Being out in the sun gets a bad rap sometimes. A lot of us working in offices or inside other buildings don’t get much sunshine unless we head for the beach. But we need a little sunshine! It’s health food absorbed by the skin, stimulating the body to produce vitamin D.
Recent research shows a link between the levels of vitamin D and the risk of heart attack. Scientists know there’s a higher incidence of heart problems in northern climates, as well as during winter at lower altitudes. The amount of sunshine is the difference.
The Harvard School of Public Health did a study showing that even after correcting other risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, diabetes and even omega-3 levels, men with low levels of vitamin D had an increased risk of heart disease.
Moral of the story – for a healthy heart, you need a little sunshine.
That doesn’t mean you should soak up rays until you burn. That’s too much of a good thing! Researchers suggest about 20 minutes in the sunshine with about half of your body exposed will provide all the vitamin D you need. (No, getting your daily dose of vitamin D does not mean you need to join a nudist colony!)
However, if getting out in the sunshine isn’t practical, there are vitamins and health supplements available to boost your vitamin D levels.
So get out there and soak up some of that light health food. Sunshine will do your heart good!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
A day without sunshine is like…Seasonal Affective Disorder. This cold, damp, gray summer has caused me to dive in my Vitamin D bottle early. I’m usually ok til October. Taking the supplemental vitamin makes me feel much better.
Yes, when I went to the Fibro Clinic and had all kinds of bloodwork, we discovered my vitamin D was low too. It’s great we can get some sunshine in a pill, huh?