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Unfortunately, three quarters of the US population is currently deficient of this important vitamin. It is very important to address this deficiency in the winter months, because most people are unable to create Vitamin D through the winter. Being deficient in Vitamin D can severally impact your immune system’s ability to ward of colds and flu as well as making you more susceptible to various illnesses and diseases.
The research supporting the supplementation of vitamin D for its various health contributions outweighs reasons to not supplement with vitamin D. The Journal of Neurology recently confirmed that men with higher levels of Vitamin D preformed better on attention and speed of processing information than men who had low levels of vitamin D (Higher Levels of Vitamin D associated with Speedier Brain Processing, Life Extension, 2009). This study also noted the implications of low serum vitamin D levels as they are related to parathyroid hormone levels and consequently depression symptoms.

Vitamin D has been shown to help heart health in various ways. "Vitamin D inhibits the uptake of cholesterol by cells called macrophages," According to Dr. Bernal-Mizrachi."the macrophages get clogged with cholesterol and become what scientists call foam cells, which are one of the earliest markers of atherosclerosis" (Low Vitamin D Raises Diabetic Heart Risk, Life Extension, 2009). Arthrosclerosis is a precursor of heart attacks and strokes, the deficiency of vitamin D in diabetics is especially problematic. Diabetics have trouble processing cholesterol (leading to arthrosclerosis), the cholesterol builds in the blood vessels and increases the likelihood of stroke. Vitamin D helps to signal the pathways to uptake and clear cholesterol from the vessels.

Reducing the symptoms and severity of asthma has also been noted with the presence of sufficient levels Vitamin D in one’s diet. "This study suggests that there may be added health benefits to vitamin D supplementation" Dr Celedón noted. "This study also provides epidemiological support for a growing body of in vitro evidence that vitamin D insufficiency may worsen asthma severity, and we suspect that giving vitamin D supplements to asthma patients who are deficient may help with their asthma control."(Asthma severity in children associated with low vitamin D levels, Life Extension, 2009).

There is research showing that Vitamin D may play an important role in breast cancer prevention, lymphoma symptom reduction, and prostate cancer. The research is building on how important Vitamin D is for numerous functions in the body as well as prevention of serious health issues. Finding out your vitamin D levels are easy, ask your doctor for a 25-hydroxy vitamin D test. It is a simple blood draw and can help point you in the direction of how much additional vitamin D you need. Most of the research is saying to take 2000 IU’s a day, more in cases of deficiency. Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin is so vital to our overall health; it is one of the most important things you can do for your overall physical and mental health and wellbeing. Enjoy the sunshine and here is to your health!

Written by: Aubrey Mast
]]> General xml-rss2.php?itemid=4 Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:08:31 -0400 xml-rss2.php?itemid=3 • We only live 3 or 4 years longer than our grand parents did.
• Chronic disease has increased 400% in the last 50 years.
• Children born after 2000 have a 45% chance for being diabetic.
2. We used to think that our genes were fixed, but they are not. Epi-genomics tells us they are changing all of the time due to many influences such as diet, stress, attitude, drug use and pollution.
3. We used to think that medicine was based on science, but we know that there is only scientific evidence to support 20% of medicine.
4. We used to think that the USDA Food Pyramid was the best way to eat, but it has less science to support it than the Harvard Pyramid, the Asian Pyramid and the Mediterranean Pyramid.
5. We used to think that the FDA protected us from unsafe drugs, but now we know their decisions are often harmful to us.
6. We used to think that chronic disease could only be managed, but now we know that many diseases can actually be reversed.
7. We used to think that heart disease and cancer were the biggest killers of Americans, but now we now that medicine kills more people. Over 800,000 deaths are caused by approved drugs and procedures,
8. We used to think we could get all of the nutrients we need from the food we eat and now realize this is impossible.
9. We used to think that disease was caused by outside invaders and our genes. Now we now these are minor influences compared to nutrition.
10. We used to think that everyone had basically the same nutritional needs. Now we know that each person is biochemically different and may need much more or less of various nutrients.

How do we know these things?
Men and women like Linus Pauling, Roger Williams, Joan Mathews Larson, Carl Pfieffer, Jeffery Bland, Dean Ornish, Walter Willett, William Faloon and Mark Hyman have researched these matters and confirmed through over 10,000 clinical studies that Orthomolecular or Functional Medicine is superior to conventional medicine in the prevention and treatment of chronic disease.

Written by Charles Bens, Ph.D.
]]> General xml-rss2.php?itemid=3 Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:07:37 -0400 xml-rss2.php?itemid=2 There are several lifestyle and behavior modifications you can make in order to help prevent the occurrence of hypertension, excessive weight gain, or smoking addiction which has the likelihood of leading to death. The Harvard School of Public Health worked with the University of Toronto, and the University of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington looking at mortality statistics to determine preventable causes of death. Deaths were considered to be preventable if subjects would not have died when they did, if they had made changes towards their risk factors. The team listed the top preventable causes of death; smoking, high blood pressure, overweight/obesity, inadequate physical activity, elevated glucose levels, high readings of low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, inadequate omega 3 fatty acid intake, high trans fatty acids intake, alcohol abuse, low fruit and vegetable intake, and low intake of poly-unsaturated fatty acids. "The large magnitude of the numbers for many of these risks made us pause," noted lead author and Harvard School of Public Medicine doctoral student Goodarz Danaei. "To have hundreds of thousands of premature deaths caused by these modifiable risk factors is shocking and should motivate a serious look at whether our public health system has sufficient capacity to implement interventions and whether it is currently focusing on the right set of interventions."

The first step in preventing disease is acknowledging behaviors, which may be contributing to the formation of disease. No matter what behavior you partake in, the point of change is to become aware of conditions that can be contributing towards your unhealthiness. Understanding how your behavior decisions can contribute to the presence of disease and illness is half the battle. Once you understand how lack of exercise, unhealthy foods, or smoking contribute to not feeling well, you can then begin to understand how to change those behaviors so that you can move towards a healthier state of being.

Depending on what behaviors you have adapted there are various ways to begin changing them so that they support you becoming healthier. High blood pressure contributes to hypertension, which leads to heart disease. Being overweight or obese contributes to several different types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney and gallbladder diseases, hypertension, infertility, and liver disease along with many more potential health problems. Smoking can cause high blood pressure leading to hypertension and it also increases your risk of many types of cancers. Knowing what your behaviors can lead to helps to understand what you can do in order to prevent them from becoming more serious of health issues.

High blood pressure can be a direct result of your dietary and lifestyle choices. By cutting back on fatty food choices, you can decrease your blood pressure. By making sure you are including more fruits and vegetables and less refined or packaged foods, your blood pressure can decrease. Movement not only can help control and decrease high blood pressure and high levels of LDL cholesterol, it can also help you lose weight and improve your mental outlook. There are several nutrients and minerals you can use in order to help reduce your blood pressure. Co-enzyme Q10 can help not only decrease blood pressure levels it also has been shown to lower HbA1C, which is a marker of glycemic control which contributes to the presence or lack of diabetes. Garlic has been shown to not only help lower blood pressure but also to decrease LDL levels. Hawthorn extract has also been shown to help with lowering blood pressure levels. Limiting your sodium consumption can greatly decrease high blood pressure level, also by increasing your fiber intake you can help lower your blood pressure, lower LDL, increase HDL, and lose weight. Incorporating more fiber into your diet may be as simple as eating more nuts, beans, and legumes at least once a day. Calcium, magnesium, and potassium have also been shown to help in reducing blood pressure levels. Stress reduction is also a component to lowering your blood pressure, define things that you like to do which make you calm, and make time for them every day even if it is just for 5 minutes a day, it can help your blood pressure tremendously.

Obesity contributes to a long list of over 30 diseases and illnesses, which increase the likelihood of premature death. There are many psychological and social components to helping someone lose weight as well as keeping the weight off. Beginning to incorporate a whole foods diet into your lifestyle is one the best things you can do for your health and any of your health issues. By decreasing the amounts of packaged foods you can begin to not only change your weight but you can also begin to decrease your blood pressure and thus the likelihood of other health issues. Decreasing the consumption of high fat, high sugar, low fiber foods is a great place to begin to help with losing weight. Eating more fruits and vegetables, grains, legumes and beans can quickly help you to lose weight along with lowering your blood pressure and LDL levels.

Smoking not only increases your blood pressure and inflammation in your body, it attacks your immune system, which makes you more susceptible to health issues. Decreasing the amount you smoke, and getting help to quit is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Acupuncture has been shown to help with decreasing smoking sensations. Taking vitamin C is incredibly important to help rebuild your immune system from the free radical damage which smoking causes. All antioxidants help to support your immune system from the effects of smoking; Vitamins A, C, E and B complex can help support your body against the effects of smoking.

With preventable diseases killing nearly 2 million people in the US, every year there is plenty of motivation to begin changing our behaviors and outlooks on becoming healthy. Change does not necessarily happen overnight however one of the most important things you can do for your health is to begin to understand how your behavior patterns contribute to your lack of health. Then it becomes a step at a time, one less cigarette a day, one serving of fruit, vegetables, and beans a day, or 5 minutes of movement today. Pick a place to begin, and move forward, each day building on the steps you are making. Change happens over time, taking one step begins the path towards a healthy you. Setbacks happen, the thing to remember is that every day you have the choice to decide what you want to do for your health and the ways in which you want to prevent disease from happening. Today begins the step towards the healthier you! Enjoy yourself, embrace the change, and move towards your optimal state of wellness.

For more information on how to quit smoking, lose weight, and change your modifiable disease risk factors go to the Healthy @ Work library.

*All supplement suggestions should be discussed with a doctor prior to beginning a supplement/nutrient regimen.

Written by: Aubrey Mast
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