Sunlight Can Cut Your Risk of Death in Half

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Sunlight Can Cut Your Risk of Death in Half

 

 

Having low vitamin D levels has been linked with deaths from heart

disease and other causes, adding to growing evidence about

the " sunshine " vitamin's role in good health.

 

People with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D were about two times

more likely to die from any cause during an eight-year period than

those with the highest levels. The link with heart-related deaths was

particularly strong in those with low vitamin D levels.

 

The study involved over 3,000 men and women in southwest Germany.

Participants were aged 62 on average, and their vitamin D levels were

checked in weekly blood tests.

 

It's estimated that at least 50 percent of older adults worldwide

have low vitamin D levels, and a significant number of younger people

may also be affected. Low vitamin D levels may result from spending

less time outdoors, air pollution and a decline in your skin's

ability to produce vitamin D from the sun as you age, the researchers

said.

Sources:

USA Today June 23, 2008

Archives of Internal Medicine June 23, 2008;168(12):1340-1349

 

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Dr. Mercola's Comments:

If you want to get in on one of the " hottest " trends for your health,

take a break from your day and spend some time out in the sunshine.

This simple action reduces your risk for so many diseases, I believe

it is criminal for physicians not to recommend it.

 

To get the benefits of the sun, you need to expose a significant

portion of your skin (shorts and no shirt for men, and shorts and a

sports bra or short tank for women) to the sun for anywhere from 15

minutes to two hours a day. The length depends on your skin color

(the darker your skin, the longer you need), how close you are to the

equator, and the weather that day (if it's cloudy, for instance).

 

My new book, Dark Deception, is coming out shortly and contains all

the details you need to keep your vitamin D levels in a healthy

range.

 

Did You Know That Sun Exposure Actually Prevents Cancer?

 

The study above is the second in a matter of weeks showing the

importance of vitamin D for your heart. But vitamin D is also

emerging as a potent cancer fighter.

 

Last year, a groundbreaking study found that 600,000 cases of cancer

could be prevented every year just by increasing your levels of

vitamin D. Even beyond cancer, the researchers pointed out that

increasing levels of vitamin D3 could prevent diseases that claim

nearly 1 million lives throughout the world each year!

 

Why did you not hear about this amazing discovery?

 

Because large corporations can't make any money from you getting out

in the sun.

 

So now's your chance to listen up. Optimizing your vitamin D levels

could help you to prevent as many as 16 different types of cancer

including pancreatic, lung, breast, ovarian, prostate, and colon

cancers.

 

Further, optimal vitamin D levels are also known to positively

influence the following conditions:

 

Heart disease

 

Diabetes

 

Inflammatory bowel disease

 

Rheumatoid arthritis

 

Multiple sclerosis and osteoporosis

 

This is One Blood Test I Recommend for Everyone

 

Because the benefits of optimizing your vitamin D levels are so

profound, I urge everyone to get their levels tested. There is more

than one vitamin D test, so be sure to ask for the 25(OH)D test, also

called 25-hydroxyvitamin D.

 

When you get your results, ignore the " normal " guidelines the lab

sends. Instead, the OPTIMAL value that you're looking for is 45-52

ng/ml (115-128 nmol/l).

 

Sunlight exposure (without getting burned) is always the best option

to increase your vitamin D levels. For the winter months or other

times when you simply can't get outside, a vitamin D3 supplement can

be used. If you go this latter route, be sure to monitor your vitamin

D levels to avoid overdosing.

 

One final note, when you go outside to get your vitamin D make sure

you don't have sunscreen on. By its very nature, sunscreen blocks

your body's production of vitamin D. If you're spending a long time

outdoors, I recommend going for the first portion without any

sunscreen, then covering up afterward with clothing, or applying a

natural, non-toxic sunscreen, to avoid getting burned.

 

 

Related Articles:

 

 

Discovering the Truth Behind the Sunshine/Skin Cancer Myth

 

Critics Now Accept the Sun as Your Healthiest Source of Vitamin D

 

Slash Your Risk of Prostate Cancer: Get Some Sun

 

 

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/07/10/sunlight

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