What is Vitamin D?

It is one of those lovely vitamins that is available in many foods but importantly the best source is made by the sun shining on your body!

What does Vitamin D do?

Vitamin D plays a vital role in keeping bones strong and teeth healthy. It also assists with the transmission of nerves, it helps regulate the heart beat and assists the blood in clotting.

Studies suggest that it might also have a role in reducing certain types of cancer such as and including breast,colon and prostate cancers.

If you eat a healthy balanced diet containing liver, eggs, and if you must fortified foods and of course Cod Liver oil see Xtend-Life then you will be getting some but the most important source of this vitamin is natural sunlight as the body automatically makes it when ultraviolet rays hit the skin.

But isn't it dangerous to go out in the sun?

Well if you listen to all of the doom mongers and those who have an interest in selling sunscreen lotions then yes it is dangerous to go into the sun. However if you look at the statistics properly you might come to a different conclusion. What was the song Noel Coward sang "Mad dogs and the Englishmen go out in the midday sun"

Now that is not such a stupid statement given some people can only get out at lunchtime then they may be doing themselves some real harm. In Australia the group of workers with the greatest number of cancer cases are the office workers not the life guards who are out all day long in the sun.

A word of caution here.

"Sitting in the sun behind glass does not constitute sitting in the sun proper."The sun's health and life giving rays travels to us many millions of miles and we receive the Ultraviolet rays 'A' and 'B' in exactly the correct proportion.

However if you apply sunscreens or sit behind glass and then exposing yourself then you are interfering with the ratio of those rays and this imbalance will not be to your advantage.

I am not saying that it will make you unhealthy but i really do believe that you are increasing your risk of cancers and other sun related ailments.

You may well get a suntan and look healthy but the appearance of health is a lie.

So logically i think that if you get a regular exposure to natural sunlight then it is healthy and beneficial. You do not need to expose the whole body either. By just exposing the face and arms for 5 to 10 to 20 mins depending on your skin type you will get sufficient Vitamin D.

If you start exposing the skin during the months when the sun is not too strong, February and March say in the Northern hemisphere then you will gradually harden and acclimatize the skin and build up the skins tolerance as it gets more intense.

Naturally if you do use sunscreens, anything over factor 8 will block 95% of the sun's health giving rays so use your discretion.

n.b. I am not medically qualified so please consult with your doctor/practitioner about my suggestions.

Another suggestion i would make is. The eyes are important organs and in order to stay healthy they also need some sunlight. So go easy on those shades/glasses. Look what happened to Roy Orbison through constantly wearing dark glasses he lost a considerable tolerance to light and his sight became weak.

Do i need to go out into the sun every day

Well the good news is that Vitamin D is fat soluble which means that it is stored in the fat of the body so if you do get your full quota then the body will store it for up to 2 months during which time you should have had some exposure to a weak sun and eaten some oily fish or supplements or eaten eggs so the body stocks should not be entirely depleted.

How can i get some natural Vitamin D on a regular basis?

Nutrition Ensure that you follow the guidlines

Vitamin D You really need to get out to get it! Xtend-Life the only Supplements your body will ever need