Gwyneth Paltrow's dishing out some healthy advice on GOOP this week — get your daily dose of vitamin D. The super-fit star points to Dr. Frank Lipman's healthy tips for getting our fair share of the vital D, who reminds us that, especially this time of year —when we head into the colder season and see less sunlight — it's even more important to supplement our diets with the vitamin, and avoid a vitamin D deficiency.
If you're wondering why it's so important, just remember that vitamin D was first recognized for its importance in maintaining healthy calcium levels for our bones. According to Dr. Lipman, it's now becoming increasingly apparent that we've underestimated the value of the vitamin, and a lack of it has been associated with obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and breast cancer — to name a few.
Since we rely on the sun to generate the most reliable way of getting vitamin D, it's a good idea to up your intake of foods that can naturally deliver the goods — try fortified milk in your cereal, dried shitake mushrooms with your stir fry or salad, and wild fatty fish, like salmon and halibut. Just be aware that only 10 percent of your vitamin D intake can come from food, so to really eat smarter and healthier, it might just be a good idea to supplement with the active form of the vitamin, D3. Be sure to read all of Dr. Lipman's great tips, and until we see some sunlight this Spring, make sure you're getting your daily dose with fortified foods.
Vanessa Bruno
Forte Forte
Miss Sixty
I've recently started taking a vitamin D supplement because we only get something like 8 hours of sunlight a day now. I definitely notice that it helps my mood a lot. If I don't take it, I start feeling crabby.
1let's not forget that sunbeds produce UVB as well so you can produce vitamin D in these off season months with a few minutes a week in a sunbed. Just remember...don't burn
2uuuhhh I don't think time in a sunbed is ever a good idea, even if you don't burn.
I am skeptical of these studies that show evidence for people who are deficient in vitamin D and obesity. People that go outside less tend to exercise outside less as well and are therefore more obese.... there is a third factor at play here.
However, I take vitamin D supplements during the winter because I am hardly ever outside in this weather so I don't get as much sun.
3Norway's way ahead of Gwynneth - for ages, many Norwegian children and adults have been consuming cod liver oil in months that have R in the name. Personally, I can't stand the taste, so I usually take it in pill-form rather than oil.
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