Vitamin D Deficiency? Heliotherapy to the Rescue

Submitted by Larry on February 15, 2009 - 8:50am

bright sunIt's a sunny morning in Seattle, so I am sitting in front of a wide open window in nothing but running shorts, enjoying a nice blast of sunshine, appreciating its warmth and contemplating the natural Vitamin D that it's creating in my body.

Since I'm such a health nerd, I feel the need to label this, and luckily there's already a word for it - heliotherapy (helio means "sun").

This reminds me of a photo I saw years ago in National Geographic of residents of Moscow standing against a brick wall in sub-zero winter weather throwing open their heavy coats to reveal their shorts and swim suits underneath.

For you office rats in the Sunbelt, this may sound a little pathetic, but for the northern office rat, especially here in the Great Northwest (or, as my cousin calls it, the "Grey Northwet"), we have to grab our sunshine when we can.

Lack of regular exposure to natural sunlight is actually a serious health issue and the ensuing Vitamin D deficiency can cause or exacerbate Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), osteoporosis, chronic pain, some types of cancer, diabetes, and a number of other conditions.

So get outside as often as you can. And if you suspect that you aren't getting enough Vitamin D, talk to your doctor.

Sources

Bookmark/Search this post with:
  • Delicious
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Magnoliacom
  • Newsvine
  • Furl
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Yahoo
  • Technorati
LarrySwanson's picture

This is a test comment

Submitted by LarrySwanson on February 16, 2009 - 10:21am.

This is only a test. Testing 1 2 3. This is only a test. Testing 1 2 3. This is only a test. Testing 1 2 3. This is only a test. Testing 1 2 3. This is only a test. Testing 1 2 3. This is only a test. Testing 1 2 3.