The "Sunshine Vitamin"... Are you getting enough?

In today's society, with poor diets high in overly processed foods and low in fresh produce and natural whole grains and legumes, the average American is deficient in many key nutrients that the body requires for optimal health. Add to that too little unprotected sunlight exposure, and by that I mean sun exposure without being covered up by long clothing and sunscreen, has caused a vitamin D (the sunlight vitamin) deficiency in epidemic proportions.

Finally scientific research is revealing what the N.D. Holistic and Natural Healing experts have known for some time, and that is the importance of Vitamin D in regards to our immune system. A recent article "Scientists Find Why Sunshine Vit D is Crucial" touches on this very subject and the main idea of the article is the very point I would like to shed some much needed light on.

"Almost half of the world's population has lower than optimal levels of vitamin D and scientists say the problem is getting worse as people spend more time indoors."

Most of the article focuses on the research and its findings...

"The researchers found that immune systems' killer cells, known as T cells, rely on vitamin D to become active and remain dormant and unaware of the possibility of threat from an infection or pathogen if vitamin D is lacking in the blood. "When a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling device or 'antenna' known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D," said Carsten Geisler of Copenhagen University's department of international health, immunology and microbiology, who led the study. "This means the T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will cease. If the T cells cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won't even begin to mobilize"

I have left out the conclusion of the article because as is the case with most of the essential nutrients that our society is lacking and the RDA set forth by the so called "experts" for which the medical community strictly follows, they consistently falls short on the amounts we truly need. We do not live in a perfect toxic free environment, and even those with the healthiest of diets are exposed to millions of unavoidable environmental toxins. Combine that with a poor diet, lack of sunshine exposure, and the increased exposure of toxins in packaged processed foods and other commonly used products, our body's are in desperate need of these core nutrients.

Don't take my word for it though, I urge you to do your own research; preferably from any of the tons of literature available written by someone following a more natural approach to health and wellness.

Obesity, put the blame where it belongs... Your Diet!

I found an article in health news this morning to be quite interesting and wanted to share it with you...

The article, titled "Fat epidemic linked to chemicals run amok", is claiming that a recent discovery of natural and synthetic chemicals, being referred to as obesogens (how clever), could be to blame for this countries obesity problem as well as the many obesity related diseases. There is actually a sub heading to this article that reads "Fast food not solely to blame for obesity, new research suggests."

At first glance I began to think here we go again, blaming everything but an unhealthy diet for this countries many health related problems that have all reached epidemic proportions, but the meat of the article takes on a very interesting subject which puts a lot of long overdue blame where it belongs; on toxic chemicals both environmental as well as in this countries mainstream food supply and commonly used products. I have listed a few examples below, from the article, to help drive home a point I've been posting about for some time.

• The dangers of pesticides in our fruits and vegetables... "Every day the average American is exposed to an estimated 10 to 13 different pesticides and/or their metabolites (breakdown products) through food, beverages, and drinking water.Some of those chemicals can mimic estrogen during development, which can lead to weight gain later in life. Others can spur unnecessary fat-cell formation at any age."

The solution... "According to the Environmental Working Group, you can reduce your pesticide exposure by nearly 80 percent simply by choosing organic versions of the 12 fruits and vegetables shown in its tests to contain the highest pesticide load."

• Hormones steroids and antibiotics in our beef supply may be disrupting the way our own body's hormone system operates.
  

The solution... "Organic beef has none of the weight-promoting steroid hormones of conventional beef, while grass-fed beef has been found to have more omega-3s and more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). CLA is a fatty-acid mixture that's been linked to protection against cardiovascular disease and diabetes; it can also help you lose weight, according to a meta-analysis in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition."

• The dangers of Soy and Corn which is being fed to all of the non-free grazed meat being sold in this country, and is found in all processed foods as fillers preservatives and proteins (SOY) or as sugar (High Fructose CORN Syrup).
  

In other words... "The result of all that extra soy could be — get ready for it — more fat. This is particularly true for people who were given soy-based formula as infants. You see, soy contains two naturally occurring chemicals, genistein and daidzein, both of which are estrogenics, which can spur the formation of fat cells... High-fructose corn syrup, too, has been fingered by some experts as a possible player in the obesity crisis. HFCS is found in countless items, from bread to ketchup to Life Savers to cough medicine. Recent research indicates that a diet high in HFCS may trick your brain into craving more food even when you don't need it."

What we eat means everything, so make the right choice and eat health... Fresh Organic fruits and vegetables, natural whole grains and legumes, free grazed beef poultry and eggs, wild caught fish, and very little processed foods.

Don't Believe the Hype

My beliefs and feelings toward nutrition, proper diet, and overall health as I see it based on years of my personal experience are that there is NO cookie-cutter good-for-all product out there on the market today, because everyone's body handles the many man-made toxins of this world, that we are exposed to and ingest on a daily basis, differently. This includes any all-in-one supplement purchased at a GNC type distributor, or from the many (and there are many) companies that have claimed to have discovered the next super fruit or vegetable packaged conveniently in some fancy bottle.

Proper diet has to be what all else is centered around, along proper supplementation under the guidance of a health professional; I see a kinesiologist for my unique personalized supplemental nutritional needs, but there are a handful of other options out there. Because our bodies are affected differently by what they are exposed to, you can’t simply take some multi vitamin concoction (be it in pill or liquid form) designed for a generalized lifestyle (for the “active man” or “woman”), or for a generalized ailment or nutritional deficiency, and expect to be getting the level of quality nutrients that YOUR body needs. Whether or not these “good-for-one” “good- for-all” products contain high levels of antioxidants vitamins and minerals or other nutrients and annutrients is irrelevant, because they will not have the same effect on everyone.

I suffered from severe tendonitis in most of my joints for 10+ years (when I thought I was living and eating healthy) and never found relief from any medical doctor, anything they prescribed, and or any cookie-cutter nutritional supplement out there. Only when I finally learned what a healthy diet really is (fresh organic foods), and learned about the dangers of many of the commonly sold hygiene products and household products (due to their levels of poisons and toxins), and started focusing on my body’s nutritional needs did I finally find relief.

Targeting Inflamation...

A headline in today's Health section reads...

"What if you could be fat but avoid heart disease or diabetes? Scientists trying to break the fat-and-disease link increasingly say inflammation is the key. In the quest to prove it, a major study is under way testing whether an anti-inflammatory drug — an old, cheap cousin of aspirin — can fight the Type 2 diabetes spurred by obesity… Solving that mystery could point to more targeted treatments for obesity's threats than today's effective but hard-to-follow advice to lose weight."

...and as i read it I shake my head thinking, here we go again! It's seems like another case of trying to get around this countries poor health problem without actually addressing the number one cause, a poor diet.

I agree with only one part of this article and that's the severity of inflammation and its link as a possible underlying cause of many of the health issues plaguing our society. That of course is where my agreeing stops, because anti-inflammatory medication (prescription or over-the-counter) is not and will never be the correct approach to addressing this problem.

Society's poor health is a direct effect of today's poor diet choices. This is not something we should leave for some scientist in a lab to solve, unless you want that solution to be a drug manufactured by one of the many money hungry profit driven pharmaceutical companies. It is our responsibility as a society and as concerned individuals to educate ourselves on healthy living and healthy eating.

It is a fact that corn fed beef (the beef you find at any and all grocery stores) is high in Omega-6 and low in Omega-3, and this goes for non-free-grazed chickens and eggs, and farm raised fish as well.

It is a fact that generations of eating this poor unhealthy food has resulted in a society with its Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio to be extremely lopsided; 10:1 to in some cases 20:1 instead of a more balanced 1:1.

It is a fact that Omega-3 is an anti-inflammatory while Omega-6 promotes inflammation, which can only lead to one reasonable conclusion. Our society suffers from chronic inflammation because our poor diets promote this.

So let me give you my solution... Eat organic grass-fed beef, free-grazed chickens and eggs, and wild caught fish, and you may actually find that if you stop promoting chronic inflammation you may actually stop suffering from it.