Kids Need More Vitamin D

The American Academy of Pediatrics released a statement this week that your kids may need to double their intake of vitamin D. Vitamin D has made waves in the health care community over the past few years. In the old days, people thought that vitamin D deficiency was rare since it is made in the skin in response to sunlight. But mounting evidence over the past few years suggests that deficiency may play a significant role in: heart disease, cancers, autoimmune disorders, depression, chronic pain, type 1 diabetes, muscle & bone problems.

The AAP now recommends a dose of 400IU per day with supplementation beginning shortly after birth and continuing through adolescence. The 2003 recommendation stood at 200IU per day.

Here's some food for thought. A study published in July 2008 issue of The Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism suggests that adolescents may actually need 2000IU per day to establish healthy serum levels of vitamin D. This is 5 times the current, updated recommendation!

The October 2008 issue of Current Diabetes Reports has a study that recommends children and adults get 1000IU of vitamin D when sunlight is not readily available. Note that this is also higher than the updated AAP recommendations.

While most regions of the United States receive sufficient sunlight to make vitamin D during the warmer months, Dr. Joan Lappe, a vitamin D researcher, states that areas north of 37 degrees latitude do not get adequate sun exposure to make vitamin D from October through March.

That means that if you live north of a line drawn straight across the U.S. from San Jose, CA, through Springfield, MO, and into Newport News, Virginia, you will not make vitamin D from fall through winter. More accurately, you could make vitamin D if you sat out in the sun a very long time, but in the time it would take to make enough vitamin D, you would get badly burned.

Your best bet:
Have your vitamin D levels measured. This should be the 25(OH)D (aka 25 hydroxyvitamin D or calcidiol). Then supplement with D3 (cholecalciferol) and recheck your levels in a few months. If it is winter time, you'll most likely need to supplement.

Neti Pots

The weather is turning and we're heading into cold and flu season. Many drugstores, pharmacies and grocery stores have already begun offering flu vaccines to the public. There are many nutritional strategies you can use to reduce the potential for getting sick. We'll talk about some of those in the coming weeks. But there is one tool that can be used safely by most people; the Neti Pot. Dr. Oz demonstrated use of the Neti Pot on Oprah's show last year. Following that episode, neti pots flew off the shelves of health stores.

Neti pots are great tools for nasal irrigation. The concept is simple. You pour warm water into one nostril and it comes out the other nostril. On its way through the nasal passageways, it clears the 'gunk' out of your nose. The first time you see it, it's weird. The first time you try it, it's even more weird. But other than looking and feeling funny, is there any merit to it? Absolutely.

You've probably heard that the best way to ward off cold and flu viruses is through regular hand-washing. Those viruses are easily passed from person to person and object to person. Those viruses often work their way into our nasal mucosa before we have a chance to wash them off. Nasal irrigation is our opportunity to wash the inside of our nose.

Start your day with nasal irrigation and you'll breathe easier as well. Neti pots are very affordable and will last for years. They are effective during allergy season as they wash away the irritants on the mucosa. But with cold viruses ramping up for the fall/winter, now's the time to get in the habit.

The Omnivore's Dilemma

If you've ever thought that you need to revamp your relationship with food; then read this book. Food has become one of those things that we don't really need to think about. Michael Pollan does a good job in forcing you to assess the origin of your food. If you had a hamburger for lunch today, have you thought about where the beef really came from and how it got to your plate? The story, told in this book, is quite disturbing. He dissects the origin of much of our "food" and starts with the story of corn. He interviews farmers who farm on an industrial scale, and those that work hard to preserve the land and therefore, improve the quality of their product.

Pollan is a great writer. He brings you into the experience of food so much that you'll never see your dinner plate the same again. I've always said that eating is one of the most intimate things you can possibly do. You are literally inviting the outside world into your body with every bite you take. Pollan expands that concept and beautifully describes eating in terms of our relationship with nature.

One of the best books I've read- highly recommended.