so while on the subject of vitamin D

Well I’ve said it before but there are profound benefits from getting your daily vitamin D exposure and best source is sunlight not supplements.

Just listened to a webinar by Prof. Michael Holick from Boston University Medical Centre who has been researching benefits of vitamin D for forty years! It beats me why in all that time we’ve been diligently avoiding sun exposure, slathering ourselves in toxic sun-protective chemicals. I’ve never fully subscribed to the cover-up scare campaign, so now I’m very happy to simplify and summarise some of the science as put forward by Prof. Holick. 

In essence, middle-of-the day sunlight exposure stimulates the production of vitamin D first in the liver then the activated form is produced in the kidneys. The kidney vitamin D is involved in bone metabolism but in fact there are vitamin D receptors in every cell and tissue of your body. They are needed for the cell to mature and it is this vitamin D in cells that is responsible for gene expression.

At least 200, but maybe 2000 genes are regulated by vitamin D. Holick’s studies have demonstrated that 82 genes which were high-expressed at baseline, were down-regulated with vitamin D supplementation and the converse occurred for 209 genes which were low-expressed at baseline. What are these particular genes that are so strongly influenced by vitamin D? Wel, they're the ones responsible for immune response, cytokine production, how you feel when under stress, the way your body responds to stress and how well it repairs damaged DNA. No surprises then that those individuals with the highest levels of vitamin D have massively reduced rates of diabetes, MS, cardiovascular disease and all types of cancer. They were probably less stressed and less depressed as well although those results were seen in a separate study.

Don’t know about you, but it’s midday, the sun is shining and I’m going out to get my daily dose. If you want to know how much time you need in the sun depending on your geographical location, time of day, season, skin colour and state of dress or undress, simply download the app for your iPad or iPhone. http://dminder.info 

Pretty simple stuff and how good does that sunshine make you feel?

Get a little sun on your skin!

It’s surely not too much to ask in the name of optimal vitamin D status - get out in the sun! I defy anyone to say they don’t feel better when they step outside from their artificially-lit, air-conditioned home or office into a pool of warming sunlight. It’s the ultimate feel-good factor in my book and I’m sure that Nature intended it that way. 

The evidence now points overwhelmingly to the foundation status of vitamin D for optimal bone and immune health (to name just two vital functions) but also points to the widespread deficiency of this key nutrient amongst the general population. The debate as to the best maintenance dose for supplements and the need for ongoing testing to ensure optimal status, leaves me in no doubt about regular doses of sunshine to ensure you’re getting enough. 

For infants, a daily, unprotected sun bath, when the sun is more than 50 degrees above the horizon (but obviously avoiding the hottest part of the day), until the skin has a slight pink tinge, then wash only the smelly parts and all your supplementing issues are solved. Similar recommendation for pregnancy, with additional sun exposure on your nipples excellent preparation for breastfeeding. Same deal re wait for slight pink tone and no washing straight afterwards.