Big news on the vitamin D front
I'll tell you, my favorite vitamin - the big D - has sure
been on a roll lately. First, research linking deficiencies
of this sun-made vitamin to rising rates of many diseases
(including osteoporosis, heart disease, and diabetes, just
to name a few) gets grudgingly reported by the National
Institute of Health (Daily Dose, 11/28/03)…
And now, several mainstream news sources (including Reuters,
my favorite) are reporting on a pair of recent studies that
strongly suggests supplemental vitamin D may help prevent
both multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis!
The 187,000-subject MS study, conducted by the Harvard
School of Public Health, showed that those whose intake of
supplemental vitamins D reached at least 400 IU daily were
40% LESS LIKELY to develop incurable MS. That's a pretty
significant risk reduction, don't you think?
What spurred the study was the discovery of a correlation
between geography and multiple sclerosis. As it turns out,
the incidence of MS increases the farther away from the
equator (where the most sunlight is) one travels.
But that's not all the good news for my favorite vitamin. A
second body of research - this one an 11-year study of
nearly 30,000 people - found that subjects whose consumed
the most vitamin D enjoyed a 30% LESS LIKELIHOOD of
developing rheumatoid arthritis, a joint-swelling malady
that affects around 2% of people worldwide. Again,
supplemental vitamin D seemed to offer a measurable
advantage over strictly dietary sources. Like MS, rheumatoid
arthritis is an autoimmune disease - one in which the body's
immune system attacks its own tissues.
But again, you need to get OUTSIDE in the sun to get all of
vitamin D's myriad benefits. No "sun lamps," no tanning
beds, only real, honest-to-goodness sunshine will do the
trick. At least three times a week, for at least for 15 or
20 minutes if you can.
Oh, and skip the sunscreen, too. Here's why…
In the last decade or so, Americans have gone a little sun-
crazy.
From unfounded fears about skin cancer the mainstream fuels
with heaps of misinformation every summer to the
proliferation of UV beds as a "safe" alternative to outdoor
tanning (it's not, see my Daily Dose from 11/28/03), it's a
wonder anyone goes outside at all anymore.
However, if people realized the damage they're doing to
themselves by burrowing in and avoiding the sun, they'd be
out in droves. What's really tragic, though, is the fact
that even when people DO venture out into the sun against
the doom-and-gloom mainstream's warnings, they may still not
be getting all the vitamin D-boosting benefits precious
sunlight confers. Why?
Because they've slathered on a completely unnecessary layer
of sunscreen.
According to some new Boston University research, that SPF
45 goop you've been toting around to "protect" yourself from
the sun is actually PREVENTING you from producing the vital
vitamin D your body can only generate sufficient amounts of
in response to sunlight. That's right - with sunscreen on,
you might as well be standing in a perpetual shadow.
Look, I'm not saying you need to be sporting a perpetual
case of sunburn to be healthy - I just want to point out
that your body needs much more vitamin D than a daily glass
of milk or most multivitamins can provide. You need regular
exposure to sunlight to complete the picture. Don't overdo
it, of course…
But get out there and soak up some rays and you'll feel
better - and you'll be a lot healthier, too.
I know it may not be warm enough yet for many of you to get
outside, so be sure to check out the May issue of my Real Health
Breakthroughs newsletter for a reminder, and even more tips on how
you can enjoy the sun and make sure you're getting all of its health
benefits at the same time.
Never in the shadows,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD
