NOTE FROM EVA: Friends and fans,
Pulling this info together was incredibly eye opening. I already don’t use sunscreen for the specific reason of Vitamin D. Even with my fair skin and light eyes, I have found that raw food (yes, really!) and regular sun exposure have made it easy to take sunlight in with joy and without fear.
Even still, I will be back in the USA in two weeks (so soon!) and plan to get a Vitamin D test for myself. When you look at the numbers, and the newer studies that are SO CRAZY intense, you wonder how Vitamin D could not be a top priority for anyone whose top priorities include healthy, well-being, vitality, and longevity.
And, since all of those are on my list, it is with great pleasure that I present you with some of the best of the best that I have found regarding Vitamin D, from top researchers and from the most respected non-profit organizations in their field.
Wishing the best of health and joy,
xxo Eva Rawposa
LINKS TO OUTSTANDING RESOURCES
- I highly recommend this Natural News article for some bullet points on different pieces of the Vitamin D puzzle, such as what you can do to help yourself.
- Then there is the information here from the non-profit cause to “D-feat Breast Cancer”
IF YOU WANT TO BE SAFELY TESTED FOR YOUR VITAMIN D LEVELS
GET TESTED & BE PART OF A HUGE VITAMIN D STUDY
Via the D-feat Breast Cancer’s parent organization, Grassroots Health, you will find a non-profit organization which is devoted to the study of Vitamin D and its connection to cancer. Their Vitamin D test is actually the LEAST EXPENSIVE I found anywhere.
Here is the way the Vitamin D test works:
- You fill out a Vitamin D Survey here, which Grassroots Health will use for research to help solve this epidemic.
- You pay $60 (the price for if you plan to test regularly) or $65 (the price to test only once)
- They send you a kit (anywhere in the world for the same price).
- You mail them a very small sample of your blood via the kit they sent you.
- Within 2 weeks, you know the status of your Vitamin D levels.
PLENTY OF INFO VIA THE VITAMIN D COUNCIL
The Vitamin D Council is another non-profit devoted to the link between Vitamin D and cancer. This entire section of quotes was provided by the Vitamin D Council. They have even more information on their website if you want to continue reading and learning what they have to share.
>> MOST PEOPLE VITAMIN D DEFICIENT
Now, studies are reporting most of us are vitamin D deficient and those deficiencies may well be causing numerous illnesses, especially cancer.”
>> BY NATURAL DESIGN, SUNLIGHT IS AN AMAZING SOURCE FOR VITAMIN D
Humans make thousands of units of vitamin D within minutes of whole body exposure to sunlight. From what we know of nature, it is unlikely such a system evolved by chance.”
~ Dr. John Cannell, Executive Director, Vitamin D Council.
>> SUNLIGHT IS DANGEROUS? THEN HOW DID WE SURVIVE AS A SPECIES?!
For hundreds of thousands of years, man has lived with the sun: Our ancestors were outdoors far more often than indoors. We developed a dependence on sunshine for health and life, so the idea that sunlight is dangerous does not make sense. How could we have evolved and survived as a species, if we were that vulnerable to something humans have been constantly exposed to for their entire existence?”
~ Dr. Frank Lipman, internationally recognized expert in the fields of Integrative and Functional Medicine and practicing physician
>> THE CAUSE OF MELANOMA UNCERTAIN
The big mistake was that the idea that sun exposure causes melanoma went public before it was proved. In fact, we don’t know what causes melanoma.”
~ Sam Shuster, Professor Emeritus, Department of Dermatology, Newcastle University and Honorary Consultant to the Department of Dermatology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
>> SUNTAN DOES NOT EQUAL SKIN DAMAGE
Suntan is an evolutionary device, it protects against burning…A suntan is just a sign of increased pigment, melanin, in the skin and is a natural biological response to the sun, not a sign of skin damage.”
~ Sam Shuster, Professor Emeritus, Department of Dermatology, Newcastle University and Honorary Consultant to the Department of Dermatology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
>> AND THE DOCTOR SAYS, “CHECK YOUR VITAMIN D”
I would recommend that every patient, every person in America get their vitamin D checked, because so many people are low and the ramifications of having low vitamin D are so severe.”
~ Dr. Richard Honaker, family practice physician
>> WHY HIDE INDOORS OR UNDER SUNSCREEN? THE IDEA IS A SCAM!
The sun is the orchestra leader for the dance of life. Every living thing on earth vibrates to the energy of the sun, including people. For a long time people have been victims of a huge scam that made them think they were supposed to hide indoors or under a blanket of sunscreen while the rest of life basked in the glory of the sun. Now they are catching on that they too need the sun’s life-giving force.”
~ Barbara Minton, natural health editor
VIDEO INTERVIEW REGARDING THE POWER OF VITAMIN D
INFO REGARDING THE DIFFICULTY OF OBTAINING VITAMIN D VIA DIET
in this article written by the Associated Press
But this [obtaining Vitamin D from food or pills] is difficult. Vitamin D occurs naturally in salmon, tuna and other oily fish, and is routinely added to milk. However, diet accounts for very little of the vitamin D circulating in blood, Giovannucci said.
Supplements contain the nutrient, but most use an old form ó D-2 ó that is far less potent than the more desirable D-3. Multivitamins typically contain only small amounts of D-2 and include vitamin A, which offsets many of D’s benefits.
As a result, pills might not raise vitamin D levels much at all.”
USE OF SUNBLOCK = POTENTIAL VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY
Use of most sunblocks can result in the same vitamin D deficiency experienced by people who avoid the sun and don’t take supplements.”–Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Website
THE GIVEAWAY
2 sites I like getting information from are natural news and mercola.com. Both discuss vitamin D and cancer related topics regularly.
Thanks for this reminder! I know that I feel MUCH better when I’ve gotten some sunshine, and I suffer a lot in the winter when I’m bundled up from head to toe and only my eyes are showing!
I’d REALLY like to get my D levels checked; I never have. I am extremely pale (ok, white as a ghost) and have actually gotten SECOND DEGREE BURNS from the sun before (at an all day concert as a teenager, they didn’t let me bring sunscreen in, and my whole upper body blistered and peeled for 3 weeks afterward…traumatizing), so I try to avoid sun exposure as best I can.
Currently fighting cancer thru natural (nontoxic) methods. I take 10,000 IU of Vit D supplement daily. I would love to see what my levels are at currently!
This is all SO interesting to me. I literally was thinking about sunscreen and why it’s suddenly become so important for protection against skin cancer, mostly because mankind lived without it for so long. (Whether you believe the earth is 6000 years old or billions of years old… we didn’t have sunscreen that whole time!) The only time I really wear sunscreen is in the dead of summer when I’m going to be outside for a length of time because I burn so quickly. This didn’t used to be the case – when I was a child, my dad called me his “little bean burrito” because I tanned so well… and I had super light blond hair to go with it. My general feeling has always been that the obsession with wearing SPF is a scare tactic – and more about “anti-aging” than it is about protecting your skin. AND as plenty of older raw foodies can attest, taking care of your body from the INSIDE can do wonders for your appearance.
I am very fair skinned, and because of that, always wore excessive amounts of chemical-laden sunblock. I now live in SoCal, and seem to really be doing quite well with natural alternatives. That being said, I would love to get my levels checked so that I know I’m getting enough!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Allison!!!
Everyone who mentions that the idea of sunscreen is new and that we went without it for so long discounts the fact that before we were industrialized we had more of this lovely protective ozone layer that naturally shielded us from hazardous rays. I think we need to find a balance between protecting ourselves from the sun and avoiding vitamin D deficiency, and where exactly this balance lies is, unfortunately, a huge grey area. (btw, not interested in the giveaway, as I already get tested… but can’t resist a chance to shoot my mouth off
heehee)
You make a fair point.
I’ll be curious to read up on what advocates/experts for Vitamin D would have to say on the topic.
Love any time you shoot your mouth off Monkie Dear! lol!
You do make a good point. TOO TOO bad that everything is not always black and white! Thankfully… there is a lot we can do to take in organic, healthy foods so that what is baking into our skin is the Good Stuff instead of the Bad Stuff. Well, as much as possibly anyways.
I do know that most of cancer seems to be attributed to what we take in and that our “numbers” are SO MUCH BETTER by being smart about that, that it’s at the least a much smaller factor statistically, to look at other details.
<3 Thanks for shooting/sharing!
I got my vitamin D levels checked about 2 years ago, and I was deficient. I have no idea what my levels are like now, but I do at least take a supplement. I know it’s also not good to have too much D either, so I should probably get tested again. Plus, there’s cancer history in my family which makes it even more important. Thanks for the reminder.
Always a pleasure!
Good to see you so aware of the situation! Better than most of us, and sounds like it’s worth it! <3
During my pregnancy, I supplemented with 400 IU of vitamin D, sunbathed,
didn’t use soap excessively, and didn’t use sunscreen. I thought I was
fine. At the same time, I started craving eggs severely which was a
mystery to me considering I was getting plenty of protein. But when I
started taking 500 IU of vitamin D to provide my baby with it through
breastmilk, guess what? My craving for eggs disappeared. I am certain I
was low on the vitamin, and my body asked for the only food it remembered
which contains vitamin D.
Always love to hear from you on this topic Joanna! I am AMAZED that it is at this time when my fetus (baby!) is developing so rapidly, that I am finding more desire for certain things. Including eggs. Thankfully, it’s always a relieve to find other ways to get what we need. Yesterday I found myself in the hammock, in the sunshine, for hours, taking breaks to read inside on the bed with the breeze coming through.
I feel just amazing today. I wonder if I have been working too much without enough sunshine!
This topic has helped to remind me of What’s Important!!
<3 to you!
I’m finding this a fascinating discussion and really appreciate you both Eva and Venita for bringing this topic up and for everyone else for sharing their perspectives.
I know that I tend to get a little tunnel vision in matters of health and healing (well actually all matters probably)..at the moment I’m still fairly new to raw foods, though not new to Vegan food..and I sometimes get really caught up in thinking that everything will magically work itself out. Actually, this doesn’t sound such a bad thing. To try and clarify, I mean that I mostly trust my intuition, of course, my intuition will also lead me to information that I need to see and potentially act on. If I then refuse, it is probably some non-true thought form that is creating the resistance.
Part of me wants to be tested, but I’m not sure that that part of me isn’t a little bit fearful. Part of me would love to win the testing, but then another part of me actually feels even a little bit uncomfortable by the idea of any competition anymore and reads other people’s perspectives and think that they sound much more deserving.
I mostly am bringing myself back to a vision of humanity in alignment with Mother Earth, where our balance and healing happen spontaneously, naturally and effortlessly. In the meantime, I am paying attention to my body ever more closely so that it has the means to gently let me know what it needs knowing that I will listen and do my best to honour it.
Funny how things often DO magically work themselves out… but not always. I like your vision. It’s really a beautiful one… and I think there are many people looking out and seeing the same for our world!! <3 xxo~Eva
I know for certain that I need more vitamin D in my life because I live in the rocky mountains and I never see the sun… well for 8 month of the year I don’t see the sun. I’ve battled with strange rashes and itches on my shins and forearms, fatigue, brain fog, and a whole host of other strange, unexplainable (to the doctors) symptoms. I was taking vit. D supplements from my natural doctor but they didn’t seem to help. As soon as I get to a warm sunny climate I’m pretty much healed within a day or 2.
Last summer I made a point of laying in the sun on my deck for at least a half hour each day with most of my body, especially my legs, arms and belly exposed and I felt great. I have resorted to tanning every once in a while this winter (gross, right?) because I’m that desperate for vit. D (and I was told/have read that fabutan bulbs actually provide you with the proper UV to make vit. D). I think it is working though cause I’m keeping the strange symptoms at bay!
Not sure what I’m trying to say here other than I understand the importance and the power of the sun and perhaps I should just re-locate myself to somewhere sunny and warm.
Any other suggestions to get through the harsh, long winters?
Come visit me in Brazil and relax on the hammock in the sunshine all day? lol!
I have heard of many people tanning, and on some levels it seems counterintuitive, but then I have also heard so much success that it seems to be a viable option in many situations like yours!
I wish EVERYONE here could get tested and report back!!
I was just reflecting on the fact that people in many countries across the world, in the hottest places, don’t use any sunscreen at all. They have siestas during the hottest parts of the day and wear very sensible, light clothing in natural fabrics when they need to be outside. I certainly have felt much cooler when I wear appropriate clothing than when I wear none at all. So maybe we could get the amount of sun we need for Vit D and feeling fabulous and then wear appropriate clothing and be sensible the rest of the time and lots of midday naps..yeah…as long as we don’t mind not looking Western fashionable it’s all good <3
Here in Brazil many people use umbrellas at the hottest part of the day! It makes me laugh every time!
Did you read that suntans are LIKE sunscreen? That is actually the purpose of a tan! To protect us from excessive sun exposure. It’s a built-in protection mechanism. Makes sense to think that Africa is full of darker skinned people, and India darker than in, say, northern Europe but not as dark as in Africa.
I am continuously amazed and filled with wonder at the different ways nature provides a perfect world when we use truly sensible common sense.
Thanks for sharing more of your thoughts Danielle!
My mom was just told by her doctor that she should be checked. He’s apparently telling all of his patients to be checked because he, himself, was recently checked and found deficient. It’s an amazing thing.
Thanks for the chance to win.
I work in the mental health field, and have been advocating for mental health consumers to get their Vitamin D levels checked. People with mental illness are dying decades earlier than the general population due to metabolic syndrome. Their lives are impacted by diabetes, morbid obesity, heart disease and cancer, in addition to mental illness. Vitamin D can play an important role in calming these inflamatory diseases. Although sometimes the doctors downplay Vitamin D’s role, and comment on the conflicting research, they still order the test. ; )
Kathy
Hope You are all getting your Vitamin D