The quick answer: Enjoy the sunshine; it’s the best source of vitamin D.
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In The Beginning . . .
I love the Genesis Creation story. I find great lessons about nutrition—for this is where our food supply was created. There are a great variety of plants and animals on our planet and people everywhere do quite well eating whatever is at hand. The body is remarkable for how it can flourish on such a varied cornucopia.
In the 20th Century man reinvented food—today food mainly comes in packages from factories. Sadly, we are now learning that though man can flourish on many combinations of plants and animals, there is one form that doesn’t support a long, healthy life—the factory foods of the modern American diet.
You could state a guide to nutrition in two simple sentences:
- Eat food as close as practical to how it was created.
- Show reverence for the creatures that are part of our food.
“God saw the light, that it was good”
Aside from a diet of natural foods and regular exercise, the next best thing you can do for your health is get a little sunshine. Light, when it was formed or created, was given a benediction, that “it was good.”
Sunshine works on the cholesterol in our skin to form a new molecule that is acted upon by the liver and kidneys to become vitamin D. More hormone than vitamin, “D” plays many beneficial roles. There’s been a steady drumbeat in recent years of new discoveries about the benefits of vitamin D.
There is wide deficiency and insufficiency of vitamin D. Most people know their cholesterol number, and nearly all men know their PSA number, but very few know their serum vitamin D level. Some feel we have this backwards—the best number to watch would be vitamin D.
Fear of Sunshine
The weatherman, when he foretells a sunny day, typically warns you to hide from the sun by covering up, staying out of the sun, or slathering on a sun block. You've been told to fear the sun. We have an excellent dermatologist and she has it right—get a little sunshine, fifteen minutes on each side is plenty, but don’t get burned.
The Vitamin D Solution
The best book I’ve seen on vitamin D is The Vitamin D Solution, written by Dr. Michael Holick, PhD, MD. Holick suggests a 3-step solution of 1) testing, to know where you are, 2) sensible sunshine, and 3) safe supplementation when sunshine isn’t available.
The book makes two remarkable statements about vitamin D and cancer:
First, on the benefit of getting sensible sunshine: “vitamin D could be the single most effective medicine in preventing cancer, perhaps even outpacing the benefits of . . . a healthy diet”. We hear all the time that we should avoid avoid sunshine to prevent skin cancer, which brings us to the second point.
Second, the book quotes Dr. Edward Giovannucci on the benefits of sunshine for vitamin D versus the risk of skin cancer: sufficient “vitamin D might help prevent 30 deaths for each one caused by skin cancer”. I like those odds: 30 better outcomes at the risk of one bad outcome.
Please note the term "a little" sunshine, sun that burns or turns the skin pink may be harmful and should be avoided. (If you live in the northern latitudes, don’t tolerate the sun, or are concerned about your vitamin D, consult your doctor.)
Please comment: Want to share your experience with vitamin D, or how you tested? Do you live in the northern latitudes? If so, what do you do in winter to maintain vitamin D.