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Winter
Sun makes it difficult to get Vitamin D
naturally
Newswise — As the days grow shorter, the
sun’s warm rays aren’t the only thing your
body may be missing, warns Creighton
University researcher Joan Lappe, Ph.D.
If you live in North American at latitudes
above the 37th parallel – Omaha is near the
41st parallel - you also may not be getting
enough vitamin D, says Lappe, professor of
medicine and holder of the Criss/Beirne
Endowed Chair in the Creighton School of
Nursing.
And that vitamin D is important to your
health. In fact, a landmark study by Lappe
and other Creighton researchers, published
in June in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, showed a direct link between
vitamin D and cancer prevention.
Humans can get vitamin D from several
sources.
During the summer, the body can convert
solar energy into ample amounts of vitamin D
with just 10-15 minutes exposure daily to
the sun. That’s not possible this time of
year.
“From October until the end of March, the
angle of the sun is such that, in much of
North America, no vitamin D is available
from that source,” Lappe says. “What that
means is most of us are deficient in vitamin
D this time of year.”
While you can get the vitamin from fish oil
and a few fortified foods, it’s difficult to
take in adequate amounts of vitamin D by
eating alone. Lappe recommends taking
vitamin D3 – the same form of the vitamin
that humans make from exposure to the sun.
The amount of vitamin D you should take
daily is a subject of great debate, Lappe
notes.
The U.S. government’s recommended daily
allowance is 200 IU until age 50, 400 IU for
50-70 year olds, and 600 IU after age 70.
However, many medical experts believe those
recommendations are way too low.
The Canadian Cancer Society recently
recommended that people with light skin take
1,000 IU of the vitamin supplement during
fall and winter, while people with darker
skin or limited sun exposure take that
amount throughout the year.
The society’s recommendation coincided with
the publication of the Creighton (Cray-ton)
research in June. The four-year study
involving 1,179 Nebraska women showed that
women taking calcium supplements plus 1,100
IU of vitamin D3 daily, experienced a 60
percent decrease in their risk of developing
cancer than a placebo group.
“Generally, medical experts consider it safe
to take between 1,000 IU and 2,000 IU of
vitamin D supplements daily,” Lappe says.
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