Vitamin D - Getting To Know This Important Nutrient

Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, is a fat-soluble nutrient that is found not only in natural foods, but is also manufactured by the body when the skin is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun. And, it may come as a surprise to many to know that this single vitamin has the potential to not only strengthen our bones and teeth, but is also known to protect against cancer, TB, diabetes, arthritis, the flu and even the common cold.

It's ironic however, that despite accessibility to the outdoors, most people aren't getting sufficient quantities. Variations in blood concentrations can result through seasonal conditions, where cold weather protective clothing and the sun's angle in the winter sky limit the amount ultraviolet light that actually reaches the skin. Additionally, skin color and dietary intake, through balanced nutrition or vitamin supplements all affect vitamin D levels in the body.

Amazingly, when the sun's rays hit the skin, the body converts a cholesterol-type compound into vitamin D. And, it only takes 10 to 15 minutes of exposure on the arms or legs to synthesize an adequate daily dose of the nutrient. However, the place where a person resides will have a significant effect on the skin's exposure to the more direct UV rays.

Inhabitants of the more tropical regions will typically have sufficient levels of vitamin D. However, studies reveal that people throughout the industrial world aren't so fortunate. Individuals in more temperate and colder climates aren't reaching the levels currently recommended to protect the health of bones and teeth, much less the even higher concentrations that research has indicated can provide the additional health and cancer prevention benefits.

It's not too difficult to get the required levels if you happen to be white skinned with your body exposed to the sun wearing nothing more than a bathing suit at mid-day in mid-summer, no matter where you happen to be located. Truth is, the human body can generate 10,000 to 12,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D from a half-hour of summer-sun exposure.

Unfortunately, when heeding dermatologists' warnings about preventing skin cancer, by limiting sun exposure and using a sunscreen, not to mention wearing a hat, long sleeve and long pant clothing, most individuals aren't able to take advantage of this least expensive and most efficient source of this important vitamin.

Recommended food and other nutritional sources of vitamin D include dairy products, predominantly fortified milk, the meat of oily fish, such as tuna, salmon, sardines and mackerel, dark green leafy vegetables, including spinach and broccoli, dry cereal or cereal grain bars as well as, a variety of nutritional supplements.

When vitamin D deficiencies do occur they are usually the result of inadequate dietary availability or intake, increased bodily requirement, increased losses through bodily excretion, impaired absorption and/or utilization by the body where the kidneys cannot convert vitamin D into its active hormonal form. Or, in cases where someone is unable to adequately absorb vitamin D from within the digestive tract, and of course, in situations where there is limited exposure to sunlight.

Daily diets that are deficient in Vitamin D are generally associated with milk allergies, lactose intolerance, and strict vegetarianism. Even infants who are fed only breast milk will also receive insufficient amounts of vitamin D, unless they otherwise receive appropriate levels of vitamin D supplementation.

In children, vitamin D deficiency causes the condition known as rickets, which is a bone disease characterized by a failure to properly mineralize bone tissue. Rickets results in soft bones and skeletal deformities. Surprisingly, prolonged exclusive breastfeeding without vitamin D supplementation is one of the most significant causes of the reemergence of rickets. Additional causes can include extensive use of sunscreen products or even increased utilization of day-care facilities, which can result in decreased outdoor activity and lack of sun exposure among younger children.

In adults, vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteomalacia, which results in muscular weakness in addition to a weakened skeletal structure. Low levels of vitamin D may also increase the risk of developing all forms of cancer.

Unfortunately, obtaining sufficient levels of vitamin D from natural food sources is no easy chore. The established RDA is 200 IU, but many researchers agree the number should fall somewhere between 1,000 IU and 2,000 IU, to lower the risk of cancer and strengthen the immune system. So, for most people, maintaining healthy blood concentrations of this important vitamin will require consuming a balance of vitamin D fortified foods, as well as, ensuring adequate exposure to sunlight.

Source : www.articlecircle.com

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How to Get Ripped – The Secret They Don't Want You to Know

There’s a big secret that supplement companies and publishers in the fitness industry don’t want you to know. No it’s not a miracle supplement or formula for getting strong, and nor is it a great training programme that’s guaranteed to get you in great shape at once. There are no silver bullets when it comes to exercise and that’s part of the secret. To put it succinctly, the big secret regarding fitness, health and staying in shape in general is that it’s easy. That might sound like a bit of a sweeping statement or an over-generalisation, but 99% of the time it’s also completely accurate.

So what is meant by the term ‘easy’? That is to say that right now, with the information you know and the items in your fridge, you could easily start getting into shape. If you didn’t read another word on fitness or bodybuilding and never bought a supplement then whoever you are you could still have a six pack in a year’s time. Bodybuilding and fitness is so easy that you already know practically everything you need to know to have a basic and modestly impressive level of achievement not long from now.

Let’s look at the facts; what we know about staying in shape. First of all we know that repetitive motions in while experiencing resistance – holding a weight for example while performing curls – will cause our muscles to grow. Similarly we can achieve the same affect by using our own bodyweight as the resistance, performing press ups or pull ups. This works by tearing the fibres in the muscle which grow back thicker, but that’s not really important. In order to start gaining muscle we simply need to start doing these resistance movements.

At the same time we can feel when these repetitions are working as it should hurt. Basically while we might be looking for a way to gain strength without feeling the burn, we know deep down that the main way to build up our strength is by causing that burn purposefully. You then wait until that pain has gone away over the course of the week or a couple of days (depending on the intensity) to start working out that muscle group again.

We also know that we should eat a lot of protein in order to convert that hard work into muscle. This works by supplying our body with the amino acids it will use to rebuild the muscle fibres and make them thicker, but again – that’s not important. Finally we know about weight loss, and we know that all it takes is continuous aerobic/cardiovascular exercise such as running or swimming performed for an adequate amount of time which will cause our bodies to ‘burn’ fat. This coupled with a lower intake of calories will mean that we have a ‘calorie deficit’ so that more is going out than going in; and we will therefore lose weight.

It’s not rocket science and it’s something that we’re all familiar with. Sure there are additional pieces of information that can help improve our progress. For example when weightlifting it’s greatly beneficial to use a system of sets and repetitions with rests in between. However even this isn’t crucial in order to at least get started. Meanwhile a protein shake will help you grow muscle a lot more rapidly, but again you can achieve the same thing with a little more time without using one.

And yet it’s not uncommon to find people who have no weightlifting experience trying out new and fandangled training programmes that involve crazy splits between workouts and unusual movements. They think that this will ‘cure’ their bad shape and so they start out following it to the letter and get disheartened after a week. Worse are those people who decide they’re going to wait to start training until they’ve ‘learned everything’ or until they’ve found a good programme. Other people make other excuses like they can’t afford a protein shake, or they don’t have a gym membership. And so they wait until they do, and then blame the gym for their failure. Other people claim they don’t have time, and yet somehow find time to read up on reams of information regarding exercising – that’s the time they could have spent actually working out.

Theory is find to a point, but not in the place of action, especially when working out which is completely dependent on you actually doing what you need to. The sad fact is that most people who make excuses or research without making any gains are actually just stalling. They don’t really want to put in the hard work involved in getting into shape and so they look for an easy route, or put off the start of their programme by reading up on every minute detail of the biology behind the gym. This then of course results in them getting nowhere and with only themselves to blame.

So you want to start getting into shape? Great! Then stop reading now and start lifting things, anything, until it hurts. Then do this five times a week for the next year. That’s what it takes, that’s all it takes. Stop deluding yourself or blaming outside factors and just get to work.

Source: www.healthguidance.org

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