"From about late March/April to the end of September, most of us should be able to get all the vitamin D we need from sunlight on our skin. The vitamin is made by our body under the skin in reaction to sunlight.
If you are out in the sun, take care to cover up or protect your skin with sunscreen before you turn red or get burnt. Between October and early March we don't get any vitamin D from sunlight.
Vitamin D is also found in a small number of foods" which I listed in my original reply.
"Current UK recommendations say people aged over 65 should take a daily supplement of 10mcg. This is the equivalent of 400 IU a day" which is the amount my doctor has prescribed for me
The UK Association of UK Dietitians say:
"Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium for healthy bones and teeth. You make vitamin D under your skin when you are outside in the middle of the day in the summer months. You can get vitamin D from some foods including fortified foods or by taking a supplement. There are some at risk groups who are recommended to take daily vitamin D supplements".
Unfortunately, many of the sites in the UK are old or based on purely theoretical information - and even the Gateshead Health Trust takes a very different attitude! My post was quoting established facts too.
I don't CARE what the THEORY is, the practice is that most people DO NOT make enough vit D by exposure of skin to the sun. Because they don't go out in the sun, because they cover up in the sun and because their skin vit D factory isn't functioning as well as it did. The recommended daily levels in these sites are out of date - here in northern Italy the top osteoporosis expert in the region says 2,000IU throughout the winter.
The NHS still recommends a low fat diet as the best way to manage weight - when it is clear that it is advice that has been paralleled by increases in obesity and Type 2 diabetes and it has been established by top experts all over the world that the work it was based on done by Ancel Keys is seriously flawed. It was then subsequently supported by the food manufacturing lobby because it helped them build their empires and profits.
There were around 21 countries in Keys study and he only chose 7 of them to include in his results, choosing the ones which best fit with his theories. He's got a lot to answer for. It's hard to believe that what we've all been eating and a lot of the diseases we've been experiencing are largely down to this man.
I find it hard to get any supplements that are 'pure'. I've been using a couple of sites that sell 100% pure powders but they're body building sites so although they have multivitamins they don't supply them individually.
The multimineral mix containing vit D and B12 is excellent but I can't mention where I get it here.
And leaving out France and Germany who also had low heart disease rates - but diets relatively high in fat. Using self-reported food diaries in predominantly Roman Catholic regions during Lent - when no self-respecting RC at that time would have eaten meat during Lent...
You probably can - I have mentioned sources a lot. It just depends who/what. My vit D is purchased from H&B or Boots (health food store and dispensing chemist respectively) in the UK - don't know where you are. It is important to be sure the source is reliable - they aren't monitored like medications are so you have to know the retail source is reliable.
I recently did an open university assignment on the low carb, high fat diet and that's how I came across Ancel Keys. You're not doing that module too are you? Lol
Nah - too old for that! Been at the physiology/medical game for the last 40+ years! You learn a lot when you do the background reading to answer questions on a medical condition with support charities/forums!
I was around when AK started his stuff and never believed the hype anyway. I worked in clinical chemistry/biochemical medicine (as it was called then) when the cholesterol story became vogue and never did believe it. Diet isn't going to change what your liver is producing to keep you alive.
You NEED cholesterol for neuronal function - and how much dementia now is to do with blanket prescribing of statins? And PPIs for gastric acid production? That cholesterol levels rise with age isn't surprising - and since it is required for the production of vit D what happens if patients are forced to lower their cholesterol levels? We get low enough vit D anyway - and they go on about why! It's obvious given the advice given in the last 40 years: Don't go out in the midday sun, slip slap, slop, don't eat eggs, don't eat liver, don't ... Then they wonder why we are deficient!
That's brilliant! You must've helped a lot of people over the years.
The module is very interesting; It's on sport, fitness and nutrition. The essay I'm reading up for now is on sports recovery modalities and I have to choose 2 to compare out of compression garments, cryotherapy or massage. Even though I'm too sick to do any sports I'm learning a lot about health.
It's a crime and a murderous one what they've done over the years with controlling our diets and killing people or making us sick. Perhaps you could write a book about it?
At least your module will be teaching you to critically appraise what is written - rather than believing Gwyneth Paltrow and the Daily Mail about what we should eat/not eat/do/not do for health! There was a really good article in the Guardian (I think) the other day about throwing money down the drain (literally) by buying protein supplements!
Do come back and tell me which is the best of the recovery modalities!
I have just read a book called Sugar, Fat, Salt, which you may enjoy. It is mainly about the way the various industries have sold us sugar etc. It really opens your eyes to how we are being conned, but us quite fascinating. Ancel Keyes is mentioned and does not come out too well. I suppose I should not speak ill of the dead but he has a lot to answer for.
I've got several very long review articles, mainly meta analysis, to go through but from what I've read so far cryotherapy may be good as in invigorating athletes and as an analgesic but there's no evidence that there are any beneficial physiological changes. It's thought by some researchers that there's a substantial placebo effect involved.
I expect I'll find more actual physiological benefits associated with massage, at least I hope so. I've decided they're the two I'm going to compare so I'm skipping compression garments for now.
The trouble with not taking supplements is that our soils our so depleted of nutrition that we're not getting enough in our foods and I think there are some excellent supplements. I've recently found some sites that sell only naturally sourced products with no chemical additives. I'm really pleased!
There is a lot of guff talked about soils being depleted but I won't get into that here (or anywhere else preferably).
I know cryotherapy seems to make a big difference in certain forms of arthritis but a friend on Germany had a "Kur" at a rheumaotlogy clinic where she was sent for cryotherapy. She, like me, has polymyalgia rheumatica, a muscle problem due to an autoimmune vasculitis. I'd always suspected that cold was maybe not a good move in PMR - and she went home in a far worse state than she had arrived there! I'd still like to try it though!