When our eyes don’t take in enough sunlight, we can “experience a serious mood change… sleep too much… have little energy… crave sweets and starchy foods… [and] feel depressed,” according to the National Library of Medicine. Studies link those symptoms to low levels of brain chemicals like serotonin and melatonin. Not only do we need sunlight in our eyes to produce those neurotransmitters, we need sunlight on our skin to produce vitamin D.
We’ve long known that vitamin D is critical for building and maintaining strong bones. But a big surprise in recent years has been that vitamin D also plays a critical role in insulin regulation, making it important for the prevention of diabetes and heart disease. It’s also important for the regulation of your immune system, with studies linking low vitamin D levels to an increased risk of breast, prostate, and colon cancers, as well as to multiple sclerosis (an autoimmune condition).
It’s hard to get enough sunshine during the winter months. And in summer, many avoid exposure to direct sunlight because they’re concerned about skin cancer. In addition, drugs used to treat heartburn, acid indigestion, and ulcers can deplete the body’s stores of vitamin D.
What this means is that you have a good chance of being deficient in this critical vitamin.
It’s easy to restore the vitamin D your body needs. You can get it by spending a few minutes in the sun each day. You can also get it from food sources, especially eggs, fatty fish, and fish liver oils. And if you don’t like fish, there are supplements.
When taking supplements, avoid the old form of vitamin D (ergocalciferol). Vitamin D 3 (cholecalciferol) is the best form to use. Experts are now recommending that we get at least 1,000 IUs per day.
[Ed. Note: It truly is possible to improve your health just by making wise choices when it comes to diet and lifestyle. James B. LaValle, RPh, ND, CCN - founder of the LaValle Metabolic Institute and a nationally recognized expert on natural therapies - can give you easy-to-understand directions for living the healthy life you've always wanted. Learn more here.
Dr. Al Sears and Jon Herring reveal the amazing, life-saving benefits of sunshine in Your Best Health Under the Sun.]
Similar Articles:
- Keep Your Brain Young with This Vitamin – If you’ve been reading ETR for any length of time, you probably already know at least a half-dozen r…
- Boost Your Body’s Response to Exercise – It’s frustrating to watch obese people suffer in the gym and receive absolutely no benefit for their…
- Words to the Wise: Pandemic – Pandemic (pan-DEM-ik) – from the Greek for “common” + “the people” – is a widespread epidemic, affec…
- The Effect of Sunshine on Aging – If you need some incentive to spend time outside in the chilly months, how about this: It may help y…
- Keep Your Kids Healthy With 2 Natural Nutrients – My kids understand that I don’t give out medication easily. The use of any drug -prescription or oth…
- A Hidden Threat to Men’s Health – Do you depend on the major media for your health information? If so, you may think osteoporosis affe…
- An Important Health Habit for the Entire Family – Though my wife and I have very different parenting styles, one of the things we agree on is this:&nb…