One of last year's biggest vitamin stories was the discovery that almost all people in northern climes do not get anywhere near enough Vitamin D3. The RDA for D was doubled and some scientists think that it should be increased even more, especially for children. Vitamin D comes from exposure to the sun and is probably part of the reason one feels so good after time in the sun (sans sunburn). We need to have 40% of our skin in direct contact with the sun for at least 20 minutes a day to get the amount of D3 we need. Living in Minnesota, I can tell you that NO ONE I know can get that amount in the winter. People of African, Asian and Middle Eastern descent need more to fulfill the requirement. The ubiquitous use of sun screen has increased the problem.
Back in the old days, children would get rickets in northern cities, so D was added to milk and it is still there. However, preventing rickets, a disease of malformed bone growth , needs only minimal D for prevention. The D allows calcium to be absorbed for bone formation, but it affects what I like to call the "lesser bones" or tissues that are made of more or less the same material as bones in differing viscosity. Even a little shortage of D3 in the system can effect bones (osteoporosis?) connective tissue( fibromyalgia?), skin (eczemia?), muscle (chronic fatique?)and mood (seasonal depression?).
I know you're asking, "But eskimos live in the north and have dark skin." True, but in their traditional diet they live mainly on fish, filled with fish oil and Vitamin D!
No comments:
Post a Comment