By Frank Lipman, MD on November 10, 2009
Hardly a day goes by without some groundbreaking news about Vitamin D. Originally known for it’s crucial role in maintaining calcium levels for bone health, it is rapidly becoming apparent that we have vastly underestimated Vitamin D’s significant importance for our overall health and wellbeing. In short, judging by what I see in my practice and speaking with colleagues around the country, it’s looking very much like we’re facing an epidemic of Vitamin D deficiency, with potential grave consequences. This Vitamin D FAQ will help to get you up to speed on this important topic.
What diseases are associated with Vitamin D deficiency?
-Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to play a role in almost every major disease, including:
-Osteoporosis and Osteopenia
-17 varieties of Cancer (including breast, prostate and colon)
-Heart disease
-High blood pressure
-Obesity
-Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes
-Autoimmune diseases
-Multiple sclerosis
-Rheumatoid arthritis
-Osteoarthritis
-Bursitis
-Gout
-Infertility and PMS
-Parkinson’s Disease
-Depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder
-Alzheimer’s Disease
-Chronic fatigue syndrome
-Fibromyalgia
-Chronic Pain
-Periodontal disease
-Psoriasis
What is vitamin D?
Although it’s called a vitamin, vitamin D is really a hormone not a vitamin. Vitamins cannot be produced by your body, we get them from dietary sources, whereas hormones like vitamin D are made in your body. It’s your body’s only source of calcitrol (activated vitamin D), the most potent steroid hormone in the body.
What does vitamin D do?
Like all steroid hormones, vitamin D is involved in making hundreds of enzymes and proteins, which are crucial for preserving health and preventing disease. It has the ability to interact and affect more than 2,000 genes in the body. It enhances muscle strength and builds bone. It has anti-inflammatory effects and bolsters the immune system. It helps the action of insulin and has anti-cancer activity. This is why vitamin D deficiency has been linked with so many of the diseases of modern society. Because of its vast array of benefits, maintaining optimal levels of D is essential for your health.
Where do I get vitamin D from?
The only 2 reliable sources of vitamin D are the sun and supplements. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way for your body to generate vitamin D. Vitamin D is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. In fact, this is such an efficient system that most of us make approx. 20,000 units of vitamin D after only 20 minutes of summer sun without suntan lotion (or clothes!) That’s 100 times more than the government recommends per day! There must be a good reason why we make so much in so little time.
You do not generate vitamin D when sitting behind a glass window, whether in your car or at home because these UV rays cannot penetrate glass to generate vitamin D in your skin. Also sunscreens, even weak ones, almost completely block your body’s ability to generate vitamin D.
The other reliable source is vitamin D3 supplements (not vitamin D2)
Only about 10% of your vitamin D comes from diet, so it is nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from your food.
What are the food sources of vitamin D?
1. Fish liver oils, such as cod liver oil. Fatty wild fish like mackerel, salmon, halibut, tuna, sardines and herring
2. Fortified milk, orange juice and cereal
3. Dried Shitake mushrooms
4. Egg yolks
But to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from food, you would have to eat at least 5 servings of salmon a day or drink 20 cups of fortified milk.
My Doctor told me to avoid the sun, what do you think?
There is an old Italian saying “Where the sun does not go the doctor does.”
For about the last 25 years, doctors (dermatologists in particular) have demonized sun exposure and repeatedly told us it is bad for you and causes cancer. But is that true? In the last few years, numerous studies have shown that modest exposure to sunlight may actually be good for you, helping the body produce the vitamin D it needs to keep bones healthy and protect against cancer, including skin cancer. Though repeated sunburns–in children and very fair-skinned people–have been linked to melanoma, there is no credible scientific evidence that moderate sun exposure causes it. Since it’s almost impossible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from food alone (including fortified milk and fatty wild fish), the sun is your best source. I’m not suggesting you go bake in the sun with your suntan oil or go to tanning salons. But getting some sun without getting sunburned makes healthy sense.
We evolved in the sun; we were made to get some sun, not to live our lives indoors and slather on sunscreen every time we go outside. If the sun is shining where you are today, get out and enjoy it, talk about a free natural treatment! All you need is a little common sense when heading outdoors, do it gradually and always avoid sunburn.
Special Note: Remember to take antioxidants when you sit in the sun, as these can help prevent skin cells from sun damage.
How much sunshine do I need?
All living things need sun, the key is balance. Too much sun exposure can cause melanoma and skin aging, while too little creates an inadequate production of vitamin D. The amount needed depends on the season, time of day, where you live, skin pigmentation and other factors. As a general rule, if you are not vitamin D deficient, about 20 minutes a day in the spring, summer and fall on your face and arms or legs without sunscreen is adequate. It doesn’t matter which part of the body you expose to the sun. Many people want to protect their face, so just don’t put sunscreen on the other exposed parts for those 20 minutes.
If you live north of 37 degrees latitude (approximately a line drawn horizontally connecting Norfolk, Virginia to San Francisco, California) sunlight is not sufficient to create Vitamin D in your skin in the winter months, even if you are sitting in the sun in a bathing suit on a warm January day! The further you live from the equator, the longer exposure you need to the sun in order to generate vitamin D.
Part 2 of Dr. Frank Lipman‘s blog will be posted tomorrow!
Originally posted at HuffingtonPost.com.
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By Sharon Gannon on September 18, 2009
Photo Credit: Guzman
CSL: If someone only has 10 minutes each morning for a yoga routine, what poses would you suggest and can ten to fifteen minutes a day really make a difference?
SHARON: YES, most definitely. Practicing asana for ten to fifteen minutes a day can make a huge difference! Five minutes a day can make a huge difference…doing anything on purpose for even one minute a day can make a huge difference.
Here is a simple yoga asana routine which I do every morning (it takes a little more than five minutes):
“The Magic Ten”:
1. Downward dog—10 breaths
2. Standing forward bend—10 breaths
3. Squat—10 breaths
4. Teepee twist—5 breaths each side
5. Half seated spinal twist—5 breaths each side
6. Table top—10 breaths
7. Handstand—25 breaths
8. Standing Posture alignment—5 breaths
9. Standing side bends—1 breath each side 4X
10. Standing spinal roll—16 breaths
CSL: What advice do you give work-a-holics for integrating mindfulness and spirituality into their day?
SHARON: Every morning before you get out of bed ask God (or if the god word is not to your liking, ask your own “higher power”—what you feel is your best guide—be it intuition, love, higher intelligence, nature, what is good and beautiful, etc.) to make you an instrument. Personally, what I say is: “Make me an instrument for Thy will –not mine but Thine be done, free me from anger, jealousy and fear—fill my heart with joy and compassion.” I try to remember to say that, silently, often during the day, especially when I feel overwhelmed, under pressure or in a time crunch.
CSL: How is spinal flexibility directly linked to our youth and vitality? How can we make sure that we care for this integral part of our anatomy?
SHARON: Suppleness of our bodies is associated with youth and vitality. As children we naturally explore all kinds of ways to move our bodies, but when we become adults, we tend to limit our movements to what is culturally accepted. The definition, after all, of an adult means one who has stopped growing. Clothes can affect our physical movement. Fashion can influence the actual shape of our body as we fall victim to high-heeled shoes or tight jeans, skirts or dresses or even baggy clothes. Over time the clothes we wear can actually altar the physical shape of our bodies. As young children we aren’t so much interested in the status quo or judging ourselves and others by our clothes. But as we get older our outer appearance becomes more and more important and we can get stuck in the syndrome of “never having a thing to wear.” Often we try to remedy this dilemma through shopping (if we have the money for shopping). And those who don’t have the money for shopping often wish they did or envy those who do.
When we practice asana, however, we have the opportunity to uninhibitedly explore our bodies much like we did as children—we get back to exploring the many varieties of shapes and movements that our spines, and in fact, our whole bodies, are capable of. In a typical yoga session one might: curl up like a ball, roll around on the floor, touch their toes to their ears or nose, bend backward, bend forward, and/or stick out their tongue. This physical playfulness can be very freeing psychologically as it provides us with a direct experience of the mind/body connection.
The best way to care for our spines, or any part of our anatomy for that matter, is to use it for higher purposes: for service. Flexibility—physical, as well as mental, emotional and spiritual—enables you to be of more benefit to others and the world around you, and that ultimately brings profound happiness. An inflexible spine reflects an inflexible mind—a mind that is stuck, stubborn, set in its ways.
CSL: Can you help us understand more about the importance of inversions?
SHARON: Of all yoga asanas, inversions are the most potent, because they bring about the most transformational results for us physically, energetically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. A regular inversion practice can yield youthfulness and increase mental capacity, performance, endurance, energy, beauty, and overall well-being, confidence and calmness.
Turning upside down stimulates the master glands—the pineal, pituitary, thyroid and parathyroid. Ordinarily these glands operate sort of like on a thermostat set on a feast or famine trigger. So when the hormonal level gets low, a signal is sent and the gland is flooded with a new chemical dose. The problem with that is that at times when the levels are very low or very high, there can be all kinds of behavioral changes, including mood swings, PMS and even compulsive behaviors like binging on chocolate or junk food. When you do inversions regularly, you provide the glands with regular stimulation, so the hormonal levels are kept more at a balanced state of equilibrium. This helps prevent mood swings and other undesirable effects.
Inversions reverse the effects of gravity on all the systems of the body. They give the internal organs, the skin and the muscles a lift (as we all know, with age everything starts to drop down toward the earth). Inversions can provide a natural face-lift! They invigorate our circulation, helping revive our legs and feet where blood can pool, so the tendency toward varicose veins is diminished.
Inversions also have a mind-expanding effect. When we turn upside down, we can access our own pharmaceutical laboratory, stimulating the release of certain chemicals in the brain that generate feelings of calm, creativity, well-being and expansiveness which allow you to let go of the “small stuff.”
The length of time you spend upside down is important. Spending at least 5 minutes a day in a position in which your heart is above your head is necessary in order to get the benefits of inversions, but the longer the better. The most effective inversions are headstand and shoulderstand (because they involve direct contact between the ground and the head), but other alternatives are good as well, like handstand, bending over from a standing position, downward dog or any other passive inversion.
CSL: For those struggling with insomnia, are there certain lifestyle practices that would be especially helpful?
SHARON:
1. Sleep in a dark room
In order for your brain to be able to make adequate amounts of melatonin, your body has to be in the dark—light must not be present. Sleep in a completely dark room. Do whatever it takes to block out all of the light that might come in during the morning. Use heavy drapes or black-out shades over the windows. Never sleep with a night light on in the room. Make sure that there isn’t a light emanating from an alarm clock, computer, television etc. If you find yourself in a situation where you are unable to block out the light, then wear an eye mask as the next best thing, because when light enters into your body via your eyes (left, right and third) it is the most direct route into the pineal gland. But also keep in mind that light can be absorbed into your body via your skin.
2. Don’t drink coffee (or any caffeinated beverage), or at least try to cut down your intake to only one cup per day and drink it only in the morning.
3. Prepare yourself for bed as if you were embarking on a peaceful journey:
*Take a bath
*Put on a comfortable nightgown or pajamas
4. Quiet your mind
*Accept that you will never be able to complete all of the projects you have going on or think through all the thoughts or resolve all the issues you are dealing with in your life and the best thing to do is to take a break once a day and go to sleep for several hours.
*Do not sit in front of a computer before bed and definitely don’t work on emails before bed
*Reserve your bed for horizontal activities like sleeping–Don’t read in bed and don’t watch television in bed.
*Do not watch television before bed. Definitely do not subject your mind to violent movies or television shows and expect to be able to sleep well at night.
*Don’t leave a radio or television on
* Be a vegan—do not eat any food that has been obtained through violent means, because you will absorb the intense fear and degradation that was experienced by the animal whose flesh or milk or eggs you are eating, and over time, that will cause deep unsettledness inside of you.
*Meditate for at least 5 minutes everyday—in the morning or at night or whenever you can find the time. The practice of meditation will help you to begin to come to terms with your thinking mind so that it doesn’t keep coming at you when you want to go to sleep.
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By Stacy Malkan on July 9, 2009
Penis deformation? I don’t like those two words together. It’s not easy to make fun of deformed genitalia, but Stephen Colbert gave it a valiant try when he interviewed NYT columnist Nick Kristof about the bizarre plight of fish in the Potomac River (and the humans that drink it).
As Kristof explained, hormone-disrupting chemicals are causing strange genital malformations in the wild kingdom — frogs, fish and salamanders with mixed-up sex organs. In the Potomac, 100% of male small-mouth bass are growing eggs. You read that right: their testicles are growing eggs instead of sperm.
All is not well with male genitalia in the human kingdom either. An increasing number of boys are being born with undescended testicles and deformed penises. A quarter of American women are already contaminated with high enough levels of phthalates – a plastic-softening chemical — to cause malformations in their male offspring.
Years ago, when the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics broke the story that phthalates are also found in most beauty products , I was asked a funny question. More than a few people asked me: If phthalates are harmful to boys, why should we worry if they’re in products used by women?
I thought, seriously? But when the question kept coming, I learned that you actually have to answer it: Um, because boys come from the bodies of women.
So yes, we need to worry about beauty products laced with gender-bending chemicals. If we want to protect boys and girls and fish and frogs, we need to keep these chemicals away from females who are, might be, or might someday want to become pregnant. We need to keep these chemicals off our bodies and out of products that run down our drains. In other words, we need to keep these chemicals out of commerce.
That’s why the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is working to pass laws to ban hazardous chemicals, and to pressure the $50-billion beauty industry to clean up its act. Please help give the beauty industry a safety makeover by joining our action list.
In the meantime, here’s what you can do to protect yourself, your loved ones and the salamanders from exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals:
-Avoid products with synthetic fragrance: Phthalates are used to make fragrances last longer. Our study found phthalates in more than 70% of fragrance-containing products, including shampoos, hair gels, lotions and deodorants. None of the products listed phthalates on the label. Until we get better laws, it’s best to avoid ALL synthetic fragrance-containing products.
-Just say no to cologne and perfumes: There are better ways to say “I love you” than spraying gender-bending chemicals on your body!
-Check labels carefully: Even “fragrance-free” products may contain masking fragrances, which are chemicals used to cover up the odor of other chemicals. -Choose products with no added fragrance, or with natural fragrance.
-Also avoid parabens: These chemicals, which act like estrogen in the body, are used as preservatives in a wide array of lotions, shaving cream, make-up and shower products. Avoid products that list the word “parabens” on the label.
-Use EWG’s Skin Deep: The free database is a great way to find safer products with no parabens and no added fragrance; try the advanced search function.
-Remember that less is better than more: Avoiding fragrance and parabens is not easy – the chemicals are in everything from cleaning products, to laundry detergent, candles and even toothpaste. So just remember the “less is better” rule. Avoid and reduce exposures wherever you can and there will be fewer hazardous chemicals in your home, your body and the fish. Future generations will thank you!
Stacy Malkan is a co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and author of the award-winning book, “Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry.” Join Stacy on August 25 for the first Safe Cosmetics Book Club Webinar.
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