid.  Here you get facts.

Sunshine and Vitamin D

You can use our search function to read the many other articles we have posted on vitamin D and sunshine.

 

 

New guidance on vitamin D recommends midday sunshine

By Jane Dreaper Health correspondent, BBC News

 

New health advice recommends short spells in the sun - without suncream and in the middle of the day.

Seven organisations have issued joint advice on vitamin D, which the body gets from natural sunlight.
The nutrient keeps bones strong, and protects against conditions like osteoporosis.
The guidance was drawn up because it is thought fears about skin cancer have made people too cautious about being in the sun.
Cancer Research UK and the National Osteoporosis Society are among the bodies which agree that "little and frequent" spells in summer sunshine several times a week can benefit your health.
The experts now say it is fine to go outside in strong sun in the middle of the day, as long as you cover up or apply sunscreen before your skin goes red.
'Too negative'

A good diet and sensible sun exposure will be adequate for most people to minimise their cancer risk.” Professor Peter Johnson Cancer Research UK

Professor Rona Mackie, from the British Association of Dermatologists, said: "Total sun protection with high factor suncream on all the time is not ideal, in terms of vitamin D levels.

"Even Australia has changed its policy on this. They're now producing charts showing parts of Australia where sun protection may not be required during some parts of the year.
"Some of the messages about sun exposure have been too negative. UK summer sunshine isn't desperately strong. We don't have many days in the year when it is very intense.
"What's changed is that we're now saying that exposure of 10 to 15 minutes to the UK summer sun, without suncream, several times a week is probably a safe balance between adequate vitamin D levels and any risk of skin cancer."
Official government advice already recommends vitamin D supplements for pregnant women and children aged under five.
But the experts who wrote the joint statement say mothers often are not made aware of this recommendation. They suggest women consult their GP.
Winter levels of vitamin D can be helped by a break in the tropical sun - or by eating oily fish, liver and fortified margarine.
'Complex area' Cancer Research UK's chief clinician, Professor Peter Johnson, said: "A good diet and sensible sun exposure will be adequate for the great majority of the UK population to minimise their cancer risk.
"The area of vitamin D and cancer is complex.
"There's some evidence, which is strongest in bowel cancer, that low levels of vitamin D in the blood correlate with the risk of developing cancer.
"But that doesn't mean those low levels cause bowel cancer.
"We think overall that low levels of vitamin D are unlikely to be major contributors to the chances of developing cancer in the UK population."
The joint statement also highlighted questions about vitamin D that warrant further research.
These include finding out the optimal levels of vitamin D, and more detail about the role of dietary sources and supplements.

Vitamin D is Critical

UPDATE: 9 March

Vitamin D lifts mood during cold weather months, researchers say

ScienceDaily (2010-03-08) -- A daily dose of vitamin D may just be what people in northern climates need to get through the long winter, according to researchers. This nutrient lifts mood during cold weather months when days are short and more time is spent indoors. ... > read full article

Remember that vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin which means you need to have adequate, healthy fats in your daily diet.

Order your Vitamin D test from us*, and your vitamin D and help us continue our important work.

* Send $100 via PayPal to Creating Health Institute, indicate vit D test.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 8 (UPI) -- University of Copenhagen researchers report vitamin D is crucial to activating immune defenses to fight off serious infections in the body.

Carsten Geisler said when specialized immune cells -- T cells -- are exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling device or "antenna" known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D.

"T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will cease," Geisler said in a statement. "If the T cells cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won't even begin to mobilize."

Identifying the role of vitamin D in the activation of T cells has been a major breakthrough, the research team said.

"Scientists have known for a long time that vitamin D is important for calcium absorption and the vitamin has also been implicated in diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis, but what we didn't realize is how crucial vitamin D is for actually activating the immune system -- which we know now," Geisler said.

Vitamin D is produced as a natural byproduct of the skin's exposure to sunlight and is also found in fish liver oil, eggs and fatty fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel or a dietary supplement.

The findings are published in Nature Immunology.

Sunshine for health - A spot of sunshine doesn't just lift your spirits, it also boosts your immune system.

Research shows that vitamin D, made when our skin is exposed to sunlight, plays a key role in activating white blood cells that protect the body from flu, food poisoning and even cancer.

Without the 'sunshine vitamin', the cells do not join the fight against disease.
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