Tag Archives: winter

Depression, Health, Healthy Living, Seasons, Vitamins & Minerals

A Winter’s Tale: Does Your Winter Mood Need A Lift?

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Winter Girl Blowing Snow by Petr Kratochvil

Enough is enough! Yesterday was a day of bitingly cold winds, hail showers and snowfalls on the nearby ranges. Eleven weeks in and I am over the Winter Wonderland Magic.

I was chatting to a man in the supermarket register queue last night as he added some gorgeous coral coloured roses to his pile of groceries. He said he just needed some warm colours around his house to remind him that winter would not go on forever, that spring is nearly here. I felt so inspired, I bought some too!

Winter is eleven weeks in now and it seems we are all feeling over it. The joy of curling up with a warm drink, cosy slippers, a heat pack in front of a movie or with an engrossing book is past. I want to go outside without rugging up, to plant my spring vegetables, to enjoy a salad again, to get to the end of the day without cold feet and to enjoy some sunny evenings.

Even though we are at the tail end of winter this is the time that Winter Blues shows up for many people, as the accumulated stresses of winter start to affect them. These days winter blues are recognised as a disorder known as SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) which is caused by a lack or not sufficient sunlight.

To help get us over that last hump in the winter road and to keep us going until the warmer days of spring arrive I have gathered some ideas to help lift our spirits as winter heads on out.

First up, a couple of warm drinks with a difference. I love herbal teas and I have a whole cupboard devoted to their storage – the tea cupboard. But, even with my wide choice, as well as the basic green tea back-up, I am bored. Here are a few new yummy hot drink ideas I have come across to spice things up when tea is just not going to cut it any more

Hot chocolate!  Chocolate is recognized as a mild stimulant and if you choose your chocolate wisely you get all the benefits of antioxidants, flavonoids, vitamins and minerals. Here are two DELICIOUS chocolaty drinks to warm your insides and your mood.

The first is from Tara Bliss at Such Different Skies

hot choc smoothie

This PIPING HOT CHOC WINTER SMOOTHIE is thick, creamy, decadent and not-naughty.

1 banana

1 heaped Tablespoon raw cacao (don’t use drinking chocolate or cocoa…it’s absolutely worth GETTING some Raw Cacao INSTEAD)

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon chia seeds

2 medjool dates or some honey

1 cup boiling water OR warm almond milk OR dandelion tea

(you can add peanut butter, oats, cinnamon, coconut or maca)

 Blend, Pour, Guzzle Buzz.

 haute hotchocoalte

SUPERFOOD HAUTE CHOCOLATE from Sarah Britton at My New Roots

2 Tablespoons raw cacao powder

2 teaspoons maca porder

1 Tablespoon coconut sugar

Pinch sea salt

Pinch cinnamon powder

Pinch cayenne pepper

Pinch ginger powder

Small piece vanilla bean, scraped (optional)

1½ cups milk of your choice or water

Boil water or warm milk on the stove and let cool slightly. If using raw nut milk do not heat above 42ْ C

Whisk in dry ingredients. Serve immediately with a cinnamon stick, if desired.

Not only is this hot choc yummy but all the spices are wonderfully warming circulation stimulants to warm you through to the fingertips and toes.

                DANDELION CHAI – SPICED DANDELION ROOT TEA

                1 teaspoon -1 dessertspooon organic roast dandelion root per cup.

1 cinnamon stick (or a pinch of cinnamon powder)

Ginger root, chopped up with the skin left on

Add any of these spices to taste: star anise, bay leaf, black peppercorns, green cardamom seeds slightly crushed, cloves, dried orange peel, dried raspberry leaf, fennel seeds, peppercorns, vanilla bean, licorice root.

Place all ingredients and water in a pot, bring to boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

You can keep any leftover in the fridge and add water and reuse.

Add some honey and your milk of choice if desired.

It tastes great black, but may be too strong for if you are not used to it.

 Aug 22 040

HOME MADE LEMON AND GINGER TEA is so easy to make and head and shoulders better than any from a tea bag.

2 cups boiling water

Juice of ½-1 lemon (about 60ml)

2.5cm piece ginger root, grated

A couple of spoons (or more) of honey to taste

Add the ginger to the boiling water. Simmer in an open pan for about 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice and the honey to the ginger water. Strain into your cup.

Or you can add all the ingredients to the water and pour into a thermos and let the mix sit for 20 minutes before straining and drinking.

This is a good option if you are still trying to throw off a winter cough. The lemon is high in vitamin C to boost your immune system. Ginger and honey also help the immune system.

ROOIBOS, sometimes called red tea, is one with heaps of health benefits. It comes from South Africa and has a fairly robust flavour. We recently tried one with added honey at work and it was very popular.

Looking out the window at the pots of flowers on my deck today, it struck me that the  colours of late winter are lavender, the colour of the rosemary in full flower, and golden yellow – think daffodils. Bringing a bunch of winter daffs in for your desk or bench will brighten your mood, reminding you the season is about to change. Yellow is the colour of spring and it is considered cheerful and optimistic.

There have been a number of studies done which show that the colours you surround yourself with will have a great impact on your state of mind. In the Stadium at the University of Iowa, the visiting teams locker rooms are painted all-pink and have been for thirty years, because pink is a tranquil colour that is known to calm and pacify. If the Home Team then painted their own locker rooms red which stimulates a faster heart rate and breathing, they would no doubt benefit from an emotional energy boost.

Using colour is a great way to lift your mood and one very simple way to use colour is to swap a bright cheerful coloured silk scarf for your woolly, black  winter scarf (of course you have a black scarf if you live in Melbourne!). Avoid blue because it lowers the pulse rate and body temperature.

Vitamin D is a wonderful mood lifter and if you are feeling a bit low taking a quality vitamin D supplement is a great move. In many parts of the world it is almost impossible to get sufficient sun exposure to meet your needs during the winter. Vitamin D is involved in so many body functions, but at this time of the year it often becomes very obvious that you have a deficiency of this vitamin when your mood drops. It is really worth having your blood levels tested with a simple blood test, as then you will be able to calculate how much vitamin D supplement you need to take.  Optimum levels are >75 nmol/L. If your levels are significantly lower than this (and a large part of the populations are, even here in ‘sunny Australia’), then you will need to take quite a bit of supplement to bring the levels up again.

Another vitamin that plays a crucial role in keeping up good spirits are the B group of vitamins. Vitamin B deficiency is linked to a range of emotional disorders as well as many other body functions. Opt for 50mg daily of a Vitamin B-complex rather than selecting individual B vitamins as these vitamins work much better synergistically when all the ‘B’s’ are present.

Other supplements that are critical in dealing with depression and mood disorders are selenium, magnesium and iron. A multi vitamin and multi mineral can address any deficiency you may have.

Socialising is a great way to pick up your mood. Maybe this is the time to do something with your friends out of the ordinary. Hold a fondue party, or dust off the board games, particularly the ones you loved as a child, like Twister, Pictionary, Monopoly or Charades. Or combine a pot-luck night with a game night. Or maybe your friends would enjoy a ‘Funny-Home Video’ night or a Karaoke night.

Even though it is cold try and get outside for some exercise. It is tough to exercise in the winter, and arriving home in the evening just as the sun goes down and the cold closes in is not much incentive to head out to the gym or go out for a walk. But exercise goes a long way towards relieving the stress of the day. The endorphins released during exercise improve your mood and help you sleep, and the effects can last for a number of hours.

One problem of the colder weather for many people is that they crave starchy or sweet foods more than normal which increases their blood sugar levels, making them feel blue. Remember that the foods you eat are a strong contributor to your mood. A poor diet will cause an imbalance in your body and make you feel worse. Add more fruits and vegetables, including raw as much as possible. Use complex grains, organic meats when you can and eggs and ignore those cravings for white flour and sugars.

Natural light is one of the best ways to avoid the blues and to lift your spirits. You can now get full spectrum light globes in Australia and there are energy saving versions available. They provide the full range of natural light from infra-red to ultra-violet. The benefits are well established and they reduce many health problems such as headaches, nausea and fatigue. In your home open the curtains wide to let the sun stream in on any day that is a little warmer, particularly where you cannot install full spectrum light globes.

After being closed up for months on end houses get stale. Freshen up your surroundings and your mood at the same time with essential oils. There are some that have anti-depressant properties including bergamot, lavender, geranium, jasmine and clary sage.  Others that are good mood lifters are sweet orange, neroli, and ylang ylang. Using high quality essential oil in an aromatherapy diffuser releases them into the air in the form of water vapour, which is the best way for them to spread through your home. You can also add them to a bath (or a foot bath) or add a few drops to a carrier oil and use as a massage oil.

Here’s to the arrival of spring…

 Copy of daffodils

Disclaimer.

All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue. 

Source articles

http://www.naturopathic.org/content.asp?contentid=262

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/5-natural-ways-to-beat-the-winter-blues.html?page=2

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/wellness_articles.asp?id=341

http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/sex+relationships/wellbeing/beat+the+winter+blues,9093

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Children's Health, Healthy Living, Homeopathy

Why I Still Love Homeopathy…In Spite Of Everything

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Although I write about many different things you can do to build your health on this blog, this week I want to share a purely anecdotal story about Homeopathy, because after all, it is the main method of treatment that I use for the people who come into my clinic, and it is the reason that I actually started  out on this gentle journey to better health myself.

Many people don’t even know that Homeopathy can be pretty darn useful for treating acute illnesses like flu, coughs and colds, diarrhea, vomiting, viral infections, hay fever, headaches, teething, nausea and so on, you get the idea. When people caome in to see me many say they “have tried everything else and so may as well try Homeopathy”, it is often only used when things have reached rock bottom.

But Homeopathy can be an excellent treatment for ‘new illnesses’when used according to homeopathic principles, and something to consider before starting a course of antibiotics. Once I discovered how good well-matched simplex Homeopathics (not the ‘complex remedies’ sold over the counter) were for treating acute illness it was all I ever used for my children. We headed out to the Homeopath, right past the doctor, whenever they got sick. In fact one, now 25, has not taken antibiotics, not once, since he was 3, which was when I first discovered Homeopathy. The youngest has grown up with only Homeopathics, and has only had antibiotics ONCE EVER, when he developed a terrible infection after swimming beside a sewage outlet at a beach in Thailand. The others are also healthy. Antibiotics didn’t get used in our house at all after we turned to Homeopathy. That’s a pretty awesome record!

So, here is what has been happening at my house this week, a perfect example of why I love Homeopathy so much.

I’m a pretty good prescriber of Homeopathic remedies for acute illnesses. There is a bit of a knack to this, and the way that my brain processes information happens to be well suited to this type of prescribing.

However, when I get sick myself it is another matter altogether, because, as any of my students that have completed the Homeopathy @ Home Short Course I run (where they learnt how to prescribe Homeopathics for first stage acute illnesses and first aid for themselves and their family) will agree, it takes a clear head to find a good match between a “Symptom Picture” in a patient and a “Homeopathic Remedy Picture”. Getting that match right is what gets the results – a really close match equals a great result, a so-so match equals some improvement, maybe.

Like most of you,when I am sick my brain just doesn’t work clearly and I often struggle to prescribe for myself in that state, which is what I want to tell you about.

Finding enough clarity to carefully select a Homeopathy Remedy can be an near-impossible task when your brain feels like it's made of cotton wool and is being squeezed between a tight vice
Finding enough clarity to carefully select a Homeopathy Remedy can be an near-impossible task when your brain feels like it’s made of cotton wool and is being squeezed between a tight vice

My husband came home last week and brought with him one of the nastiest, most violent coughs I have ever seen (not up there with the whooping cough we had once, but running a good race) which he promptly shared with me…violent cough, headache to knock you out, sore throat etc etc…winter illness at its worst! The pair of us sat hacking away in unison all weekend, each just as sick as the other. I endured it, my head too foggy to even think about what remedy to take. But every night when I lay down to get to sleep it was just getting worse and worse, getting to sleep was a nightmare.

Then came the night when I was coughing so badly I had to go and it the bathroom as I was certain I was going to throw up from it. I sat on the edge of the bath coughing it out and realized it was ‘do or die’, I needed to rally enough to find a remedy match fast. It was heading towards 1am, but I gathered my books, and really focused, in spite of the brain fog, and came up with a remedy very quickly, which I made up and took straight away.

Five minutes later, all my coughing, wheezing, headache and breathlessness had stopped and I dropped off to sleep.

The next morning instead of waking to a major coughing fit I was pretty good. I took another dose then (and a couple more in the days since). I am still a little bit hoarse and cough once in a while, but otherwise I am good, none of the severe symptoms have returned and I feel great, full of energy.

This is what happens when a really good Homeopathic prescription is made for an acute illness. Symptoms may be stopped in their tracks. But even better is that you feel great and full of energy even though to others you might still sound a bit sick. It is almost as if your body ‘knows’ that it has got on top of this virus and the battle is on its way to being won.  You feel it is ok to go about your life again because you don’t need to ‘conserve your strength’, to crawl into bed to recuperate.

My husband?

Well he has an on/off relationship with Homeopathy which it seems is turned to ‘off’ right now, and he is letting nature take its course. He didn’t go to work today (unheard of!) and spent the day lying in bed, unable to move, coughing his lungs out every time he woke up, feeling like death. I realize this is only a winter virus, although certainly a pretty nasty one, but this story is a perfect example of how Homeopathy can be so useful for treating acute illnesses.

I have been working as a Homeopath for thirteen years now and I repeatedly see how so many of the people who come through my clinic experience an improvment in their health quickly and effectively when they use Homeopathy to treat their sickness. Watching the amazing response in my son twenty two years ago was how I was first introduced to this treatment, that I had never even heard of, and you can read about that right here.

But, in spite of what I know and have seen over all those years, of what I expect to see happen, I sometimes still sit in my clinic, listening to clients tell of the changes they have experienced after taking their prescribed Homeopathic remedies, and in spite of what experience has taught me good Homeopathic prescribing is capable of, there are still times when I am just blown away by the response the person has experienced, and the extent of their improvement.

It doesn’t happen all the time by any means, but when it does it still amazes me, and that is the main reason why I love being a Homeopath and why I still love the amazing possibilities of Homeopathy.

When the symptoms of an illness that someone is experiencing are matched perfectly to the correct Homeopathic remedy, and that remedy is taken according to homeopathic principles, at the correct potency to match the strength of the illness, it is as if the body, or the immune system if you will, is suddenly jolted into action, and the rapid healing response that follows is an absolute joy to watch.

water-lily-flower

I realize that this is just one example and ‘does not a case for Homeopathy make’, but when you watch a response like this happen there is no doubt that there are powerful possibilities here…and the intellectual questions about how it can be happening get brushed to the side.

But, as with all things, everyone has their own path to follow. The Homepathic road was the one for my family but it may not be for you.

Have you ever experienced or observed one of these very rapid responses to treatment with a perfectly matched Homeopathic remedy? Tell us about it in the comments below.

You might also like to check out this Youtube playlist where lots of people  have posted about their personal experience of how “Homeopathy Works For Me”. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF0F0329B561969C8

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Antioxidants, Children's Health, Disease & Syndromes, Healthy Living, Homeopathy, Immune System, Vitamins & Minerals

Are You Well Enough To Weather Winter?

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A question that is worth asking yourself right now is “am I well enough to weather winter?” If you build your health before winter arrives you are more likely to get through it without falling victim to lots of colds or worse, the flu.

If you build up your health before winter arrives you are far more likely to get through without falling victim to lots of colds or worse, the flu. Photo credit: Flickr Winter Fog by Larisa Koshkina
If you build your health before winter arrives you are more likely to get through without falling victim to lots of colds or worse, the flu.
Photo credit: Flickr Winter Fog by Larisa Koshkina

During these last weeks of Autumn a really nasty flu/cough/virus arrived alongside the change in weather, and people have been struck down with it all around, including me. It seems to be tagged as ‘flu’ but mine was more of a really nasty cough & cold. Most of the viruses that look and feel like flu are in fact not, with probably less than 20% actually being flu. But this does not stop the others from being downright unpleasant and highly contagious.

Preparing your health for winter really needs to begin as soon as the weather begins to change from summer into autumn, with a careful plan to bolster your immune system. But if you have not prepared yourself and have already had a taste of the illnesses that lie ahead this winter then there are still various tactics you can use to help you get through with minimum damage.

While aspirin or other medications may make you feel better because you can forget your symptoms for a bit they only suppress the symptoms and don’t actually make you better any faster. For that you need to look at other options, as well as making a few changes right now.

When my family catch the flu or any other cough or cold we all reach straight for the best selected Homeopathic remedy, because they are so effective against viral infection (unlike Antibiotics which we would avoid anyway). This is what I took this week to get rid of the bout I have just had fast. Homeopathic remedies are great as they reduce the unpleasant symptoms such as aches and pains or headache dramatically as they clear up the infection. But to get the fast, complete resolution the choice of remedy needs to be made individually – the remedy that did it for me may not be the same as the one you need. So if you would like to use this wonderful treatment head off to a Homeopath or else look for a short course to learn how to home-prescribe for acute illnesses yourself.

While there are many great Homeopathic medicines that are awesome for the flu, it is much better not to catch the flu in the first place.

The very first indication you are coming down with a cold or flu is the time you need to take action. Photo credit: Flickr Sick Again by Miss Rogue
The very first indication you are coming down with a cold or flu is the time you need to take action.
Photo credit: Flickr Sick Again by Miss Rogue

PREVENT THE FLU

Here are some steps you can take to help prevent getting the flu. It is really important to make sure you follow these steps if you have come into contact with someone who has flu. But when flu is doing the rounds you can bet that you have been in contact with sufferers, at work, the train, the shopping centre, at school, or anywhere you have been.

Rest    Get plenty of rest. Your immune system recharges itself while you are asleep. When you are overtired your system is not strong enough to fight off infection. Try for eight solid hours a night.

Water  Drink enough water as it improves the function of every system in your body

Nutrition Increase fresh fruit and vegetable in your diet, preferably organic if you can. Fresh organic produce in a rainbow of colours is packed full of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants which are crucial for maintaining your immune health. Add spices such as turmeric, oregano, cinnamon and cloves have high ORAC scores   http://www.oracvalues.com which equates to high levels of antioxidants. Adding a high quality daily multivitamin will fill in any gaps in the full range you may have.

Exercise  Get regular exercise. Exercising for 30 to 60 minutes a day improves your immunity although it is not known exactly why. But it does need to be regular and consistent exercise, running occasionally won’t do a lot. However don’t overdo it as too much exercise makes you more susceptible to infection.

Hygeine Wash your hands often, especially before eating. You need to use warm water and soap and to really lather up. This is one of the best ways to avoid contracting the virus. Also, try not to touch your mouth, nose or eyes to prevent the virus entering your system.

Sugars Cut back on sugar and grains in your diet as they are both very weakening to your immune system.

The time you need to take steps if you want to fight the flu off is at the very first indication you are coming down with it because this is when the strategies work their best. Don’t just do a few things, you need to fight the virus off on all fronts by adopting every strategy you can – nutrition, sleep, exercise, supplements, calm.

Take some time off to rest up and recuperate. It is much better to rest for one day rather than getting sick for much longer, simply because you pushed on when your body was telling you to slow down

There are a number of supplements you can take to help to prevent flu which improve your immunity and help your mucous membranes stay healthy.

Vitamin D Most importantly get on to Vitamin D. It produces antimicrobial peptides in your body to kill viruses as well as bacteria. Huge numbers of the population are deficient in this crucial vitamin and because the source is sunlight their levels drop even further during the winter when sunlight is scarce or weak. 2000 IU a day has been found to keep flu away.

Vitamin C Adding a Vitamin C supplement during the flu season will provide your immune system with lots of extra power when it comes to warding off viral illness, as it acts as an antioxidant in your body. You can find it in many foods including lemons, limes, oranges, red pepper and broccoli.

Beta Carotene (Vitamin A) Vitamin A also acts as an antioxidant. It is of huge benefit to dramatically increase the amount you take each day if you do fall ill. Food sources are orange and yellow foods like carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin as well as broccoli and dark green vegetables.

Zinc Strong immunity is dependant on good zinc levels but many people are deficient in this trace element, as the body has no way to store it. It increases production of infection fighting white blood cells and helps your immune system release more antibodies. If your levels of zinc are low you will be much more susceptible to infection. Your natural health practitioner can test your levels for you.

Vitamin E Another antioxidant, it improves immune function. If you have Hypertension make sure to take a water soluble version. Good food sources are olive oil, almonds, avocado and spinach.

Vitamin B6  Vitamin B6 deficiency leads to a weakened immune system. Vegetarians need to be particularly careful as most sources of B6 are animal foods.

Selenium It has been found that viruses tend to mutate easily into more damaging forms that lead to flu-related lung damage in people who are deficient in Selenium.

Olive Leaf Extract is a very effective immune system builder

Probiotics Studies show that long term use of lactic acid bacteria can protect against flu infection.

HERBAL HELP

There are many herbs that support and boost your immune system and help you stave off the flu, while also helping the mucous membranes, such as Astragulus membranaceus, Hydrastis Canadensis, Sambucus nigra, Shitake mushroom and Garlic. Echinacea is useful for the first twenty-four hours of the illness.

Garlic is one food that really gives you a huge boost. If you take your garlic as a food you need to know these first. The health benefits of garlic are destroyed by cooking, much better if it is raw. You need to be able to smell garlic for it to work – odour free tablets are useless. The inside of the clove needs to be exposed to the air to be effective, so cut or crush the clove before you eat it. You should take two cloves a day. If you cut it up very small and swallow the bits with water or  tea they will be easier to eat. Often when I need some garlic I squeeze the cloves right on the top of my pasta or casserole after I have served it and just eat it with the first mouthful. That way it is raw so still effective but the taste is masked by the taste of the food. Chew on parsley after taking garlic to avoid ‘garlic breath’

Reishi, Shitake and Maitake mushrooms have been used medicinally by the Chinese for over 6,000 years as they are excellent for increasing white blood cell activity to better fight off infection. There are many great mushroom supplements in tablet form available as well as the liquid herbs.

IF YOU STILL CATCH THE FLU

If in spite of taking preventative measures you are unfortunate and do catch the flu, here are some suggestions to help ease the flu symptoms a bit.

  • Hot water bottles or heated wheat bags are great for sore, chilly patients
  • Hot baths with Epsom salts: Put 1-2 cups of salts into a warm bath and soak . This helps draw out inflammation and ease muscle pain
  • Gentle massage can help increase circulation
  • Vitamin C in a powdered form in juice or water is easier to swallow than tablets and will ease inflamed mucous membranes as it passes over them.
  • Chicken soup can be good as it helps replace electrolytes plus has other healing properties
  • If you feel nausea ginger or chamomile tea may help
  • Here are some nice herbal recipes for the symptoms of viral colds and flu, including a Cold & Flu Tea and a Sore Throat Gargle

And don’t forget, when you start feeling better it is important to remember that you are more vulnerable than normal and so you should take things a bit easier for a while, cutting back your schedule and keeping down your stress levels.

What’s your best tip for combating the flu?

Take some time off to rest up and recuperate Photo credit: Kate Ter Haar
Take some time off to rest up and recuperate
Photo credit: Kate Ter Haar

Disclaimer.

All information and opinions presented here are for information only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before trying any of the treatment suggested on this site. 

Source articles:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/03/how-to-prevent-the-flu-easy-as-1-2-3.aspx

http://www.livestrong.com/article/365772-vitamins-for-the-flu/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/546106-selenium-for-the-flu/

http://www.naturalnews.com/019194_flu_the_health.html

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/13/zinc-for-colds-and-flu.aspx

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Beauty & Skin Care, Children's Health, Depression, Seasons, Vitamins & Minerals

Good Morning Sunshine: Just How Much Vitamin D Are You Really Getting?

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Here comes the sun

Sunny days are here again but are they really going to lift your spirits, or your health? Vitamin D deficiency is often the result of inadequate exposure to sunlight. It is essential for a healthy immune system and plays a role in many functions within your body. Vitamin D deficiency is linked to many illnesses including depression and schizophrenia. So it’s vital you maintain healthy levels with this information.

Chances are if you had a blood test for anything recently, the level of Vitamin D in your blood was tested at the same time, and if you are one of about 70% of us “Sunburnt Country-ites” your levels were below the level needed for good bone health, or worse, like 30% of the country your levels were deficient. So what does this all mean, and probably most importantly, what are the implications of this?

You all know that one of the reasons for this situation is that over the last few years Australians have been urged to ‘Slip, Slop, Slap’ all the time, or even to avoid going out in the sun altogether. Now with the discovery of just how widespread the problem of low Vitamin D levels is, and growing awareness of the important role that it plays in the prevention of so many diseases, the advice regarding sun exposure has suddenly been dramatically changed.

Vitamin D is n fact not actually a vitamin but rather a hormone which is made by your body.  But it needs sunlight to trigger production of the Vitamin D precursor in your skin.

There are two types of UV light rays, UVA and UVB.  Both can trigger skin cancers, but UVA have long wavelengths that reach into the deeper layers of your skin while UVB rays are shorter and only get into the surface layers. More importantly, UVB rays are the only ones that contribute to Vitamin D production. UVB rays are more intense in the middle of the day and decrease at either end of the day while UVA rays stay constant through the day. This is why the recommendation has changed and it is now is to get your sun exposure at lunchtime. By going out in the sun at that time you get more exposure to the UVB rays relative to the UVA rays and so get greater Vitamin D benefit from the same exposure, “more bang for your buck”, so to speak.

Evidence  shows that our connection between sunlight exposure and melanoma has previously been far too simple as it seems that Vitamin D is the factor that actually assists our bodies in not developing skin cancers. This actually makes good sense when you remember that we evolved to live harmoniously with sunlight long before sunscreen came along. By always coating in sunscreen and avoiding the sun we do not have adequate levels of Vitamin D to gain the protection we need.

Short exposure in the middle of the day is best

The new recommendation is to go out in the sun in the middle of the day, with face and arms uncovered, for only the amount of time that it takes for your skin to just begin to feel like it is going to start ‘pinking up’. Of course this is going to differ for each of us, with fairer skinned people needing very little exposure and darker skinned maybe three to four times as much. Every time we are outside we have some sun exposure, and even when inside cars or buildings we are getting exposure as UVA rays can pass through glass. Unfortunately, UVB rays that activate Vitamin D do not pass through, something worth remembering when the sun streams through the car windows.

The most recent figures that I have for the number of Australians deficient in Vitamin D are about 30-50% with 75% having levels too low for optimal bone health. These high figures are very surprising for citizens of the Sunburnt Country. I read recently that in order to get enough sun exposure to maintain adequate Vitamin D levels in Melbourne during July one would have to be outside in the middle of the day, fully naked for twenty minutes. As the temperature at lunchtime in July is often no more than a mighty eleven or twelve degrees, I will not be trying that out. Because those with dark skin need so much more time to get adequate Vitamin D from sun exposure they are more at risk for Vitamin D deficiency.  Obviously it is easier to get sufficient exposure further north and more difficult down in Tasmania.

I normally stress that vitamins and minerals are best obtained from foods. Although there are small amounts of Vitamin D available in a few food including oily fish, mushrooms, and eggs (you would need 10 a day to get enough Vitamin D), as well as dark green leafy vegetables you will never be able to get anywhere near what you need from your diet and the form occurring in plants is not really useful.

During the twentieth century Vitamin D deficiency was mainly associated with rickets, a disease where bones soften and weaken. At that time it was recognized that this Vitamin played a big part (along with calcium and phosphate) in maintaining good healthy bones. But as we have become more aware of the many body processes that involve this amazing vitamin we are also becoming more aware of the far reaching impacts of its deficiency.

There are so many health problems in which Vitamin D deficiency is now known to play a part including SLE (Lupus), heart disease and high blood pressure, diabetes, PMS, Rheumatoid Arthritis and osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, teeth problems, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, autism, mental health, migraines, MS, skin problems like psoriasis, infections, colds and flu, Hypothyroidism and diseases which have fat malabsorption such as Coeliac Disease. Even chronic pain – bone pain, muscle pain, back pain – can be due to a Vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D deficiency is also quite common in children and has been shown to be linked to an increased likelihood of developing allergies. Late teething, irritability and poor growth are all a sign of a deficiency and even seizures and asthma seem to be linked.

It is now becoming more common to suspect vitamin D to be ‘the’, or at least one of the most crucial factors in the prevention of a large number of diseases. There has also been research conducted into Vitamin D and cancer prevention   Interestingly, and not surprisingly, research so far has shown that the doses required to prevent serious diseases are much, much higher than RDA’s (recommended daily amounts) and it is worth remembering that an RDA is set at the level needed to keep you alive, not the level required for good or optimum health.

Vitamin D allows your body to absorb calcium through the small intestine and plays a crucial part in the prevention of osteopeania and osteporosis, however, many people have taken calcium supplements for a long time without the necessary Vitamin D to actually absorb the calcium properly. Vitamin D turns out to be a major factor in keeping this disease at bay.

After getting the results of their blood tests many Australians find they require Vitamin D supplemets. Supplement quality varies! You can get them in the form of a capsule, tablet, liquid or as a drop that you place on your hand and lick off. Another great source is cod liver oil. In the past it tasted vile but these days it comes in fruit flavours to hide the fishy taste. Cod liver oil also provides you with vitamin A and EFA’s as a great bonus. But again, quality varies.

It is always really important to take a good quality supplement, whatever type of supplement it is. Basically, with supplements you get what you pay for. Poor quality products are often just a waste of money, especially if your body is excreting them because they are not in a form that you can absorb properly. And just because the product is advertised as being a ‘best-seller’ or ‘more popular’ does not mean it is even remotely any good!

Many people come to me after having been tested for Vitamin D levels and I keep seeing that the amount of Vitamin D supplement that most have been prescribed is inadequate to address their own personal Vitamin D deficiency and raise the levels in their body sufficiently. As is usual with the prescribing of supplements, a ‘one dose fits all’ use of Vitamin D

Get out and soak up (some of) those rays

is not appropriate or likely to get the best outcome possible. It needs to be tailored to the individual. Many doctors have not had the training in nutrition that is gained in Complementary Medicine (CAM) Courses, and which provides knowledge of the intricacies of vitamin/mineral interaction that enable the tailoring of supplement prescribing to an individuals needs.

So even though the days are lengthening and we can get out and soak up those rays, the reality is that your Vitamin D levels may still be below par. If you find you are craving carbohydrates more, your spirits are low or you are showing any of the signs linked with a deficiency, head off to the GP and have a talk about having your levels tested. Then if they are lower than optimal get some expert advice from your CAM practitioner about the dosage you personally require as well as which high quality supplement will improve your Vitamin D status. If you are hunkering down to face winter in the Northern latitudes it is even more important to be on top of your Vitamin D levels as they normally drop over the winter months.

Disclaimer.

All information and opinions presented here are for information only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before trying any of the treatment suggested on this site.