Vitamin D: Not Just for Milk Drinkers
Cancer. Diabetes. Asthma. Eczema. Name the immune system disease. What do they have in common? It could be a deficiency in Vitamin D, say researchers at the University of California. Other studies published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition find asthma, eczema, and influenza significantly helped by increased levels of Vitamin D3.
Many years ago, our country's milk supply was fortified with Vitamin D, to combat the disease of rickets. Rickets made our bones soft. We began to associate drinking milk with strong bones. Then, we were told too much sun would give us cancer. People began staying out of the sun, and milk-drinking became reserved for kittens and children. Guidelines by the Food and Nutrition Board suggested 400 I.U.'s per day as the recommended intake. Now, studies report that nearly seventy percent of children are deficient in Vitamin D, and experts are calling for the recommended intake to be increased by ten times, to 4,000 I.U.'s per day. Other experts suggest that those with a compromised immune system, take 10,000 I.U.'s per day.
Basically, that's a tablespoon of cod liver oil, a salad made with kale greens, and twenty minutes in the sun. Every day. Alternatively, you can take vitamin supplement pills. For me, taking vitamin pills carries with it a culture of illness. Pills, pills, pills. My brain associates taking pills with being sick, so I'd rather assign myself twenty minutes on a deck chair reading a book. My brain thinks that's a vacation. I can dress up the kale salad with some crispy red bell peppers, roasted pumpkin seeds, and hazelnut oil with lemon juice. Maybe a little wild-caught salmon on the side. Suddenly, instead of being a sick person taking pills, I'm a jet-setter, lounging luxuriously on my deck with a high-class appetizer. Maybe a mineral water with a slice of lime, in a champagne glass, to top it off.
As a remove my sunglasses and toast the day with my bubbly champagne split, I'm a happy and healthy person. My asthma abates; my eczema recedes. The mind assures the body that all is well. Taking pills, even vitamin pills, is a sad body signal. Lounging in the sun is a happy body signal. I'd like to see the study that recognizes my mind as a player in the drama of disease.
image credit: mercola.com
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