Do You Get a D in Your Fitness?

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

27 Jun 2007 06:48 AM

Do you get a D? I don't mean a grade, I mean vitamin D - you know the stuff you find in milk? I'm a bit sensitive about vitamin D because I'm lactose intolerant and I just don't have a lot of dairy in my diet. Recently, there have been separate studies that reveal that vitamin D is good for a lot more than just helping your bones and muscles absorb calcium.

As it turns out - studies show that:

• Women who consume 1100 IU (international units) of vitamin D per day lowered their risk of cancer by as much as 77%
• In Caucasian men and women, high levels of vitamin D lowered their risks of developing MS (multiple sclerosis)
• Studies also indicate that vitamin D protects against cancer in the colon, prostate, ovaries, kidney and pancreas
• Vitamin D is also effective in providing protection from arthritis, diabetes, Alzheimer's and heart disease

Vitamin D isn't a cure all, but we don't get enough of it in our diets if we don't consume dairy products. The average vitamin has about 500 to 600 IU's of vitamin D in it. If you need to be taking 1100 IU's - where should you be getting the rest of your Vitamin D?

Sunlight is one natural resource, but too much exposure to sun can cause skin cancer. The sunlight naturally creates vitamin D in your system, so you may want to avoid sunning yourself to fill in the blanks. Talk to your physician about whether or not you are vitamin D deficient and then ask for their recommendations on where you can add to your daily diet of vitamin D whether it's in your dairy, your vitamin supplement or elsewhere. I know I take an extra supplement of vitamin D, but I tend to burn in overexposure to the sun and I can't eat dairy, so I have to get it somewhere.

The life you save may just be your own.

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger