Considering the statistics that 75% to 95% of North Americans are considered to be Vitamin D deficient, it is no wonder that we are suffering from cancers and heart disease and stricken with cold and flu viruses. But don't expect Big Pharma to advertise the fact that Vitamin D is so vitally necessary to boost our health and immune system: There is no money to be made through the sale of vitamin D: it is one of the most inexpensive supplements on the market, and Sunshine is FREE!!!
More than 200 epidemiological studies and 2,500 laboratory studies, have linked Vitamin D to Cancer according to epidemiologist Dr. Cedric Garland, PH, professor of family and preventive medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.
In these studies they have discovered that optimizing your vitamin D levels could help you to prevent at least 16 different types of cancer including pancreatic, lung, ovarian, prostate, and skin cancers and cut your risk over all of cancer by as much as 60%.
Low levels of vitamin D in your blood have long been correlated with higher risk of heart disease and heart attacks, and further, low levels of vitamin D are known to nearly double the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes.
The best way to optimize your vitamin D is through safe sun exposure. It is possible to generate about 20,000 units of vitamin D by exposing your skin to the sun. However, if you do not have access to regular sun exposure on a large portion of your bare skin, a vitamin D3 supplement may be necessary.
Based on the most recent research, the current recommendation for dosage is 35 IU’s of vitamin D per pound of body weight. So for a child weighing 40 pounds, the recommended average dose would be 1,400 IU’s daily, and for a 170-pound adult, the dose would be nearly 6,000 IU’s. However, it’s important to realize that vitamin D requirements are highly individual, and can vary greatly according to numerous factors, such as the color of your skin, your location, and how much sunshine you’re exposed to on a regular basis. For the most up to date information about Vitamin D and its effects on our health, I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Mercola's Web site, and this article in particular: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/01/Important-New-Vitamin-D-Research-Papers.aspx Here are some very informative studies about Vitamin D from Dr. Mercola's web site: Vitamin D for Cancer Prevention: Global Perspective, by Cedric F. Garland, Edward D. Gorham, Sharif B. Mohr and Frank C. Garland Ecological Studies Of Ultraviolet B, Vitamin D And Cancer Since 2000, by William B. Grant and Sharif B. Mohr Vitamin D and Breast Cancer, by Elizabeth R. Bertone-Johnson
