FitSugar

Smarter Eats: Gwyneth Reminds Us to Get a Healthy Dose of D

FitSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:30:31 -0800

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.

How to Get Your Daily Vitamin D

FitSugar — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:00:55 -0700

Sunshine is a great source of vitamin D, but if cooler weather or your busy work or school schedule has you spending less time outside, you'll want to make sure you're getting enough from your diet. An adult woman needs five micrograms or 200 International Units (IU) of vitamin D each day, though it is argued that the RDI for women should be 800 to 1,000 IU. The tolerable upper intake level is 50 mcg or 2,000 IU. If you don't get enough, your risk for osteoporosis increases, since this vitamin helps maintain bone strength.

To see what I ate yesterday to reach my daily vitamin D intake, read more.

Meal	Food	Amount of Vitamin D (IU)
Breakfast	2 eggs	40
	1 ounce cheddar cheese	3.4
	1/2 cup mushrooms	6.3
	1 slice whole wheat bread	0
Lunch	2 cups black bean soup	0
	1 apple	0
Snack	6-ounce container vanilla yogurt	40
Dinner	3 oz. grilled salmon	308
	1 small baked sweet potato	0
	2 cups spinach, sautéed	0
	Total vitamin D intake	397.7

Salmon, mackerel, tuna, and cod liver oil are excellent sources, but if you don't eat fish, opt for dairy products instead and make sure they are fortified with vitamin D. Two cups of milk contain 200 IU of vitamin D, so if you work that into your diet, you're all set. If you're vegan, you'll probably want to take supplements or look for products such as orange juice or cereals that are fortified with vitamin D.

Little Fish Offers Big Doses of Vitamin D

FitSugar — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:00:03 -0700

Most people in this country aren't getting enough vitamin D - adults and kids alike. Our bodies manufacture vitamin D when our skin is exposed to the sun, but we don't spend much time in the sun these days. And when we do, we wear sunscreen.

This hard-to-come-by vitamin plays an important role in our overall health. Not only does vitamin D help keep our bones strong, it helps prevent cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. Added to foods like fortified cereal, milk, and OJ, vitamin D can be found naturally in cold-water fish like salmon, tuna, and sardines.

If you haven't already learned to love sardines, vitamin D could be the reason to open your heart to this sustainable fish that is also low in mercury. A half-cup of sardines provides 200 international units (IU) of the vitamin. The new daily recommended intake for vitamin D is for kids it is 400 IU, and investigation to whether the RDI for adults should be increased to 800 to 1,000 IU. Not sure how to add this fish to your plate? Try Yum's sardine and arugula sandwich. It's simple, tasty, and loaded with D!

Don't Run Yourself Into a Stress Fracture

FitSugar — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:00:29 -0700

Over training happens. You love what you do. You do it too much. Your body starts to break down. Your bones begin to crack. An over use injury you definitely want to avoid is a stress fracture.

Common in professional sports that intensely work the lower body like running and basketball - hoops star Yao Ming has been suffering from one in his foot for two years now and marathoner Paula Radcliffe has battled one in her femur.

A fracture, aka broken bone, is caused by a sudden trauma like a fall. A stress fracture occurs when a bone can't hold up against repeated stress overtime. Cells known as osteoblasts make bones and attempt to keep the bone strong and rebuild them while under strain, while osteoclasts are cells that remove damaged bone tissue. The repeated stress weakens the bones, and ultimately the osteoclast cells win creating a microscopic fracture on the surface of the bone. This small crack can create lots of pain. X-rays usually cannot detect the fracture, but an MRI or bone scan if deemed necessary can diagnose a stress fracture. Often a stress fracture can be diagnosed based on your history, since over use injuries often run a specific course.

Learn how to avoid a stress fracture.

Another Reason to Take Vitamin D: Your Lady Business

FitSugar — Wed, 27 May 2009 03:30:00 -0700

Much has been said recently about the health importance of vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin that the body creates after exposure to ultraviolet rays. As a population, our vitamin D levels are low due to spending less time in the sun and wearing more sunscreen. The impact of being vitamin D-deficient goes beyond softening our bones; it affects the health of your lady business. A new health study found that low levels of vitamin D increase the risk of a woman developing vaginosis, the most common bacterial infection for women of child-bearing age. In the study of 260 pregnant women, about half the participants had low levels of vitamin D. Just over 50 percent of the African American women were diagnosed with vaginosis, which is strikingly high compared with 27 percent of white women. The black women in the study were also close to three times as likely to be vitamin D-deficient, and researchers believe that's because darker skin prevents adequate synthesis of the vitamin.

Vaginosis, aside from creating discomfort, can lead to premature births and is a major cause of infant mortality. The bacterial infection is treatable with antibiotics. Vitamin D can be found in a handful of food sources, such as fatty fish like salmon and mackerel, egg yolks, and foods fortified with the vitamin, like milk. Talk to your doctor if you think you should be taking a supplement.

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7 Foods For Strong Bones

FitSugar — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Foods high in calcium and vitamin D are essential for building strong bones. The RDI of calcium for women is 1,000 mg a day and for vitamin D, it's 200 to 400 IU. Here are five foods to include in your diet to improve your bone density, which will prevent osteoporosis.
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5 Things: Vitamin D

FitSugar — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:30:00 -0800

Making health headlines almost daily, vitamin D seems to be the nutritional celebrity. Even with all the press it has been getting, Americans don't seem to be getting enough vitamin D in their diets. Here are five things about vitamin D to help you get to know it a little bit better.

Vitamin D, not vitamin C, is known as the sunshine vitamin since your body produces vitamin D after exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun.
Ten to 15 minutes of daily sun, at nonpeak hours, is enough to satisfy the recommended daily dose of D. The recommend daily intake for vitamin D is 200–400 International Units (IU).
Current levels of vitamin D are lower in Americans than they were two decades ago. Health researchers believe this decline is due to: increasing weight, declining milk consumption, and increasing use of sun protection.
You can find vitamin D in a handful of food sources: fatty fish like salmon and mackerel, egg yolks, and foods fortified with the vitamin. Much milk in the US is fortified with vitamin D.
Adequate vitamin D helps prevent osteoporosis, heart disease, and diabetes. It may even help prevent breast cancer.

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Do You Know Vitamin D?

FitSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:00:00 -0700

The health world has been buzzing as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has increased the amount of vitamin D children should have daily to 400 IU (International Units). Since Vitamin D is not as easy to come by as say, vitamin C, take this quiz to see how much you know about this important vitamin that's been making the news.

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Take the quiz

Vitamin D For Goth Girls When Sunshine Is Too Much

FitSugar — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 02:00:00 -0800

I have a few friends that fear the sun. A few are afraid of wrinkles and skin cancer, and there are those serious goth gals who just dislike all things sunny – you know who you are. These fears, rationale or not, keep these ladies from getting enough Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin.

Your body produces vitamin D after exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun, as well as a handful of food sources. Many milk products, and even soy milk and some orange juices, are fortified with vitamin D, since deficiency in it can lead to rickets. Once synthesized by your skin (makes me think we humans are a little like plants), vitamin D works to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus by promoting calcium absorption to form and maintain strong bones. This fat soluble vitamin also helps to maintain a healthy immune system and cell growth regulation.

To see how much you need and what foods contain this vitamin read more

If you are worried about skin cancer or live in a northern clime where UV rays don't reach you regularly in Winter months, you need to get your sunshine vitamin via food or supplements. The recommended daily intake is 400 IU (International Units). Here's a chart of food sources containing vitamin D.

Food	Serving size	IU per serving	Percent of DV
Cod liver oil	1 tablespoon	1360	340
Salmon	3.5 ounces	360	90
Tuna (canned in oil)	3 ounces	200	50
Milk	1 cup	98	25
Egg	1 yolk	20	4
Liver	3.5 ounces	15	4

Most food labels do not list vitamin D content unless a food has been fortified with it. Many cereals are fortified with the the vitamin so check the nutritional information of your favorite brand. Most fortified cereals tend to have about 10% of your daily requirements.

If you want to go the sunshine route, the National Institute of Health recommends 10 to 15 minutes of sun exposure at least two times per week to the face, arms, hands, or back without sunscreen. Then protect your skin with sunscreen!

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Days of Wine and Sunlight

FitSugar — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:00:00 -0800

Today, I am happy to be the bearer of good news. Two of life's simple pleasures may be beneficial for women's health: wine and sunlight.

A recent Spanish study found that 6.8 ounces of wine a day, be it red or white, increased women's HDL cholesterol, which is considered that good kind of cholesterol. In addition, markers of chronic inflammation, an indicator for heart disease, were significantly lower after a month of drinking the recommended "dose" of wine, the equivalent of a glass and a half of wine. Similar studies have been done on male populations, but this was the first to study women and wine consumption. The study also proves the merits of white wine too. When it comes to overall health, I would like to remind you that one glass a day is considered healthy here in the US.

Vitamin D, which our bodies produce from exposure to sunlight, is considered highly beneficial in the aging process. High levels of vitamin D help to lengthen strands of DNA known as telomeres. Telomere length is an indicator of biological age and is considered more accurate than chronological age. Longer length of telomere was associated with greater amounts of vitamin D, and lower levels of those same inflammatory indicators that wine decreased. This vitamin is difficult to find in food sources unless they have been fortified with it, like milk. In the age of skin cancer and ozone holes, sunshine has been rightly demonized, but it might be time to reevaluate our relationship with the sun.

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