Increase Vitamin D Intake
Current recommendations for daily intake of vitamin D are woefully inadequate. Ranging from 200 IU for infants to 600 IU for senior citizens, current thinking in the medical and scientific communities is that boosting daily vitamin D intake to as much as 10,000 IU could yield significant health benefits.
Instructions
1. Understand that the best source of vitamin D is the sun. The body does not produce vitamin D on its own. Some foods, such as dairy products and some cereals, are fortified with vitamin D, but it is impossible to get enough vitamin D from your diet alone.
2. Know that the current federal recommendations for daily vitamin D intake are outdated and inadequate. The current guidelines have been in place for decades and do not take into account recent scientific findings on the role of vitamin D in maintaining health and preventing illness.
3. Learn about the risks of vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to increased risk of 18 different types of cancer, including breast and prostate malignancies. Vitamin D deficiency is also linked to increased incidence of asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases, particularly in children.
4. Realize that due to the shift from a rural agricultural society to an urban industrialized, technology-based society, few people get enough vitamin D from sunlight. This is particularly true for people living in northern climates, such as the northern U.S. and Canada, and dark-skinned people who have excess melanin, which blocks the absorption of ultraviolet sunlight by the skin.
5. Remember that 10 to 15 minutes in the summer sun during the peak hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. naturally provides your body with 10,000 IUs of vitamin D. Apply sunscreen after you've soaked up 10 minutes of rays so that you balance the need for vitamin D and skin protection.
6. Eat foods either naturally rich in or fortified with vitamin D, such as fortified cereals, dairy products and fatty fish, including salmon and tuna. Watch out for the mercury content in the fish you eat.
7. Take a supplement. While some studies show that taking as much as 10,000 IUs per day is safe and beneficial, more conservative recommendations advise healthy individuals between the ages 1 and 50 to take as much as 2,000 IUs per day. Individuals age 51 to 70 can take 3,000 IU and individuals 71 and older can take 4,000 IU.
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