Vitamin D in the Winter

More important than a traditional vitamin (VITAMIN D)

Your body craves vitamin D. The nutrient is even more than a traditional vitamin because your body uses it as a prohormone, or precursor of a hormone. Medical Journals agree:

A human body produces vitamin D as a response to sun exposure. A person can also boost their vitamin D intake through certain foods or supplements.

Good sources of vitamin D include:

• oily fish – such as salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel.
• red meat.
• liver.
• egg yolks.
• fortified foods – such as some fat spreads and breakfast cereals.

Vitamin D is even more important in the winter

During the winter months the sun is out less, and the temperature is cooler so in addition to being outside less these is less sun exposure when we are outside. The rise in flu cases in the norther hemisphere of earth during this time of year seems to correlate exactly to our reduced sun exposure. Some of the fascination with vitamin D supplementation began with the discovery in the early 1920s that vitamin D prevented rickets according to the lancet. Other studies go on to show vitamin D’s role in non-skeletal disorders, including immune function, cardiovascular health, and cancer.

What about the increased chance of skin cancer from sun exposure?

The importance of vitamin D can be shadowed by the increased chance of developing skin cancer with long sun exposure. Luckily the science is on our side here as well. The typical person only need 10 to 15 minutes of sun exposure per day to receive all the benefits. And that level of sun exposure is almost certainly harmless for developing skin cancer in the short terms.

As always monitor for any new studies that show different results and stay health my friends. talk to you again soon.