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Health & Nutrition News – Vitamin D

by Nicole Dorsey Straff

VITAMIN D TO THE RESCUE 

· Decreases inflammation and muscular pain since the “sun vitamin” contains natural anti-inflammatory properties.

· Builds Bones. Vitamin D maximizes the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from food and supplements.

· “This is exactly why annual flu season occurs every winter— versus spring or summer—when people are far less exposed to the sun,” says Dr. Dowd. “Vitamin D enhances immunity.”

· High-dose vitamin D supplements may help increase the body’s sensitivity to the blood sugar-regulating hormone insulin, reducing risk of diabetes.

 


Vitamin D Energy Plan: Four Ways to Boost Vitamin D

“If you’re over 25, live in a part of the country with gloom or a longer winter, even if you exercise outside most days of the week and skip sunscreen from time to time, you are still most likely deficient in vitamin D,” says Dr. James E. Dowd, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Michigan State University and author of The Vitamin D Cure (John Wiley 2012).

A quick blood test proves it, says Dr. Dowd. The dominant symptom is fatigue, and the deficiency is reaching pandemic proportions: “The more technologically advanced a nation, the less time its citizens spend outside at midday,” he says Dowd.

D is the only vitamin naturally produced by your body. When sunlight hits bare skin, a reaction occurs producing vitamin D. The safe upper limit is 4,000 International Units (IU) for anyone nine years or older, including healthy adults.

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