Anti Aging Defense Tips - Sunshine and Vitamin D
Sunny Delight
Older adults who have been housebound, institutionalized or hospitalized for extended periods face an increased risk of being deficient in vitamin D. This is firstly due to an absence of exposure to the sun's rays, which is the body's natural and primary source of vitamin D.
Compounding this, as people age the skin's ability to absorb sunlight and produce vitamin D from it will also decrease. An increasing focus and awareness over the past decade on sun-related skin conditions has caused many people of all ages to avoid or cover up from the sun's rays.
This has led to a wide-spectrum deficiency of vitamin D in all age groups in many societies.
Unfortunately, a lack of vitamin D will cause an increasing vulnerability to many age-related diseases. Many of the effects and incidences of these diseases are preventable if people observe healthy lifestyle habits along with getting enough exposure to the sun's rays.
Chronic avoidance of exposure to sunlight can lead to vitamin D deficiency which in turn will increase a person's risk of any or all of the following diseases that are common among the aged population:
Osteoporosis
In the past, the nutrient considered the most essential to bone growth was calcium. Current research is showing that even massive calcium intake has no benefit and can even be harmful if not combined with other essential minerals and vitamins, the major ones being vitamin D and the mineral magnesium. Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for building healthy bones and lowering the risk of osteoporosis as we age.
Getting sufficient exposure to sunlight is important for everyone, but especially for women who are already in their 40s and above. This group has often had their bone density compromised by the natural events of childbearing and lactation. Additionally, their lifestyle often limits their exposure to sunlight. Thus, will be lowered while their bones are being strengthened as they age.
Cancer
Study after study has shown that vitamin D is crucial for assisting the prevention of more than 16 types of cancer including ovarian, colon, pancreatitis, breast, skin and prostate cancers.
Besides being helpful in preventing specific cancers, vitamin D has also been found to play an important role in slowing down the growth of malignant cells. The role of vitamin D in preventing breast cancer is so crucial that this cancer has been labeled by some experts as "vitamin D deficiency syndrome".
Diabetes
A three-year study was conducted which had 2,039 individuals as participants with all their blood sugar levels measured at the beginning of the study. The researchers followed up with these study participants for six months and then every year for three years.
One of their findings indicated that for every increase in vitamin D levels, as measured by nanograms per milliliter, a person's risk of diabetes is lowered by as much as 8 percent. Those study participants who had the highest increase in vitamin D levels (with an average increase of 30 ng/mL) were able to lower their risk of having diabetes by as much as 38 percent.
Coronary Heart Disease
There is sufficient evidence that having low levels of vitamin D leads to higher risk of coronary heart conditions. A Harvard study showed that people who have low vitamin D levels in their blood were two times more likely to suffer from coronary heart disease. Additional studies by other groups support these findings.
Depression
A group of scientists conducted a study in 2006 to ascertain the role of vitamin D in mental health. They had 80 elderly patients as study participants and after evaluating their levels of vitamin D, experts found out that those who had the lowest level of this vitamin were eleven times more at risk of suffering from the symptoms of depression.
Researchers also found out that obtaining as little as 400 IU of vitamin D daily from dietary sources can lower the risk of depression by as much as 20 percent. This may seem surprising since 400 IU of vitamin D had been considered too low to be able to provide appreciable benefits.
This gave strong supporting evidence that dietary supplementation of vitamin D can be of great benefit when sunlight exposure is limited or not feasible due to immobility.