Filed under: Healthy Nutrition, supplements | Tags: allergies, natural alternatives, neti pot, seasonal allergies
Spring is here, it’s not here, it’s here again. A person could get dizzy with all the back and forth that spring has done this year! Many people suffer from seasonal allergies, especially in the spring so I thought it would be helpful to share some suggestions with you.
First off, let me share Keith’s story. Keith has had allergies since he was a boy. He got allergy shots in his arms every week well into his adulthood. He still suffered, especially with spring allergies. I remember when we hadn’t been dating very long and we were talking about flowers. He told me he always remembered the name of Forsythia because it sounded like a person with allergies saying they were “for Cynthia”. Since they bloom during the height of allergy season, it makes sense and that is how I remember their name now too.
When Keith was in his mid-late 30’s (right as we met and started dating) he was trying to get a handle on his health. He was seeing a chiropractor who recommended that he needed to drink more water, eat more veggies, and take a good multi-vitamin. Keith found that with those simple steps, his allergy symptoms virtually disappeared.
The water and getting in better nutrients consistently was the key to building up Keith’s body. So many people just take it as a given “I have allergies” and don’t think that they can do anything (other than pop a drugstore pill) to decrease the impact of allergies on their life. When our bodies are weakened over time they are bound to be more susceptible to not only illness but other assaults, like allergies. By strengthening our immune system we can strengthen our body’s resistance to allergies.
Here is another personal example although I am changing the name of the person because I don’t have their permission to use the story (we are no longer in touch). I will call him “Bob”. Bob was in his early 20’s and had a junk food diet. He drank tons of pop (soda for those of you who aren’t in Michigan), ate lots of red meat in the form of burgers and french fries were his main vegetable. He had HORRIBLE allergies and would get allergy shots every week. He was constantly sniffling and everything bothered him, dust, seasonal stuff, animals. He decided he wanted to get off allergy shots. I don’t recall if his reasoning was financial or he was just tired of having to get them.
He completely cut pop out of his diet and he began eating salads everyday. He went so extreme he wasn’t even putting dressing on his salads. He just ate them plain. He added other vegetables to his diet as well and decreased significantly the simple carbs and excessive red meat. He began drinking a lot of water and using a Neti Pot (which Keith and I had introduced him to). He used his Neti Pot every day and no longer needed the allergy shots and wasn’t any more sniffly then he had been before when he was on the shots.
You may not know what a Neti Pot is. My mother-in-law calls it a “nose jug” which is a pretty apt description. You take warm water (not hot, just about body temperature or a bit warmer) and add some non-iodized salt (iodized salt will burn and not be fun). There is a technique of bending over a sink or basin, tipping your head in a particular direction and pouring the water so it goes in the upper nostril, travels through the nasal cavities, and flows out the lower nostril. You empty the pot completely then follow directions to clear out any remaining water. Repeat the process with your head tilted toward the opposite side.
We use ours irregularly, like if we are congested from too much dust exposure or a head cold. I will tell you it took us both MONTHS to try it for the first time. There was a bit of drowning phobia related to putting water up your nose. I can tell you from experience the only thing that happens is if your head is tilted wrong the salt water solution may run down your throat and into your stomach. You will not drown by Neti Pot!
A final tip for allergies is to use D-Hist by Ortho Molecular Products. You can find this brand at most good health food stores. We buy ours at Castle Remedies in Ann Arbor. It has a variety of vitamins and herbs in it to combat allergies. You need to build it up in your system so follow the directions for how much to take to get to the right level.
Contact me if you want additional information or support in building up your body’s natural immunity, the most important secret to reducing allergy severity.
The key here is to not resign yourself to a life of misery because it has been that way for the last fifteen or twenty years. You CAN experience relief from seasonal allergies and the answer is not necessarily found at the pharmacist counter, regardless of what the television commercials say.
Donna Copeland is an Independent Shaklee Distributor who hates to see others suffer needlessly. She is committed to helping people live healthier and more energetic lives. If you have a particular topic you would like her to blog on, please submit your request in the form of a comment. For more information, and for excellent supplements to support your own immune system, go to www.Shaklee.net/DonnaCopeland
Filed under: Healthy Nutrition | Tags: gluten-free, gluten-free chocolate cake, healthy food, potato salad recipe
Did you have a nice Earth Day? Did you do anything special to celebrate? I am thankful for all of the beauty in both Michigan and Tennessee. I am so fortunate to have two lovely places to call home. As I have been talking to people or posting on facebook.com, I have had a couple requests for some recipes. I thought today might be a good day to share. If there are particular types of recipes you are looking for, please let me know.
Let me start with one that has some family history. It is my mother-in-law’s potato salad recipe. I told my sister, Marie, about how I really liked my mother-in-law’s recipe and thought it was unique. Marie made it for guests or a potluck or something and she named it. I have modified the name to:
Granny Copeland’s Southern Belle Potato Salad
“Granny” because that is what her grandchildren call her. Marie had put in the “Southern Belle” part because she liked it. My mother-in-law (Nita Copeland is her name, by the way) will be the first to tell you she was pretty far away from the lifestyle of a southern belle when she was growing up. Anyway, here is her delicious potato salad recipe. Like all good recipes, there are no exact measurements. Trust yourself and experiment!
- hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced (save a couple for garnish, if you want)
- potatoes, peeled, boiled, and drained while STILL HOT (this is the trick for this potato salad)
Add the eggs to the hot potatoes along with your choice of:
- chopped onions
- other chopped veggies such as green peppers, dill pickles (my favorite addition) or whatever else appeals to you
Mix well with
- mustard
- mayo
- salt to taste
- pepper (optional)
Chill
Because the potatoes are still warm the consistency becomes more like thick mashed potatoes with some chunks of potato still intact. I like it served with a slice of fresh tomato. Yummy!
This morning Keith and I enjoyed a slice of his leftover birthday cake from the freezer. I had mentioned on facebook that I was trying a new recipe and a few folks asked for it. This recipe comes from “Living Without”, a magazine for people with allergies and food sensitivities, especially gluten-free. My sister, Elaine, gave me a subscription for Christmas this year and this chocolate cake recipe came out of the first issue I have received. It is from the April/May 2009 issue. They have a website as well: www.LivingWithout.com They give substitutions for common allergens like dairy, egg, peanut, soy, and tree nuts as well.
By the way, for those of you looking for healthier food choices and cutting down on overeating, I want to share a tip that works well for Keith and I. When I make something, like a cake or cookies, we will eat at it until it is gone so it doesn’t go bad. Plus, we usually see it sitting out and it reminds us that it is there, waiting to be consumed. I take whatever food (especially sweets or snack foods) we have after we have each had a portion or two and portion it into one-person-size, wrap it, and put it in the freezer. That way, when we have a “hankering” for something sweet, we can get a single serving out and enjoy that. His birthday was April 9 and we still have one slice left in the freezer. (We also often will share one serving between the two of us to satisfy the desire for sweets without overindulging.)
I know some people can’t even keep the food in the freezer because it keeps calling to them. That’s okay. If you want to cut back, find a friend with a large freezer and ask them if you can use it for storage of extras. Life is not about a cookie-cutter approach. We all have different needs and challenges.
Okay! I hear you saying “get to the recipe, get to the recipe.” You do know you can scroll down, right? (kidding!) The cake recipe is from an article titled “Party Cakes” beginning on p. 29. They have some excellent tips on making a good gluten-free cake (like heating milk to steaming hot helps to reduce the grainy texture you get sometimes in gluten-free cooking; or use eggs at room temperature to help them cream better and increase volume – if you cook like I do often, at the last minute – you can place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes before using)
The magazine article suggested making it into a three-layer (8 or 9 inch) cake but most of my cake pans were in Tennessee so I found it fit nicely in one 9 x 13 pan. You can also use them for cupcakes.
In the recipe they refer to “All Purpose Flour Blend” which I triple or quadruple the quantities, blend, and keep in the fridge (a lot of gluten-free flours go bad more quickly and can be more prone to get moths and such)
1/2 cup rice flour (I use brown rice flour)
1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour
1/4 cup cornstarch or potato starch (I used cornstarch because it was what I had handy)
Chocolate Cake
- 1 cup brewed hot coffee (you can’t taste it when it is done…my husband dislikes the flavor of coffee and he couldn’t tell it was in there)
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup hot water
- 3 cups gluten-free all purpose flour blend (see proportions above)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 cup softened/room temperature butter, margarine, or Spectrum Organic Shortening (I used butter)
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs (room temp)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and dust cake pan(s) (if doing round do three 8 or 9 inch pans).
- Whisk together coffee and cocoa powder. Add hot water and whisk until smooth.
- In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients EXCEPT sugar (they suggest to sift the dry ingredients but I didn’t and the cake was fine).
- Use an electric mixer to cream butter and sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy (approximately 5 minutes).
- Add eggs (one at a time or be a daredevil like me and do two at a time) to the butter/sugar mix.
- Add vanilla to the butter/sugar mix and cream well. (Scrape the sides if you have ‘t already)
- Add half the dry ingredients to the butter/cream mix and blend until well-combined.
- Add half the coffee/cocoa mix to the main bowl and blend until well-combined.
- If you are like me, you will now combine in one final mixing step BOTH the dry and the wet ingredients, which I did. If you are more cautious, follow their directions of first blending the remaining dry ingredients and then blending in the remaining wet.
- Mix on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes)
- Spoon batter equally into the cake pan(s).
- Place in oven and bake for about 40 minutes for a layer cake. I think it was closer to an hour for the 9 x 13. Keep a watch on it and check for doneness using a toothpick or clean knife.
- Cool the cake in the pans for 20 minutes before removing (if you are going to remove them).
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
For egg-free version: replace the four large eggs with 6 tablespoons of applesauce mixed with 2 teaspoons baking powder + 4 teaspoons warm water mixed with 1 tablespon gluten-free egg replacer. (I used eggs.)
One final note on frostings…after putting all this work into making a gluten-free cake I beg you to not use one of those horrid (maybe tasty, but horrid for you) canned frostings. They are so packed full of preservatives (think Twinkies) and sometimes hidden gluten, do yourself a favor and serve the cake naked (or dust with confectioners sugar or powdered cocoa). You can also try making your own frosting or there are some higher-end packages you can purchase. Just try to avoid all those preservatives. They may preserve our foods but I don’t think they much help us preserve our health.
I have more recipes to share. I would be interested in knowing what recipes you would like to have. Here’s to your health!
Donna Copeland loves good food and spending time with her friends and family. Her cat, Fari, often supervises this blog. You can submit any complaints to him. She is an Independent Shaklee Distributor and she enjoys sharing all the tips she has picked up over the years with you. Find her on facebook as Donna Sink Copeland. Visit her Shaklee website at www.Shaklee.net/DonnaCopeland.
Filed under: Green Living | Tags: Dr. Wangari Maathai, Earth Day, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Recycle, Tree planting, Waste Knot
How was your Earth Day? Mine was spent organizing Quest (the martial arts school Keith and I own). We closed for a few days for spring cleaning. Today the painters come and freshen everything up. We still have some organizing left, we need to make a run to the recycle center, get some shredding done (there is free shredding in Ann Arbor May 8 and 9), and we have a pile of donation/sell stuff to sort and get rid of.
We have been in business over ten years now at Quest and it is amazing how quickly “stuff” (we’ll use that neutral word) accumulates. Of course we found some things we had been missing (like the scrub brushes for the mat scrubbing that is happening tomorrow) but there are some things we didn’t find (like the box of a couple thousand color brochures that has been missing for about two years).
Anyway, one thing that I did on Earth Day was I watched (on the internet) Governor Schwarzenegger of California, Dr. Wangari Maathai (Nobel Peace Prize Winner for the environment) and Roger Barnett (CEO of Shaklee) plant the millionth tree for Shaklee’s “A Million Trees, A Million Dreams” campaign they began three years ago. The video is still there as of this morning at gov.ca.gov (isn’t that an easy website?). Anyway, all three of them speak and it was especially great to hear Dr. Wangari Maathai speak after reading her book about her life and her commitment to re-greening Kenya. She is an amazing woman.
The trees Keith’s parents planted on their farm a few years ago didn’t count toward the “Million Trees” campaign because we didn’t know about it and they may have been done before the campaign started anyway. Keith’s parents took part of their field that is near the river and put it in 7,000 trees with some support of the government. That previous year they had some bad flooding and lost a lot of good soil in land that had been pasture for probably 100 years because of erosion. There had a been quite a bit of clear cutting in their area and since the terrain is hilly, when it rains in a clear cut area the soil washes into the streams and rivers because there are no roots to hold it in place. As the rain washes into the river it raises the water level and then it floods in places it normally wouldn’t flood.
Sometimes people or company’s think, “I’m only one person, if I throw this trash on the road it won’t make a difference.” or “There are still a lot of trees in Tennessee, if we clear cut now and replant in a few months we can put those trees back.” As you can see, it doesn’t work that way. Often by the time they replant a good deal of damage has been done.
Last night Keith and I attended the annual award ceremony for “Waste Knot” of Washtenaw County. It is an organization of businesses and non-profits who are committed to waste reduction and greener business practices. There are some really great members there! One excellent presentation was by the Veterens Administration Hospital. They are doing a fabulous job. I had no idea they could recycle that much. The Ann Arbor Veterens Hospital is leading the company in reaching goals that have been laid out for them. Membership is free for businesses and organizations. Check out their website at:
This weekend there are a couple notable events I want to help spread the word about. The City of Ann Arbor is celebrating Earth Day at the Leslie Science Center on Sunday afternoon. This event is also free. On Saturday two new businesses are celebrating Grand Openings. One is “Green Pawz” a pet supply store with a huge selection of natural foods and treats as well as American made toys and accessories. They are located in the Maple Village Plaza on Miller near Jackson. Also on Saturday is the Grand Opening of Balance Massage on Plymouth in the Village of Dixboro. They have lots of tasty food planned, free chair massages, raffle prizes, and other good stuff.
We all make a difference when we think through our purchases, take the time to recycle, reduce our driving, buy efficient appliances, support local businesses and agriculture, plant a tree, compost, and so many more small things. They all add up to make a big difference.
What is your favorite thing to do to make a difference?
Filed under: Green Living | Tags: bleach, Earth Day, Green Cleaning, Healthy Home, mercury, phosphates, toxins
Happy Earth Day to you! (And a Happy Anniversary to my sister Marie and brother-in-law Tom…20 years today!) I am thrilled to see the increase in awareness people have around green issues. Sure, some of it is coming from companies “greenwashing” in an attempt to get more market share (when they aren’t all that green but they want to sell more products) but green is green and the more people aware of how they impact the environment, the better.
That said, I think we do need to consider where we spend our consumer dollars and just take 30 seconds to think about a company before you make a purchase. Think about:
- Does the company have other products that are NOT green (or in fact are harmful)?
- Does the company use excessive packaging?
- Does the label say something like “CFC Free”? (All products are required to be CFC free.)
- Were the products produced in a foreign country and have to travel thousands and thousands of miles to get to your store?
- Is the product concentrated so you can add your own water? (less shipping)
Those are some indicators that you can briefly consider before making a purchase. I know most people aren’t going to go and google a company while they are grocery shopping to find out that company’s environmental mission statement. Just keep those things in mind.
Do I need to remind you that the government is not going to look out for you? There have been over 80,000 chemicals approved for use in households in the past 30 years and fewer then 20% have been tested for toxicity!
There are LOTS of chemicals out there that we need to consider for our safety. The way I see it, you have three choices:
- Stick your head in the sand and ignore the fact that there may be products in your home causing harm to you and your family.
- Research all the various threats and all the various companies and determine where it is safe to purchase certain products from.
- Find a company you trust to get products from; a company you know has high integrity and won’t mislead you.
In case you decide to go with route number two…Keep a special watch for:
- Cosmetics…lead in lipstick, mercury in mascara
- Fish and Omega 3 supplements…mercury, dioxin, and other heavy metals are a HUGE issue. (By the way I caught the tail end of a report on NPR yesterday and it sounds like manufacturers are going to have more restrictions on mercury pollution.)
- Dish and Laundry detergents…phosphates, at any level, are SO damaging to the environment. They cause algae to grow in high concentrations and basically smother a lake. OVER 40% of all lakes in the United States are “entropic” (have too much algae). That is US, us humans, causing that with our cleaning products.
- All Purpose cleaners, window cleaners, souring cleaners…butyl cellosolve is a liver and kidney neurotoxin plus it causes damage to your lungs and airways. In addition, it can be absorbed through the skin. If you use this nasty stuff, wear gloves and a mask.
- Chlorine bleach…I know that some of you love this stuff and rely on it heavily. Bleach is not only an irritant to your skin and lungs is also is a “Carcinogen precursor”. Anyone else concerned about how many people are developing cancer? I am.
There is WAY more, trust me. If you want additional information on harmful chemicals please contact me at keithdonnacopeland@sbcglobal.net
Studies have found that women (I don’t know about the men, it appears they only studied the women) who are employed at household cleaning are at an increased risk of developing lung disease. A friend of mine who works cleaning houses described the women she worked with (who had been cleaning homes for years) as having “smoker’s coughs” even though they were non-smokers. The study I mentioned above contributes 25% of the incidents of asthma in the 4,500 women they studied directly to their exposure to cleaning chemicals.
I could go on for days. That is why I have taken on this mission…to help people to detoxify their homes, their bodies, and the planet. Let’s all consider one thing we could do that would make a difference.
By the way, if you are looking for “Option Number 3″ (a company you trust to get your products from that has high integrity)…check out the company I trust www.Shaklee.net/DonnaCopeland There is a money-back guarantee and right now Shaklee is offering a free lifetime membership with a 50 point order.
For those females out there still dealing with monthly cycles but concerned about either what is touching your body OR what is going into the landfill each month, check out www.gladrags.com. I have been using their products for years and I absolutely love them. I have heard praise about their “diva cup” too although I personally haven’t tried it. If you have any questions about using them, give me a call.
Make every day Earth Day!
Filed under: Healthy Nutrition | Tags: celiac; gluten-free diagnosis, gluten-free, wheat, wheat alternatives
I often am asked “so what can you eat”? or “what does it mean to be gluten-free”? I admit that I was a bit intimidated when I was first diagnosed. My doctor’s instructions were to “experiment” and when I asked him what would happen if I ate gluten, he said “you will probably feel uncomfortable. If you choose to have gluten from time to time you may end up feeling the consequences.”
By this time I had already learned that I was negative for Celiac. If I had been diagnosed with Celiac I would not have had such an option. From what I understand about what is understood for people with Celiac is that they are at a much higher risk of developing digestive cancers. Because gluten actually stays in our bodies for at least two weeks once it is consumed, if you cheat a couple times a month you are never fully ridding your body of the gluten response.
One of the gluten responses is inflammation. Not like the swelling of the neck that some people get when they eat peanuts or are stung by a bee. It causes inflammation of the digestive track and joints. My fingers used to ache pretty frequently and because arthritis runs in my family I thought that was what the problem was. When I went gluten-free my achy joints went away.
It was quite a learning process to figure out all the things I needed to avoid. There are still some that sneak up and surprise me. It is the most concerning eating out or at someone’s house. The more gluten has been removed from my diet, the stronger my bodies response has become. Gluten is not welcome here anymore.
For example, initially I continued to eat at Chinese restaurants. You may not know it but gluten is in soy sauce. I always had that “not quite full, odd feeling in my stomach” when I ate Chinese food but I didn’t think anything of it. When I eliminated breads and other obvious gluten foods I found that my response to Chinese food became stronger. I would feel like maybe I was getting a stomach bug with some cramping and discomfort and then usually diarrhea within 12-24 hours and then my joints would be achy again. When you make the association like that, you find the cravings become easier and easier to resist.
So what do I avoid? ALL wheat products including breads, flour tortillas, pastas (Semolina and Durum are types of wheat). Other grains I avoid are: barley, rye, graham, oats (they are cross-contaminated with wheat unless specifically listed as “gluten-free” and I found over time I developed a reaction to them as I got other gluten foods out of diet), spelt (some gluten-free people eat this but it gives me a reaction and it is a type of wheat). Standard foods I avoid: noodles, cornbread (because it is almost always cooked with a portion of wheat flour), breaded foods (like deep-fried veggies), soy sauce (unless wheat is not an ingredient), and licorice (yes, it has wheat in it about 98% of the time), gravies, sauces that are thickened, beer (Red Bridge is my favorite gluten-free beer).
What do I read the labels on or ask the person who cooked it? Soups, salad dressings, casseroles, cheese spreads, sauces, vegetarian meat substitutes, supplements, protein or meal bars, snack chips (Doritoes have wheat in them as do Pringles), pretty much any processed food. You would be surprised where wheat shows up.
That said, there are lots of things I eat. I will cover that in a new post.
Filed under: Healthy Nutrition | Tags: celiac disease, gluten-free; gluten-free diagnosis
One of the most common questions I get is, “How did you know you were gluten-free?” or a variation, “Are you gluten-free by choice or necessity?” There are a few different ways to discover if you are gluten-intolerant. I do not have Celiac, for which I am profoundly grateful. People with Celiac have a much higher incidence of digestive cancers and need to be EXTREMELY careful about not allowing ANY gluten to get into their diets. If I had Celiac, I would rarely eat out or eat foods that I was “pretty sure” are okay.
Celiac can be tested with a blood test. My Celiac test was negative. The way we discovered my gluten-intolerance was through an elimination diet which was monitored by my doctor, Dr. Ed Linkner, in Ann Arbor.
Let me back up to look at how we even started looking at gluten. Keith and I went on a vacation/conference to California and I experienced some discomfort in my stomach area. I would move toward bland foods hoping they would help the tightness to go away (you know, things like potatoes or crackers or bread). The feeling persisted and one night the pain became so bad we went to the ER where they kept me for observation. They thought my gallbladder was acting up (I have a strong family history of gallbladder disease). My pain subsided and after an ultrasound they said I should see my doctor as soon as I get back into town.
I saw Dr. Linkner and described my symptoms to him and he also looked over the records from California. He said he suspected it was my stomach, not my gallbladder that was giving me trouble and set out to determine if there was something going on there.
We went through several tests looking at everything from stomach acid, blood work, and how my food was digesting (by looking at the remains…not overly pleasant!). The results came back that I had an infestation of candida (a yeast) and inflammation in my digestive tract. The inflammation was a concern because that means my nutrients are not being absorbed properly plus over time that inflammation can turn into chronic disease (and discomfort).
Dr. Linkner put me on an “elimination” diet that removed all common allergens from my diet for six weeks. We also wanted to finish off the candida so I removed all fruits and any other form of sugar (because that is what they live on) and I took an herbal supplement to assist in restoring balance. Because my diet was so restrictive, I also took a rice-based shake supplement two or three times per day. NOT tasty. Here is what I removed: caffeine, sugar, eggs, milk, wheat, soy, alcohol, fruit, and more that I can’t remember. Oh yeah…corn too.
My wonderful husband went on the diet with me. What a guy! It was a tough six weeks. We ate a lot of rice, chicken (not a vegetarian at that time), beans, veggies, and potatoes. It was VERY hard with the sugar cravings to get rid of those candida. As they are in their death throes they get very demanding for their sugar. It took a lot of will power and I was grateful I had cleaned out my cupboards ahead of time to get tempting foods out of the house.
After the six weeks I was able to start adding back in foods, one at a time, three days apart. I was to add in a large quantity of the food and look for any reaction (headache, joint aches, runny nose or congestion, stomach upset, cramping, anything out of the ordinary). We were very strategic in adding back foods. I went with the foods first that are commonly found in other foods. I half-feared a milk reaction and was very pleased when I didn’t have one. Corn was early too and it sailed right through.
Wheat though gave me a runny nose almost immediately and a headache shortly after. I tried a couple times in the same day with the same results and had some achy joints the following day.
I let it clear from my system then added back another food then tried wheat again. Same results. Then I knew…life would not be the same in my kitchen.
It has been an interesting trip, learning which foods I can consume and how to find substitutes for my favs. Let me know if this post has been helpful to you. If you would like more information or recipes, just ask and I’ll be happy to include more.
Filed under: Healthy Nutrition, supplements | Tags: cancer prevention, cardiovascular health, childrens vitamins, prevention, supplements, Vitamin D
You know how when you buy a new car and all of a sudden you see them EVERYWHERE you go? That is what happened with Vitamin D and me. I wrote the post last week (sorry for the dry spell) and then during my daily living I saw two articles on Vitamin D, without even looking.
One was a small mention in a hand-me-down “Good Housekeeping” magazine that my mom had passed on to me. It was the March 09 issue and on page 83 says that the American Academy of Pediatrics is now recommending that kids up to age 18 need 400 IUs of vitamin D each day. To get that amount from milk they would need to drink a QUART of milk every day. Wow!
The other article was from “Living Without” a magazine for people with allergies and food sensitivities (espcially gluten and dairy). My sister gave me a subscription for Christmas and this was the first issue I had received and it is for April/May 2009. I will write more on being gluten-free in the future as that seems to be of interest to people I know. On page 56 in an article cleverly titled “D is for Deficiency” they talk about how over half of the U.S. population is deficient in vitamin D. Over half!!!
They discuss how hard it is for us to get enough “D” through our skin (sunscreen and indoor lifestyles), how food sources like salmon and sardines have heavy metal and other contaminant concerns, and the “D” found in fortified cereal or milk is not enough to make up for what we are missing (they say we would need 20-40 glasses of milk per day). Of course if someone has a dairy issue, that wouldn’t work anyway.
I have also heard from health food store folks that not all vitamin D is created equal. Your body can most readily absorb the vitamin D3 so if you are going to supplement, make sure that is how it is listed on your multivitamin or supplement.
Back to the “Living Without” article…they talk about the problem with serious deficiency but they focus on the long-term deficiency at a moderate level. It has been linked to everything from autism, infertility, 19 kinds of cancer, cardiovascular disease, immune issues, fibromyalgia, schizophrenia, immune issues, allergies, and more.
It is amazing how many concerns they list that are associated with vitamin D deficiency. They site one study that found post-menopausal women who supplemented with calcium and vitamin D over four years contracted 77 percent fewer cancers. That is pretty impressive.
There is more information available at www.vitamindcouncil.org AND sunarc.org AND lpi.oregonstate.edu (all sited at the end of the article. Hats off to the author, Ellie Campbell, D.O. for helping to bring this information to light. (Pun not intended but I do like it!)
