9 Days of Beauty!

I am especially passionate about today’s post because 2 of my best friends were deficient in Vitamin D--thankfully their progressive doctors noticed it and began immediate supplementation.

I must admit I never really paid much attention to Vitamin D. I remember hearing about it as a girl when my father would explain to me how solar ultraviolet-B radiation from sun light stimulates our body to produce Vitamin D.   He was way ahead of his time, because over 30 years ago he suggested "Getting sunshine responsibly" also knowing that too much sun had negative effects. I really started to pay attention when a co-worker suddenly looked radiant and younger. I asked her what she was doing differently and her answer was "Nothing." I pressed on because I knew she had to be doing something different . Eventually, she casually said, "Well I have started taking Vitamin D." Bingo! That was it. I started researching and was blown away with the overall health and skin benefits too.

So what can Vitamin D do for your skin? For starters a number of studies have shown that vitamin D is very important in maintaining healthy skin. If levels are low your skin may become thinner, more fragile and begin to sag from lack of adequate support. Dryness and wrinkles will be accentuated due to loss of moisture. So while many people shun the sun and cover in sunscreen thinking they are protecting their skin, they are actually accelerating the aging process. The key is responsible sun bathing which doesn't take long at all, 15 to 20 minutes a day is  usually enough to produce 10,000 iu's of Vitamin D.


The jury is still out about correct dosage. There are different schools of thought as to how much we need. I suggest getting your levels tested by a doctor before beginning supplementation and following your doctors advise as to proper dosage. If you have availability to sunlight it is definitely more advisable to get your daily dose of D through simple sun exposure. This way you can rest assure that you will not take too much of a good thing. Don't forget about food as a natural source. There aren't a whole lot of food sources high in Vitamin D--probably because your body was built to manufacture its own, but I have listed some below. Depending on your age, you may want to consider supplementing, eating foods high in Vitamin D and  responsible sun exposure because Vitamin D production naturally declines with age. This is especially important for the elderly.

• Salmon (especially wild-caught)

• Mackerel (especially wild-caught; eat up to 12 ounces a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are low in mercury)

• Mushrooms exposed to ultraviolet light to increase vitamin D

• Cod liver oil (warning: cod liver oil is rich in vitamin A; too much may be bad for you)

• Tuna canned in water

• Sardines canned in oil

• Milk or yogurt -- regardless of whether it's whole, nonfat, or reduced fat -- fortified with vitamin D

• Beef or calf liver

• Egg yolks

• Cheese

 Vitamin D is implicated in many serious diseases such as: Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Rickets, Infectious Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Arthritis and the list goes on and on. Below is a link to Dr. Michael F. Holick's (the worlds leading expert on Vitamin D) book "The Vitamin D Solution". I highly suggest you consider purchasing his book or exploring other well respected experts. In the words of Christiane Northrup, MD, New York Times bestselling author of The Wisdom of Menopause--"This information can save your life. Really."
 http://www.amazon.com/Vitamin-Solution-3-Step-Strategy-Problems/dp/0452296889/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387239278&sr=1-1&keywords=the+vitamin+d+solution