Your body is missing something. I’m not talking about your monthly pedicure, but something essential – Vitamin D. This deficiency is so widespread that it has become a serious health problem for women and men of all ages, yet most of us have no idea that we’re at risk.
Groundbreaking new research shows that the D vitamin is crucial for protecting against cancer, diabetes, depression and heart disease. A study published in 2008 found that people with the highest levels of D in their blood are 21 per cent less likely to die of any cause than people with the lowest, while other nutrients, like Vitamin E, have proved disappointing in similar studies.
One of the scary things is, as many as 78 per cent of people don’t even have the regulated amount necessary for good health according to the Office of Dietary Supplements. As many as half as young adults are low putting them at risk for developing a rare bone disorder called osteomalacia. Unlike osteoporosis, which is characterised by bone loss, this condition causes the skeleton to soften from a lack of calcium resulting in aches and pains throughout the body.
Small amounts are absorbed into the body through food, especially fortified diary products, but the nutrient is mainly produced from ultraviolet B radiation in sunshine. These rays penetrate the skin and transform cholesterol-like molecules there into a preliminary form of D that circulates in the blood. It triggers the genes in our bodies that inhibit cell growth, which may prevent cancer cells from forming. In fact, women who spend more time outdoors in the sun and drink ten or more glasses of milk or water a week when they’re in their teen or twenties have lower rates of breast cancer. The vitamin also regulates the activity of the immune system’s cells, helping to ward off infections and protects against such auto-immune diseases as lupus, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
And that’s not all. D helps prevent inflammation in the body, which has been linked to heart disease and it regulates blood pressure. Since most of us can’t get enough D from the sun, experts recommend taking a supplement daily – but don’t think that you’re totally covered. These typically supply the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of 200 to 400 international units (IU), which researchers say is way too low. Recommended levels are at least 2 0000 (IU) a day.
How to get that amount is what you’re probably wondering? Just 5 to 30 minutes of sunshine at least twice a week will give you the amount of D, prime times being between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., when the sun is almost directly overhead. So, the next time you’re hustling from your office door to your car, remember that those few precious moments of sweltering heat is giving your body pure and free access to an essential vitamin.
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