Are you concerned about your vitamin D intake?
Besides protein and vitamin B12, vitamin D deficiency is one of the biggest reasons people have reservations about going and/or staying raw (or vegan, for that matter).
This becomes especially true around this time of year, when the sun is waning and the cold temps are movin’ on in.
There’s no question that vitamin D is essential to human health. Vitamin D is necessary for the proper absorption of both calcium and phosphorus. I’m sure you have seen images of the disfiguring effects of rickets, a disorder caused by a lack of vitamin D in the body.
Did you know that vitamin D is also necessary to process vitamin C and deficiency is implicated in the cause of 17 varieties of cancer?
Sometimes the fact that so many people (cooked and raw foodists alike) dwell on vitamin D when it is SO easy (and so free) to obtain really boggles my mind.
Then I remember all the COMPLETELY WRONG and often COMPLETELY BIASED information that we are all indoctrinated with from a young age regarding the source of this vital vitamin.
It’s time to debunk all the bull, don’t you think?
Where Does Vitamin D Come from?
Few will argue that vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is necessary for healthy teeth and bones.
However, there has been quite some debate about how exactly to achieve proper levels of vitamin D.
According to traditional medicine, the only way we can get enough vitamin D is by consuming fortified milk, eating various species of fish, or by some form of supplementation.
Hmmm. . . I wonder what Dr. Colin Campbell, author of the renowned nutritional study The China Study, has to say about that?
Although some of the vitamin D present in our bodies may come from food, we can usually get all that we need from a few hours of sunshine each week. In fact, it is our ability to make our vitamin D that leads to the idea that it is not a vitamin; it is a hormone (i. e. , made in one part of our body but functioning in another part).
The sun’s UV rays make vitamin D from a precursor chemical located in our skin. Provided we get adequate sunshine, this is all the vitamin D we need.
And John Jacob Cannell, MD from Vitamin D council, is there anything that you would like to add?
Remember, our ancestors lived naked in the sun for several million years. Then 50,000 years ago, some of us migrated north and south to places with less sun. Then we put on clothes, started working inside and living in cities where buildings blocked the sun. Then we started traveling in cars instead of walking, or riding horses, and glass blocked even more of the UVB in the sunlight. Then, only a few years ago, we started actively avoiding the sun and putting on sunblock. All this time we humans have been steadily reducing the tissue levels of the most potent steroid hormone in our bodies, one with powerful anti-cancer properties.
The really significant reductions in sunlight exposure have occurred since the industrial revolution, just the time the “diseases of civilization” like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer seem to have greatly increased. Pretty frightening when you think about it.
Even Dr. Joel Fuhrman, who advocates supplementation in his book Eat To Live, has this to say:
Most of us work indoors and avoid the sun or wear sunscreen, which lowers our vitamin D exposure.
In other words, vitamin D does not come from packaged breakfast cereals or rancid fish oils. It comes from good ole’ Mr. Sun.
How Much Sunshine?
The US RDA for vitamin D is 400 IU (international units) for an adult.
Dr. Mercola recommends that each person should get about 5,000 units of vitamin D everyday.
Sounds like a lot, right?
Not really, especially when you consider that only 15-30 minutes of full exposure (or as close to full as you can get) produces about 10,000 IU vitamin D!
What About Sunscreen?
Ah, sunscreen. That fruity, vanilla-y smelling goop that reminds us of beaches, bikinis, and family BBQs.
Snap out of it!
Not only are most sunscreens full of toxic ingredients, but putting them on your skin actually blocks the absorption of UVB rays, which is what we need to make vitamin D.
A healthy (and free) alternative? Shade.
If you feel yourself becoming uncomfortably warm in the sunshine, find yourself a nice shady spot, put on some breathable fabric, wear a hat, etc.
Simple, yet solid advice.
P. S. Be sure to check out “Vitamin D and the Raw Vegan Diet: Part II” for more information on the TRUTH about vitamin D.
For great info on vegan vitamins, vegetarian supplements and nutrition, visit www.vegetarianvitaminsguide.com today!
 |
US $19.56 (8 Bids) End Date: Sunday Jan-03-2010 13:45:58 PST Bid now | Add to watch list |
Vitamin D and the Raw Vegan Diet: Part I is a post from the Vegetarian Vitamins Guide blog where you can find suggestions and advice from vegetarians and vegans on vegetarian diets, supplements, vitamins and overall nutrition.
Related Vegetarian Vitamins Posts:
- How to prevent skin from cancer A cancer diagnosis is still a very frightening event in…
- Learn The Warning Signs Of Skin Cancer You need to know some warning signs that will allow…
- Healthy Vegetarian Nutritional Diet Our health needs proper nourishment and nutritional diet with…
- Vegan Diet: Eating Healthy Tips Many people think vegan diets are not healthy and…
- Protein for Vegetarians and Vegans One of the most common arguments against maintaining a…