Ace-Vitamins-Minerals

Vitamins: Lateral Thinking With Carole Caplin

Are you getting enough of the vital sunshine vitamin? The UK’s top lifestyle and fitness expert Carole Caplin explains

Are you getting enough of the vital sunshine vitamin? The UK’s top lifestyle and fitness expert Carole Caplin explains
Vitamin D is perhaps the single most underrated nutrient in the nutrition world. People with darker skin pigmentation may need 20 – 30 times as much exposure to sunlight as fair-skinned people to generate the same amount of vitamin D.

It’s often called the sunshine vitamin and given the depressingly dark grey skies of recent weeks – we haven’t been getting anywhere near enough of it. Sunlight exposure is truly one of the most powerful healing therapies in the world, far surpassing the best efforts of today’s so-called ‘advanced medicine.’ There is no drug, no surgical procedure that comes even close to the astonishing healing power of natural sunlight.

Vitamin D is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from natural sunlight. But it is important to remember you need to be in the open air. The healing rays of natural sunlight (that generate vitamin D in your skin) cannot penetrate glass. So you don’t generate vitamin D when sitting in your car or home. It is impossible to generate too much vitamin D in your body from sunlight exposure: your body will self-regulate and only generate what it needs.

Although it is almost impossible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from your diet, milk is often recommended, but you would need to drink ten tall glasses of vitamin D-fortified milk each day just to get minimum levels of vitamin D into your diet and as we now know this is no good to the increasing number of people who suffer from lactose intolerance.

Vitamin D helps in the prevention of osteoporosis, depression, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and even affects diabetes and obesity. Sufficient levels of vitamin D are crucial for calcium absorption in your intestines and vital for building the body’s bones and nervous system. Without sufficient supplies, your body cannot absorb this mineral, rendering calcium supplements somewhat useless. Those suffering any skeletal challenges should take special note of this point. If you need extra calcium, you MUST add a Vitamin D supplement too.

“Vitamin D is perhaps the single most underrated nutrient”

Bring me sunshine…

Here’s my advice on ways to feel brighter and sunnier

FRIENDLY FOODS

Eat plenty of oily fish; organic salmon, herring, anchovies and sardines. Fish oils reduce inflammation and are an excellent source of vitamins A and D.
Eat organic foods whenever possible.
Eat lots of leafy green vegetables which are full of the B vitamins and help to protect good fats from damage.
Seeds are vital; pumpkin, sunflower, sesame and linseeds (flax) and their unrefined oils are all rich in essential fats.
Choose whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa and kamut. Also eat more lentils and barley.
Think about milk. Instead of cow’s milk, try oat, rice, almond, hazelnut and coconut milks – now easily available from supermarkets.
Home-made juices are always best. Diluted vegetable juices and fruit smoothies are excellent alternatives to caffeineladen drinks.
Blueberries are true superfoods that are rich in antioxidants. I’d recommend eating a handful of these organic gems several times a day
If you are buying vitamin D3 supplements, the recommended dose is 600-800iu daily. Liquid is better than tablet or capsule.
A day on a tropical beach allows the body to make up to 20,000 iu per day so why not book yourself a holiday!

FOODS TO AVOID

Alcohol is the top of the list because is can cause nerve damage and will deplete the essential B-vitamins. n Caffeine is out too. Avoid the obvious culprits such as tea, coffee, chocolate, colas and some energy drinks.
Don’t fry anything; choose instead to grill, poach, steam or bake. Frying can cause inflammation so foods such as crisps and chips are out!
Quality ready-meals can be a life saver! However, be careful to avoid hydrogenated and trans fats.
Cut out margarines and shop-bought cakes, biscuits and pastries.
Reduce your intake of saturated fats, taking particular care to avoid those of animal origin.