THE HEALING POWER OF SUNLIGHT and Vitamin D

Vitamin D and Sunlight: The Healing Powers
15 Facts You Probably Never Knew About Vitamin D and Sunlight Exposure

Vitamin D prevents osteoporosis, depression, prostate cancer and breast cancer, and even effects diabetes and obesity. Vitamin D is perhaps the single most underrated nutrient in the world of nutrition. That’s probably because it’s free; your body makes it when sunlight touches your skin. Truth is, most people don’t know the real story on vitamin D and health.

1. Vitamin D is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from natural sunlight.

2. The healing rays of natural sunlight that generate vitamin D in your skin cannot penetrate glass. So you don’t generate vitamin D when sitting in your car or home.

3. It is nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from your diet. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate vitamin D in your own body.

4. A person would have to drink 10 tall glasses of vitamin D fortified milk each day just to get minimum levels of vitamin D into their diet.

5. The farther you live from the equator, the longer the exposure you need to the sun in order to generate vitamin D. Canada, the UK and most US states are far from the equator.

6. People with dark skin pigmentation may need 20 to 30 times as much exposure to sunlight as fair- skinned people to generate the same amount of vitamin D. This is why prostrate cancer is epidemic among black men—it is a simple but widespread sunlight deficiency.

7. Sufficient levels of vitamin D are crucial for calcium absorption in your intestines. Without sufficient vitamin D, your body cannot absorb calcium, rendering calcium supplements useless.

8. Chronic vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed overnight; it takes months of vitamin D supplementation and sunlight exposure to rebuild the body’s bones and nervous system.

9. Even weak sunscreens (SPF 8) block your body’s ability to generate vitamin D by 95%. Sunscreen products can actually cause disease by creating a critical vitamin deficiency in the body.

10. It is impossible to generate too much vitamin D in your body from sunlight exposure: your body will self- regulate and only generate what it needs.

11. If it hurts to press firmly on your sternum, you may be suffering from chronic vitamin D deficiency right now.

12. Vitamin D is activated in your body by your kidneys and liver before it can be used.

13. Having kidney disease or liver damage can greatly impair your body’s ability to activate circulating vitamin D.

14. Even though vitamin D is one of the most powerful healing chemicals in your body, your body makes it absolutely free. No prescription required.


Adapted from “The Healing Power of Sunlight and Vitamin D: An Exclusive Interview with Dr. Michael Holick,” by
Mike Adams

TOP TEN REASONS TO EXERCISE OTHER THAN BEING HAPPIER !!

TOP TEN REASONS TO EXERCISE AND BE SO MUCH HAPPIER !!

Exercise may be the closest thing to the fountain of youth. Not only does regular activity strengthen your muscles and improve heart and lung function, but it can also reduce your risk of major diseases, stimulate the growth of new brain cells, and even add years to your life. Studies show just 30 minutes of physical activity on most days is all that's required to reap big benefits.

The range of health bonuses now attributed to exercise has surprised even doctors. Research suggests that workouts may do the following:

1. Keep you young! Workouts such as brisk walking or cycling boost the amount of oxygen consumed during exercise. Improving your aerobic capacity by just 15 to 25 percent would be like shaving 10 to 20 years off your age. Aerobic exercise may also stimulate the growth of new brain cells in older adults.

2. Reduce infections. Moderate workouts temporarily rev-up the immune system by increasing the aggressiveness or capacity of immune cells. That may explain why people who exercise catch fewer colds.

3. Prevent heart attacks. Not only does exercise raise "good" HDL cholesterol and lower blood pressure, but new research shows it reduces arterial inflammation, another risk factor for heart attacks and strokes.

4. Ease asthma. New evidence shows that upper-body and breathing exercises can reduce the need to use an inhaler in mild cases of asthma.

5. Control blood sugar. Exercise helps maintain a healthy blood-sugar level by increasing the cells' sensitivity to insulin and by controlling weight. Regular brisk walking can significantly cut the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

6. Protect against cancer. Exercise may reduce the risk of colon-cancer by speeding waste through the gut and lowering the insulin level. It may also protect against breast and prostate cancer by regulating hormone levels.

7. Combat stress. Regular aerobic exercise lowers levels of stress hormones. For many people, exercise helps relieve depression as effectively as antidepressant medication.

8. Relieve hot flashes. Increasing fitness by walking or practicing yoga enhances mood and reduces some menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats.

9. Protect men's health. Pelvic exercises help prevent erectile dysfunction and possibly benign prostate enlargement, a common cause of urinary problems.

10. Prolong life. Studies lasting many years have consistently shown that being active cuts the risk of premature death by about 50 percent for men and women.

Adapted from Consumers Reports, COURTESY OF www.integrativenutrition.com

अबाउट डेट्स इन थे Spring

The winter brings inertia(when and if we can afford it......)
The Spring is the time to shake ourselves - rid ourselves of the very inertia that felt just fine in the depth of the Winter. Bears and other creatures hibernate and so do we.
But as you can feel through the energy stirring inside yourself it is time -time to cleanse to rejuvenate inside out. Specially with the warmer days coming.
There are so many ways we can do this.

Many many years ago I undertook a radical "Grape Cure"
eating nothing but grapes for 27days - about two and a half pounds a day. There came a time - on this diet, that what came out appeared to be the same as what went in. It did feel extremely "clean" and I enjoyed the incredibly "brainless" simplicity of it; once I had decided to do it. Two and one half pounds of organic grapes a day - and water - nothing else.....simple

Whether you choose a more radical approach or just begin by drinking fresh, organic lemon juice in water, first thing in the morning, to give the liver a little push - either way water is your good friend!

These days I prefer the "Liver flush" - here it is the way I have used it in the last twenty years:


LIVER FLUSH

In the spring or warm season this can be done for ten days or less.

First thing in the morning:
In the blender mix:
o 10 – 12 oz. of grapefruit juice
o 1 clove of garlic
o 1 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh is best; bottled concentrate is ok)
o 1 tablespoon olive oil (extra light or mild is ok)

Drink it down and chase it with a cup of mint tea.

Mid morning:
Eat a raw apple and enjoy.

Lunch time:
Whatever amount you need of steamed vegetables, either hot or at room temperature with a little salad dressing on them.

Afternoon:
You can snack on ¼ cup of almonds (raw) and again, an hour later on ¼ cup of roasted sunflower seeds.

Supper time:
Whatever amount you need of steamed vegetables, either hot or at room temperature with a little salad dressing on them.

Throughout the day drink copious amounts of herbal tea hot water. Hot water is very healing and soothing.In Tibetan medicine it is the FIRST medicine.

o After the third day take two Swiss Kriss Herbal Laxative Tablets before bed.
o After the sixth day take two Swiss Kriss Herbal Laxative Tablets before bed.

If you wish to extend this cleansing program over a longer period of time you can add whole grains to the lunch or supper after the third day. The whole grains might include buckwheat pasta, brown rice, millet or barley. The main concern is that you DO NOT add fat, dairy or sugar to the diet.

To change this way of eating into a complete diet you should then add to the above a protein such as tempeh, tofu, organic chicken, turkey or fish. The cleansing program is meant for a short period of time as a catalyst into the next season, (spring, summer and autumn). In the winter we need more calories to brace ourselves against the elements; therefore it is best to wait until spring.

D a f f o d i l s

The streak of sunshine through the glass doors is just hitting a few of the outrageously yellow daffodils on my table.
Now, there is a voice of spring!
The birds are singing as though they also can spot the daffodils in the vase!
Spring must be coming! Even though the snow is still ankle deep out in the yard.
With the time of spring come thrill and excitement of uncovering - throwing off blankets - heavy coats and pale, withered skin!
Chinese medicine hails this time as a time of new beginning with creative, innovative energy bursting forth - just like the flower bulbs that have been kept undercover by the harshness of the frost. Our own energy is likened to that - new beginnings - sometimes little outbursts of energy - maybe even bursts of frustration trained by winter's imprisonment.
Never mind - we move on riding the wave of new ideas and concepts. A fresh beginning

We are ready.
The daffodils come from Trader Joe's - Origin of import unknown. Green house maybe?
However the energy is genuine and I am not going back on it!

Good time to see your practitioner of Chinese Medicine - acupuncture works fine to balance the energies for this somewhat sudden transition from winter to spring. Every change of season welcomes this kind of care and attention to the Self.
It is a little like taking your car for a spring clean - winter tires off - good oil change
ready for the different life to be lived in the spring. A tune-up - well deserved and timely!