As the days are getting longer and the days getting sunnier,
many of us are enjoying increasing the melanin in our skin, otherwise known as
a tan. Melanin is the pigment that provides the brownish coloring that grows in
intens...
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Dark Tan? Don't Assume Vitamin D is at a Healthy Level
by Dr. William DavisTuesday, May 20, 2008
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Thank you for a terrific blog post on the problems with getting enough Vitamin D from the Sun and the need to consider alternate sources of Vitamin D. I didn't realize that age, and BMI play a role in Vit D absorption-- I'd like to add that alternate sources include food sources albeit it's hard to get enough Vitamin D through (even) fortified foods, and oily fish. As you suggest, low Vitamin D levels is an epidemic in the US (50% have less than 25ng/ml and 2/3rd of the world) and much of this problem is due to the fact that our National Guidelines for recommended daily allowance (200-600IU depending on your age) are woefully inadequate, 30 years old, and were designed to prevent rickets (softening/bowing of the bones).....New research suggests that Vitamin D levels below 30ng/ml increase your chances of heart disease, depression, various cancers, and overall survival. Vitamin D is a very important public health issue which is why I have devoted 3 blog postings to it. Thank you for adding yet more relevant information to the blogosphere........I'll be linking to your blog so that others can also benefit from this!
Dr. Brad
Brad Jacobs MD MPH
Senior Medical Director
Revolution Health Networks
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