Its cold! Lets get some Vitamin D3- but on a beach!

We all want to have some fun in the sun right? Particularly when its so darn cold like it is  here in Boston this week!! But now you have a legitimate health reason to go! In fact, recent studies are increasingly proving that gettting sun on your skin is SO good for you that who knows, maybe one day the insurance companies will even pay for your trips there duing  spring break! Well maybe not in my lifetime – but you never know! 

So here’s the scoop. Your body makes Vitamin D3 from the sun. Simple enough right? Well, guess what it turns out that vitamin D is actually a superstar -to your body that is.. Here`s what you need to know about this vitally important nutrient, including how to make certain you`re getting enough vitamin D to protect your health.

D is NOT a bad grade....it's a VITAMIN SUPERSTAR - get some soon!

According to conventional wisdom, we should be wary of anything that sounds too good to be true. But vitamin D is shaping up as an exception to that rule. Although it was discovered nearly 100 years ago, vitamin D was long believed to have only one important role, maintaining healthy bones. As a result, it was added to milk in the 1930s, as a way to combat the high incidence of rickets in children and then pretty much forgotten.

How things change! During the past decade, a steady stream of news from researchers all over the world is proving that vitamin D helps protect us against such serious health concerns as cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, several types of  cancer (including breast, colon and prostate), diabetes, emotional difficulties, such as depression and bipolar disorder, muscle function and gum health.

And there`s more! Just consider this small sampling of good news from the vitamin D front:

*Vitamin D supports better brain function in older individuals, according to the findings of a recent clinical trial. Researchers at Tufts University found the best cognitive test scores among subjects with high blood levels of the nutrient. Those with high levels of vitamin D were better at “executive functions,” such as organizing, planning and abstract thinking.

*Vitamin D`s role in how well our muscles operate was underscored by a new study showing that low levels of the nutrient during pregnancy makes a woman four times more likely to have a C-section. The same researchers were also struck by separate findings showing that fully three-fourths of the women in the study and their babies had low vitamin D levels, even though they had been taking prenatal vitamins and drinking vitamin D-fortified milk while pregnant. Coincidentally, a new study from Turkey found that infants with low vitamin D levels are more vulnerable to developing respiratory infections.

When you can't get sunshine on your body- take Vitamin D3 supplements!

*And you can add prostate cancer to the list of cancers vitamin D may help protect against. Findings reported in the British Journal of Cancer show that the disease resulted in six times fewer fatalities for men with the most vitamin D in their bodies when compared to men with lower levels.

*There`s more news on the cancer front, too. A recent review of research involving vitamin D, cancer and sunlight (ultraviolet B or UVB) concluded that sun-associated vitamin D was linked to lower levels of colon and breast cancers, as well as kidney and ovarian cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

What`s the sunlight connection? Our bodies can produce vitamin D on their own when exposed to sunlight. Sounds simple, right? Even though making that happen only takes about 20 minutes of dailysun exposure (and please work up to that amount gradually, to avoid burning), there are actually a few factors that may interfere. Be sure you aren’t wearing sunscreen though – it interfere with the process.

Second, the sunlight-vitamin D conversion process is not nearly as effective for people of color. Third, age plays a role; individuals over age 50 are not efficient converters, so even with proper sun exposure, they`re likely to be deficient in the nutrient. Finally, there`s geography. Sunlight during winter months is not intense enough in areas north of Los Angeles, so no amount of sun exposure will help. But if you live north of Atlanta, after September and before June, you should definitely add Vitamin D3 to your diet! I take 3,000 – 4,000 IU a day and would suggest you consider similar amounts – based on your diet and your daily needs. You can always check with your doc too….although since he may even know about the importance of getting sun- these days he might even be on a beach somewhere too! Race you to the beach! Affectiontely, The Naughty Nutritionist

I want to be HERE...don't you???

Lets drink to your health this year- but with water!

The new year is well on its way. But are your  new years resolutions? My resolution this year is one that I hope you all will join me in. Its to drink more water. Yup I am finally going to commit to drinking 8-12 glasses of pure water every day! And when you learn about how important water is to your health, skin, organs, vitality and energy I hope you will add 8-12 glasses to your daily diet too! So read on……

Our bodies are not just works of art - they are 60% water!

Did you know that your body is 60% water (brain and muscles are 75%, blood and lungs are 90%)?  Did you also know you need 8-12 glasses of water a day?  Sounds like a lot. But you need it. Lets do the math together. Each day you lose 6.3 cups of water from urine, 4 cups from breathing, sweating and bowel movements and 2-3 cups from digestion. That’s 12 cups  even before you factor in things like stress or exercise.  Sadly, most of us  don’t drink this amount of water and are walking around dehydrated but don’t know it. When you are dehydrated, you are easily fatigued and nothing works efficiently. In fact, without sufficient water, your body thinks it’s in danger, so like a squirrel hiding nuts before winter, it stores whatever water it can get its hands on, and hides it in the nooks and crannies between your cells. This shows up on the scales as weight gain or as swelling in your feet, legs and hands. But great news, when you finally give your body the water that it needs, all that stored water can be released and when it is, your energy increases too.

Water gives you the gift of health. Will you accept the gift?

Drinking 8-12 glasses of water a day is not only key to having more energy, its vital for great health. Period. And its easy to do. So why not? But if you’re still not convinced, consider what happens when you get dehydrated.  Without water, you’d be poisoned by your own waste products.  Whoa! That got your attention didn’t it? Sorry for the drama but its basically true.   During dehydration, the water surrounding your cells is reduced and what little is left become stagnant with toxins. As dehydration continues, since your body absolutely has to have water surrounding its cells, it pulls out the water from inside your cells. Yup, like a fugitive on the run, your body literally “steals” water where ever it can find it – from inside your cells, from inside your blood, your organs, and even your colon (and is a big contributor to being constipated). This continues until your cells lose all or most of their internal water, shrivel, malfunction and even become damaged. Of course, you  can stop this dehydration process any time simply by drinking more water. But most people have no idea they are dehydrated. In fact, even some health conditions could be corrected, just by drinking more. But who knew? Well, now you do.

You need to keep replenishing the water in your body - just like your goldfish bowl!

And here’s one final visual:. When you were a kid, you likely had a gold fish. Right? Remember what happened when you didn’t change the water in your fish tank and it got all murky? Your goldfish seemed depressed, was less active, stopped swimming or worse – died.  Poor thing.  But once you cleaned out the tank and replaced it with fresh water, little “Goldy” was likely back doing laps around the fish tank. Maybe even back flips like a character out of Dr. Seuss’s book “One Fish Two Fish  Red Fish Blue Fish”  Well, the cells in your body are just like little Goldy. They need a constant supply of fresh water and if they don’t get it, they slowly but surely shut down- just like your friend Goldy did. Without a daily supply of fresh water, the water around your cells also gets dirty, murky and toxic. Just like the water in your goldfish bowl did. Yuk. Who wants dirty goldfish water sloshing around inside them? Not me! Not Goldy. And not you either! So drink up. Drink often. And hopefully drink with our NaughtyBits™ !!

 With great affection

xoxo

The Naughty Nutritionist