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Wellness Matters: Vitamin D and Your Health by Jenny Hackel

Scientists have discovered that millions of Americans are deficient in vitamin D, not at levels severe enough to cause rickets, but enough to contribute to immune deficiencies, neurologic illnesses like Alzheimer’s disease, and bone diseases such as osteoporosis. While the use of sunscreen has stemmed the tide of skin cancer and sun-related skin damage, it can also contribute to vitamin D deficiency, since the exposure to the sun’s rays stimulates the body to make vitamin D. In addition, it is difficult to obtain enough vitamin D through food allone, unless the vitamin has been added to the food, as it has with milk and orange juice, for instance. Those of us living in the northern latitudes, where for half of the year the sun’s rays are not strong enough to help us make vitamin D anyway, are especially prone to vitamin D deficiency. The current Recommended Daily Allowance is 400 to 600 international units (IU) of vitamin D for those 1 to 70 years of age and 800 IU for those over 70. Yet many health professionals (including me) recommend that people consume 1000 to 2000 IU per day, since so many of us are deficient unless we have taken 600 IU per day for years and vitamin D toxicity is rare enough with these intake levels that the benefit likely outweighs the risk. And because vitamin D is fat soluble, you can actually take your “daily intake” in a single weekly dose, such as in the form of four 2000-IU tablets every Sunday. But instead of relying solely on supplements (I myself hate pills), you should try to include foods containing vitamin D in your daily diet. Every 8-ounce cup of vitamin D–fortified milk has 100 IU. If you cannot tolerate or do not drink milk, try fortified soy, almond, or rice milk or look for fortified fruit juices, but watch the sugar content. Eat fortified cereals; for example, a 3/4-cup serving of bran flakes provides 25 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance, or approximately 150 IU. A 3-ounce serving of an oily fish like salmon, trout, mackerel, sardines, or tuna provides 150 to 600 IU. A teaspoon of cod liver oil packs 500 IU of vitamin D. Interestingly, certain mushrooms, like portobello, that have been exposed to sunlight provide 900 IU per cup of chopped mushroom. Adults over the age of 70 would do well to take a daily combination supplement of vitamin D and calcium since this vitamin–mineral duo is critical for maintaining bone health. So as we raise a toast on Valentine’s Day, let’s raise a glass of milk, because it also contains over 300 mg of calcium!

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FEBRUARY 2017 CHEBEAGUE ISLAND COUNCIL CALENDAR