vitamin D

[Mickey]

I know you live in Seattle and your weather is not much different than mine, your neighbor in Portland to the South. The last few days have been beautiful and I have enjoyed my 45 minute walk in the Sun, but what do you do to get this important vitamin on those too often cloudy days?
Mickey

[StephN]

You are doing better than I am with a 45 minute walk! I can't seem to make time for that much walking just to be walking.
Yesterday I was out in my garden for about that long, tho. And it WAS sunny and getting a little on the warm side here now.

During the cloudy months and days I try to eat foods that are rich in vitamin D as well as take some supplements, like calcium with D in the right proportion for the uptake of the calcium into my bones. And there are dairy products that have no hormones added that I also take in moderation.
I have not really been 100% faithful on trying to keep my vitamin D up, but I do get my calcium levels checked when my frequent bloodwork is done. It normally runs just at the low end of normal, which then concentrates my mind for a few days to do a little better!

It seems that since the chemos don't penetrate the blood/brain barrier we need to do what we can within our own bodies to biologically fight and kill the cancer cells. Seems to be a lot of info coming out on ways to do this lately. Between the olive oil and other foods we can easily eat.

[susie]

I too am a vitamin D user. I get daily sun, when available. Good eggs (yolks) have it. Vit.D supplements, and I know it is contoversial and I am not recommending it, but, tanning booths. Studies have shown a huge increase in vit D in the blood after a 15-20 min, session. You don't have to go for the full 20 minutes---just 10 minutes a couple times a week is good. I am as brown as a berry from being outside and using the booth in the winter. I keep explaning to the girls that work there that it is not the tan I am after, it is the Vit.D. With all the stuff I've taken, the x-rays, drugs, blood trasfusions and such, I'm not going to let a few minutes in a tanning booth scare me off!

[Esther]

You might also check a vitamen supplement, D3. I got this tip from some bone mets patients who were using to help stregthen their bones.

[AlaskaAngel]

Chiming in from Alaska..... I work at home so I can drop my work and run outside for the 15-30 minutes in my swimsuit on the days there is sunshine . I also have a bottle of Vitamin D3 400 IU pills for continuous dark days. But I just want to remind anyone that those who have had rads need to completely protect the site of the rads from sun. I protect a wider area of the skin actually just to be on the safer side.

A.A.

[Lolly]

We don't get much sun in the winter here in the mid-Willamette valley of Oregon, but my multiple vit. has the minimum daily requirement of 400 IU's plus I take a calcium supplement with vit D3 and vit K. Between those and diet, I think I'm ok. I can't get too much sun due to Rosacea.
<3,
Lolly

[StephN]

I know about the egg yolks being rich in vitamin D. When I was on my last chemo group it was recommended to me that I eat one egg a day for this reason as well as other good nutrients and protein source.
Now there are eggs that have Lutein that is good for the eyes! Not mention the special omega 3's they contain.
Seems that eggs and bananas could get one by if there was not much else to eat!
Still not keen on tanning booths, but will keep that in mind for next winter. Can we REALLY get our vit D from artificial sun??

[AlaskaAngel]

There still is a lot that we don't know about the human process, so I lean toward the idea that natural vitamin D has "parts" to it that help us even though we may not have entirely figured it out yet. For that reason I work harder at getting it instead of taking pills except as a last resort. And sunshine after all, is free....

A.A.

[Esther]

I agree with you there AA, anything that you can get naturally, through exercise, fresh air, fresh fruits and vegetables, is preferable than a supplement.

I add in some supplements if I have a hard time getting enough of something, or think there is some specific benefit to it.

[susie]

Hi! Yes, I know tanning booths are controversial but my rationalization (to myself) is that I've had more "artificial" things pumped into me in the past years that a tanning booth is minimal comppared to that!
Yes, studies have been done and there is a radical increase in vit D in those who have basked in a tanning booth. It is not completely artificial as would be a "tanning spray" (now touted as a 'Safe' way to tan!). You actually get the UV rays. Some people replace their incandescent light bulbs with full-spectrum too, to get the benefits of natural sunlight, Of course it is not SUNLIGHT, but an addition to it. By the way, I have read that we need real sunlight (the kind you get outdoors) on our eyelids so off with the dark glasses for a time each day. The sun is even out on overcast days so "daylight" counts!