Vitamin D Critical To Health

I've had food poisoning, yes, but not often.

I think we differ, rex. And on writing funny, that is often my intent, with, naturally, some import.

I've had food poisoning a number of times. Years ago before antibiotics were added to poultry and eggs my family and I would get sick quite often.

I remember a few times us all green faced and vomiting in church.

The good ole days.

early morning comment.

If you have been eating things like canned ravioli, and what I take you to mean those 3 for a dollar packets of asian noodles with the chicken flavored salt packets, your body will cry with relief if you eat an ordinary serving of Prince/Barilla/Ronzoni pasta.

If so many other things change in your diet, don't worry about a plate of spaghetti, just put good stuff on it.

Yes I had a packed mix yesterday not to name any brands but today I woke up in pain again. Not as bad as it has been but pretty bad. 15 mins on the heating pad then I put the ice to my spine and now I seem to be ok. I think the chemicals collect in my back and my back just says NO WAY!

You said you were brought up not to throw out food. I can understand that.

but that stuff ain't food.

I am starting to learn that. I have a whole tub of plastic (margarine) in my fridge that is going in the garbage.

I can't risk my health over economical foods because the doctor bills that come later negate the savings.

Now onto the subject of "processed cheese food". Is it really food? I was going to have a ham sandwich for lunch today on healthy whole wheat bread with a slice of processed cheese food. It seems everywhere I turn these days is something masquerading as the real thing.

Even if it were real cheese is each slice made from 5 glasses of hormone injected, over bloated cows milk? The truth about "food" is scarier the more I probe.

I opted on eating the processed cheese food product mixture. The scariest thing in the ingredients was the milk itself.

I have a question. If I were to buy whole milk and add a little tap water would it be the same as 2% or skim milk?

From what I understand, whole milk is about 4% fat or cream. I don't know if you've ever milked a cow or not, but the milk is really creamy. After you let a gallon sit for a bit the cream rises to the top and you have to skim it off with a spoon. Machines are far more accurate and can separate it far better thus the lowering percentage of milk fat. If you add water, you'll thin the mixture but the fat is still there.

cow milk is for baby cows.

I see what you're saying, I deduce that the milk companies do not add water to skim milk they just filter the fat content from the milk and the water content is what comes naturally from the cow?

Yes, skim milk has 99% of the butterfat removed. You couldn't get the same results with a spoon.

different breeds of cows give milk with different fat content.

jerseys don't put out a lot of milk, but it is rich.

holsteins on the other hand, give gallons.

dairys do mix the milk of different breeds.

Very interesting something I never even considered. We have quite a large local dairy in the city which I live and I once went there to inquire about a job offered in the local job service. I walked in the door, looked inside the factory and paused a moment then turned around and walked out. The noise level in the milk room was so high I knew I would never be able to stand that day in day out.

Well it is my fifth day with considerably lower pain. I am not sure if it is the supplements that are doing it or the tanning. I have been tanning three times in two weeks and I have not even really come out with a tan. Is it possible my body is simply absorbing the light rays and not allowing them to cause a tan?

I know it is dangerous to tan but it was either tan or die. Also people are told to say out of the sun but that is what got me into this problem in the first place. I chose the lesser of two evils.

The pounds are dropping off now, My body is asking me to work out every day again and my digestive system (bowels) seems to be back to normal.

I am reminded of the end of one of my physical therapy sessions where I had about 10 physical fitness doctors all devising strching and exercizing routines to correct my back pain. As I left their office for the last time I was told perhaps I consider that I might be in pain the rest of my life.

Had I not gone back to anoter doctor and though another group of therapies I may never have found out what was wrong.

I know my back pain will not go away completely but it is going to be at least more manageable now. I have had it all my life but not to such an extent. I figure if I did not suffer I would not be the person I am.

I have another question, when I read the back label say, on a can of soup, when it says one serving is 1 cup does that mean that one cup of that soup should be consumed in one sitting? As in the case with soup maybe one cup of soup with say a sandwich or salad? I know I should count calories but I am just trying to figure out what is meant by "servings". Does it mean one serving is a complete meal?

I cup in this instance is the measurement by which they tell you the calorie count, how much salt, the vitamins and fat, et al...
They're not telling how much to eat but a can rarely comes in one or two cup sizes/amounts.
(I don't understand the imperial scale never used it, so bear with the metric..)
If I get a bowl of ice cream, chances are I'm not going to eat exactly 250 ml, but if I did, I would eat a percentage of fat, sugar, salt, dyes etc., If you eat two cups or 500 ml, I would be doubling that amount of all the additives.
Generally labels will skimp on the size of the serving (portion) to make that food look less fattening, salty or sugary. Hope this helps.

Yes that did help thank you very much for your input. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

So far I am feeling much better every day improves on my overall health.

I see my doctor in a few days. I am SERIOUSLY thinking of changing my health care from Mercy family practice to another family practice outfit. Considering it was not Mercy and their doctors that figured out want was wrong with me after over a year in their care. Also I can't see supporting a hospital that is currently taking a portion of the money I pay on my doctor bills and funneling it into political garbage like telling me who I can marry AND depriving woman of their choice whether to bring a life into this already overpopulated world or not.

Just FYI ... I talked to a pharmacist yesterday and he told me that the recommended dosage of Vitamin D is 1000 UI, that D3 is the same as D, both are made from sheep lanolin. When vitamin A and D are combined the are generally made from fish. I'm glad he told me, I'm allergic to fish.

Happy Thanksgiving to you too. I'm really glad you're feeling better.

I have switched to a thousand IU a day I will be seeing my doctor soon. Thanks for the tip

http://rebuild-from-depression.com/articles/soaking-beans.html

I thought I would give an update of my Vitamin D thing.

As for the link I posted above it has to do with having nutrition absorb better into the body...

After three months of taking vitamin D supplements 3-4000 IU a day I was retested for my vitamin D levels and instead of 20% it had only gone up to 35%...

Not A huge jump considering a person my age, errr, 47 their level should be at around 65%.

So now I am taking D 4-6000 IU a day...
Also I am taking fish oil supplements.. I thought they were causing acne but I have found that was not what was causing the acne flair-ups perhaps it was the low vitamin D levels in general. But the fish oil has cured the dry skin on my lower legs.

http://rebuild-from-depression.com/articles/soaking-grains.html

http://www.rebuild-from-depression.com/blog/2010/01/omega_3_and_depression.html

http://www.rebuild-from-depression.com/blog/2007/06/vegetable_oil_and_depression.html

maybe someone can clarify the oils chart I am not sure i understand how much omega six and how much omega three is in each oil... I know I use canola oil for frying at high temps and olive oil for my sunny side up eggs in the AM but I think I will be switching from my canola to something further down the chart.

Please add your discussions and thoughts thanks!

Low levels of Vitamin D linked to cancer, diabetes, and depression and lowered immune systems Care2 April 30 2010

New evidence shows that people with higher levels of vitamin D experienced a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes. Researchers at the US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University just released its study linking low levels of vitamin D to diabetes in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The authors of the study concluded that maintaining optimal vitamin D levels in the blood may be a type 2 diabetes prevention strategy.

Other recent research found that vitamin D plays a critical role in activating the body’s immune system against infectious diseases like the flu. Researchers noted that a deficiency in this important vitamin, which actually acts more like a hormone in your body, may result in a greater risk of contracting flu viruses. Additional research has linked low amounts of vitamin D to autoimmune disorders, cancer, depression, diabetes, and heart disease.

Vitamin D also plays essential roles in supporting our energy and balancing our moods. It also helps to build healthy bones, heart, nerves, skin, and teeth, and it supports the health of the thyroid gland-a butterfly gland in the throat that helps maintain a healthy weight, balanced metabolism, and energy levels.

While moderate sunlight exposure is the best source of vitamin D, many people incorrectly think that a small amount of sunshine exposure daily is sufficient to meet their vitamin D requirements. However, after your skin is exposed to sunlight, it takes about 48 hours to convert it into vitamin D. During that time, the sunlight-initiated precursors to vitamin D can be washed off with soap and water.

So, if you scrub your skin with soap in the shower, your body will not convert most of your skin’s sun exposure to vitamin D. I’m not suggesting that you avoid showering after sun exposure rather that you primarily soap the areas that don’t usually see the light of day and wash the newly tanned ones exclusively with water. Avoid excessive sun exposure since there are no health benefits of sunburn.

Some vitamin D deficiency symptoms include: bow legs or "knock knees," burning in mouth or throat, constipation, dental cavities or cracked teeth, insomnia, joint pains or bone pains, muscle cramps, nearsightedness (myopia-can’t see distances), nervousness, osteomalacia, osteoporosis, frequent colds or flu, and poor bone development.

Vitamin D is also found in fish and fish oils, sweet potatoes, sunflower seeds, mushrooms, and many types of sprouts. People with low thyroid function (hypothyroidism) tend to have difficulty with vitamin D absorption and as a result, may have higher needs for this nutrient.

Most nutrition experts agree that the current RDA of 200 IU is insufficient and that the minimum needs to be raised to 1000 IU, while many health experts recommend supplementation of 2000 to 4000 IU daily. However, you should always consult a qualified health professional before supplementing with vitamin D since excessive amounts can build up in the body creating a potential risk for toxicity and is contraindicated for some health conditions.

Adapted with permission of the author from the upcoming book, The Phytozyme Cure (Wiley, December 2010) by Michelle Schoffro Cook.