1-19-10 

How to protect your family from Cancer, M.S., Heart Disease, and Diabetes.

We all want our families and ourselves to be healthy, but sometimes it’s hard to know just what to do. Vitamin D has been well known for its role in calcium absorption and bone metabolism. Today, optimizing your vitamin D levels is also considered one of the most important ways to reduce overall disease. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with at least 17 varieties of cancer, along with many other chronic diseases including heart disease, diabetes, depression, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia and chronic pain¹. While many health professionals believe that anywhere from 55-85% of the world’s population may be vitamin D deficient, it is almost impossible for the body to get an adequate amount of vitamin D from diet alone⁵.

Ever wonder why you feel happier and are healthier in the summer? Most of the body’s vitamin D supply actually comes from sunlight. That’s why it is crucial in a northern climate such as ours, that you have your vitamin D levels checked. Sunlight is the healthiest way to increase your vitamin D levels. When possible you should expose yourself to sunlight, but you want to make sure you don’t sunburn. Sunscreens may actually increase your chance of melanoma, but that topic is for another time².

According to Dr. Michael Holick, if you are born at or above 35° latitude (which is the same as Atlanta, GA) and live at this latitude for the first 10 years of your life you have a 100% increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis. Recent studies have suggested that women and men who increase their daily vitamin D intake above 400 IU’s may reduce their risk of developing multiple sclerosis by approximately 40%¹. Cancer mortality rates also greatly increase in northern climates³. In short, decreased sunlight exposure may increase your susceptibility to numerous diseases¹. Especially in the winter, when sunlight is limited, it is best to take a vitamin D supplement.

For those of you who choose not to get a flu vaccination, vitamin D is a great way to boost your immune system and avoid colds and the flu⁴. But perhaps one of the greatest things about vitamin D is that it is so inexpensive. The bottom line is that a vitamin D supplement is needed to keep our families and ourselves healthy!

Chance Haugen D.C.

Sources:

1. http://www.vitamindhealth.org/

2. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/bmj-dtm072208.php

3. http://www.sunarc.org/

4. http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller27.html