Juergen Botz wrote:
> Marilyn Harris wrote:
>   
>> The data certainly suggests it is very worthwhile to take vitamin D and calcium...  -- Marilyn
>>     
>
> Better yet... get plenty of sun.  If you do, your body will make 
> the Vitamin D you need, and make it where it needs and how it
> can best use it.
>   

As one ages, even with enough sunlight, one will not make enough vitamin 
D.  I would hazard to guess that if you take a group of 60 year olds 
frolicking daily in Cancun, and give one half of them 2000 IU of vitamin 
D, that the those getting the vitamin D supplementation will have a 
cancer mortality at 50% or less of those not getting vitamin D 
supplementation.  Most likely this is true of 20 year olds as well.  
Most of us don't have the time or the sunlight to spend the day 
frolicking for our rays, or spending the day out in the sunlight hunter 
gathering for our daily nutrition.

Personally, I take about 7500 IU of vitamin D every day and during the 
summer months, that kept my vitamin D blood levels at about mid normal.  
Most likely I should have increased it by several thousand IUs for the 
winter months.  I do live in Utah which provides a lot less direct 
sunlight than locations closer to the equator.  My next blood test this 
month will tell the winter story.

Have you checked your vitamin D levels?  A study in Hawaii found that 
life guards that spend a lot of their time in the sun were deficient 50% 
of the time in vitamin D.  For your average run-of-the-mill outdoor 
person (which most people are not) sunlight will on average never be 
enough to get sufficient vitamin D, even in the summer time.

Again, have you checked your vitamin D levels?

-- 

Steve - [log in to unmask]

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