Nice to see you!

Three major events occurred for me last year (2010), all in the space of about 2 weeks. I turned 50. The following day I got married. Two weeks later, my oldest daughter became pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.

Most middle-aged people will tell you that in their minds, they still feel 20 something. It's the same for me.

Wasn't it only yesterday that I was planning a night out with guys from the surf club? That gorgeous new perm. Flaired, cuffed denims and the red t-shirt with the off-the-shoulder frill. Corked platform wedgies. **sigh**

Suddenly I'm looking in the mirror and wondering how 30 years can flash by so damned quickly!

So here I am in cyberspace, sharing my genuine shock and horror with anyone who'll listen and maybe I'll even meet some other over 50s who find themselves in the same predicament!

Welcome to my dilemna!!

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Vitamin D

I was very concerned today when there was a news item on television about the great Australian cricket player and commentator of international cricket, Richie Benaud, and his battle with skin cancer.

His advice was for everyone to 'stay out of the sun'!

The reason he has skin cancer is because he played cricket for probably more than 20 years without a hat. This means that for every test match, he stood in the sun for about 7 hours a day when the team was fielding, and depending on how well he was batting, for a few hours when the team was batting.

He played cricket before sunscreen was invented and he NEVER wore a hat.

Taking all of that into consideration .. a good recipe for disaster.

Of all the advice that I would give to anyone who wants to stay healthy or get healthy by any natural means necessary, vitamin D from sunshine would be in my top three pieces of advice.

Firstly, one of the most preeminent Vitamin D researchers in the world today has identified that vitamin D helps produce the antimicrobial peptides that protect against the flu. This is why people are more prone to the flu in winter when Vitamin D producing sunshine is minimal or nonexistent at some latitudes, or people are too bundled up to get enough skin exposed in the first place.

Supporting Dr. Cannell’s suggestion that vitamin D deficiency is why people get the flu, a study published in the journal Nature Immunology further explains how vitamin D protects us by properly activating T cells, an important part of the immune system.

Bear with me for a moment:

“When a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling device or ‘antenna’ known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D.

This means the T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will stop. If the T cells can't find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won’t even begin to mobilize.”

Vitamin D levels have plummeted for every single age, race, and ethnic group over the past two decades.

Vitamin D deficiency can lurk unnoticed until it is too late and you are already sick. The problem is that it takes time, usually several weeks, to raise vitamin D levels, so taking supplements when you're already sick is not going to help.

Here are 10 signs that vitamin D is probably already a serious deficiency that needs to be addressed immediately.

(The best whole food based supplement to bring vitamin D levels into optimal range without the danger of overdosing (like with prescription vitamin D drops) is fermented cod liver oil.)

1. Chronic Pain

Bone pain and chronic pain in general is a subtle symptom of serious vitamin D deficiency. Get your vitamin D levels checked and address the problem.

(A study conducted by Greg Plotnikoff, MD, senior consultant with the Allina Center for Health Care Innovations, makes the point. 150 people living in Minneapolis who came to a health clinic complaining of chronic pain were tested for vitamin D levels. Virtually every single one, 93%, suffered from extremely low vitamin D. “The group with the lowest levels of vitamin D were white women of childbearing age,” Plotnikoff says.)

2. Muscle Weakness

Something that people don’t realise is that most muscle weakness issues are related to low vitamin D levels. The National Institute of Health reports that a person suffering from a vitamin D deficiency will have trouble with proper muscle function.

3. Psoriasis

This is a common skin issue and is an autoimmune disorder that can be vitamin D related. Good doses of pure sunshine or Cod Liver Oil will, at the very least, ease this condition.

4. Constant Fatigue

Vitamin D is necessary for the body to produce energy. If you are constantly tired or struggling to get going in the morning, get your vitamin D levels checked or just start getting regular/daily doses of sunshine.

5. Depression

Feelings of hopelessness can be related to simple nutritional deficiencies. Vitamin D is critical for the brain to produce the happy hormone seratonin. Some people only suffer from depression during winter months, known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is caused by lack of sun exposure and hence vitamin D during this time of year.

6. Sweaty Head

This is probably the weirdest symptom of vitamin D deficiency. Back in the 'olden days', doctors used to ask new mothers if their heads were sweatier than normal, to pinpoint a probable vitamin D deficiency. A sweaty head is also a subclinical symptom of rickets, possibly the most prominent and dangerous form of vitamin D deficiency in children.

7. Constant Respiratory Problems

This warning symptom is related to flu as a vitamin D deficiency disease. If low vitamin D puts people at risk for flu, it stands to reason they would be at risk for other respiratory problems too. Studies have demonstrated that vitamin D protects against respiratory illness, particularly in children.

8. Hypertension and/or Cardiovascular Disease

The Vitamin D Council recommends adequate vitamin D levels in order to avoid this silent, symptomless killer which afflicts 4 in 10 people worldwide.

The American National Institute of Health has identified vitamin D deficiency as a risk factor which can lead to congestive heart failure.

9. Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease is a growing health concern and a primary and powerful predictor for premature cardiovascular disease.

Not surprisingly, given that cardiovascular disease itself indicates a likely vitamin D deficit, research indicates that those that suffer from chronic kidney disease are also vitamin D deficient.

10. You are an Infection Magnet

If you suffer from one infection after another, it would be wise to get your vitamin D levels checked as soon as possible. As I mentioned, T cells, which are an important part of the immune system, are properly activated by vitamin D. So, if levels are low or even undetectable, adequate and effective immune response to any infection in the body will be severely hampered.

I know that's a lot to take in, and some of you probably just skimmed over the top or skipped the whole thing, but you really need to know that VITAMIN D IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT FOR GOOD PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH.

Don't stay out of the sun. It's the worst thing you can do.

I just wanted to mention that I went to bed at 7.30 last night! I woke up thinking that it was about midnight, but when I checked my phone, it was 8.30!!!! It didn't matter because I fell straight back to sleep and didn't wake up until 6.30 this morning. I must have really needed that sleep!

I feel good for it today.

Nite all.

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