Friday, February 27, 2009

The D Report: Not a Cure All

Too bad there aren't any studies out there saying that vitamin D is a cure-all for what ails you. While I've upped the D intake, even resorting to the multivitamins when I think I'm falling short the natural way, I still haven't noticed any visible perks. And this week, I even think that I've regressed backward in the eat your vitamins it'll make you feel better category. Maybe it was the weather and the gloom that's hovered over the Windy City for most of the week, but I've felt in a mental funk and have been slogging around all week. OK so part of that goes back to the sleep dare, but one would think that adding some vitamins to the mix might help--or at least that's one claim I remember drilling into my head.

So aside from my dragging, I've been sticking to the D diet as best I can. I think I do need that added boost from sunshine to get the full recommended value because it's tough to keep drinking milk and yogurt throughout the day (if I had to eat ice cream for the D fix I'd be hooked) and I'm constantly eating salmon but even that gets old after a while. Egg yolk is another good source of D, but to be honest, that's my least favorite part of the egg. I could trick myself into eating the entire egg by adding it to a brownie batch but that obviously wouldn't be good for the rest of the system.

My glimmer of hope for sticking to eating D involves another shout-out to my mom (she helped inspire my grapefruit post). She's crediting her careful monitoring of more calcium and vitamin D--she was starting to enjoy basking in the sunlight on the deck as much as her plants this summer--since her last doctor's visit for her more positive bone scan results. Last time she was on the brink of having osteoporosis in multiple spots across her body and now her numbers show less weakness. Studies show that good levels of vitamin D in the system can help the body absorb more calcium.

Even for me and my sluggishness, especially in the beginning of the week when I really paid attention to my D intake, there is a bright side. I'd love to approach my later years with healthy bone scans in part due to the habits I picked up now. Photo grabbed from Loren Sztajer at flickr. Posted by Kate

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