Blog Entries tagged 'UV-B rays'

A Weapon in the Fight Against Flu and the Blues

rwilson@etstan.com — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:00:00 +0100

The recent swine flu scare had everyone worried about their health, but there�s good news for those �ounce of prevention� types and it�s called Vitamin D. Having enough is important because recent studies have shown when levels of vitamin D are low, we�re more susceptible to colds and flus. So while not exactly a cure, it is effective in staving off those rampant viruses floating around at the office.

Vitamin D is actually a hormone which encourages and empowers your immune system thr [...]

Vitamin D and UV-B May Help Treat Multiple Sclerosis

rwilson@etstan.com — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:00:00 +0100

There just may be a reason multiple sclerosis (MS) is less common in countries that have more year �round sunshine. At least, there is new research which indicates Vitamin D (acquired orally or through the skin via sunshine or UV-B rays from indoor tanning beds) helps in the treatment of the disease.

MS is a medical disorder in which the body doesn�t recognize itself. As a result, the body�s own immune system attacks and eventually destroys the sheath (covering) that protects the nerv [...]

Why You Need More Vitamin D

rwilson@etstan.com — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Even Forbes, a business magazine, is getting on the vitamin D bandwagon with an article about the importance of vitamin D that covers a new study promoting the connection between sunshine, UV-B rays and your overall health .

What I like about this latest study from the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine is that the author, Dr. Adit Ginde, stresses that fortified food typically isn't sufficient enough when it comes to vitamin D. Too often, I think most people assume that [...]

Rickets is Back With a Vengeance

rwilson@etstan.com — Tue, 26 May 2009 01:00:00 +0100

When I was a kid, we played outside every day from about April to November and if it wasn't too cold in the winter, our mothers sent us out in the snow. Today, kids are inside playing video games, watching movies, surfing the Internet and simply not getting the sunlight and vitamin D they need to maintain their personal health.

While I don't want to turn this into a story about how I had to walk ten miles to school (it was actually only eight), I think this downturn in sun exposure c [...]

Skin Type May Affect Vitamin D Levels

rwilson@etstan.com — Thu, 14 May 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Last month, USA Today published an interesting article covering the relationship between skin types and vitamin D absorption .

While dark-skinned or darker-skinned individuals always thought themselves to be safe when it came to sun exposure, it seems they may now have to worry about being too safe. You see, darker-skinned people tend to absorb sunlight and synthesize vitamin D at a much slower rate than light-skinned individuals.

According to Boston University professor Mi [...]

Why Is Vitamin D Important For Our Bodies?

rwilson@etstan.com — Mon, 04 May 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Vitamin D is essential to our health and luckily, it's one of the few vitamins that our body can create on its own, simply by synthesizing sunlight. It's responsible for maintaining calcium and phosphorous levels, improving bone growth and boosting the immune system.

Osteoperosis, Rickets, Osteomalacia and arthritis have all been linked to vitamin D deficiency. A recent 2006 study published in the American Journal of Public Health even determined that healthy vitamin D levels could [...]

Sun Reduces Some Cancer Risks

etstanningbeds+bill@gmail.com — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Cancer Monthly , a cancer patient advocacy magazine, has published yet another article linking sun exposure (including UV-B exposure which can be derived from indoor tanning in tanning salons) to a reduced cancer risk.

The article, published in March 2009, cites a recent study published in the Annals of Epidemiology (Grant WB, Mohr SB. Ecological studies of ultraviolet B, vitamin D and cancer since 2000. Annals of Epidemiology, 2009) that found strong associations between vitamin D de [...]

Canadians, People of Northern Hemisphere Suffer Vitamin D Deficiencies

etstanningbeds+bill@gmail.com — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

We all know what happens when humans suffer from vitamin D deficiencies. Osteoporosis can occur, as well as osteomalacia, a bone-thinning disorder that happens in adults, and rickets, a childhood disease that retards the strength, growth and stability of the long bones.

Very few nations have higher levels of vitamin D deficiency than Canada.. According to a recent article in the Calgary Herald, studies by Dr. Michael Holick of Boston University shows that showed Canadians haven't been [...]

Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Alzheimer's

etstanningbeds+bill@gmail.com — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0100

The importance of vitamin D for a healthy body is well known, but health experts have been in the news raising a hue and cry about a vitamin D deficiency crisis in this country .

Apparently we're just not getting enough vitamin D in our bodies, and many people are wondering if the warnings of staying out of the sun and tanning booths are starting to swing this health pendulum too far the other way.

One of the most vital roles of vitamin D is to boost the absorption of calci [...]

The Link Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Breast Cancer

rwilson@etstan.com — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0100

There's a strong statistical link between Vitamin D deficiencies and breast cancer, says William B. Grant, Ph.D., in his March 2004 essay. The essay was featured on the Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center website .

Grant's research showed that more than 200,000 women across the United States get breast cancer yearly with diet and lifestyle being the two determining risk factors. Proper diet and exercise can help reduce the risk of breast cancer, however a key benefit is get [...]