Fall 2007
As daylight hours shorten, the amount of exposure of our skin to ultraviolet sunlight rays decreases. UV sunlight on the skin helps create a usable form of Vitamin D. Vitamin D, which is actually a hormone, has great benefits on our bone health and immune system strength. Our bone strength is increased and risk of numerous cancers is decreased by normal Vitamin D levels. In order to get this benefit, we should strive for 20 minutes of midday sun exposure on our face.
A large variety of recent research on Vitamin D indicates that deficiency is very common, especially in the elderly. Low Vitamin D is so common that physicians should routinely order levels on people over the age of 50. Many people who take a calcium/Vitamin D supplement are still deficient so testing is indicated to confirm adequate levels. For further information on Vitamin D, visit my website’s Integrative Medicine Topic on Vitamin D.
Abdominal obesity is now recognized a health risk factor. The consequences of excessive weight around the waist can include insulin resistance, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. In men, a waist circumference of over 40 inches increases risk. In women, a waist circumference of over 35 inches increases risk. The BMI (body mass index) is a calculation that gives a number that indicates the degree of obesity. A number of 25 or less indicates normal weight even if the waist circumference in inches is over 40 for men or 35 for women. This is generally seen only in very tall people. Visit www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi for a simple to use calculator for BMI. When exercise increases muscle mass and decreases fat, the BMI may not change much but the waist circumference may go down a lot. Thus, a smaller waist circumference can show that health risk has been reduced.
Seasonal affective disorder is a psychiatric disorder that is due to lack of sunlight during the winter months of the year. Typical symptoms include excessive sleep, low energy, low sex drive, low mood, irritability, craving sugar or carbohydrates, and low self esteem. Use of full spectrum light boxes for one to two hours daily can alleviate symptoms. Direct exposure of the eyes to sunlight during the daytime can also be helpful. This disorder is more common at higher latitudes due to the shorter daytimes. Anyone who has noticed this pattern of symptoms each winter probably has seasonal affective disorder and should consult their physician for evaluation. More information is available on my website’s Integrative Medicine Topics, including sources of light boxes.
On a Personal Note
On September 18, I will be talking on the new KSEE TV show "Central Valley" for about 8 minutes between 11-12 AM.
The topic will also be on detoxification. As you may guess, I consider detoxification to be critical to good health in today's polluted world. In the future, I will be preparing a one hour CD on how to design a detoxification program. The CD will contain the information needed to easily and safely design your own detoxification program. Although the evidence is not overwhelming, there is a large amount of research that suggests that many chronic illnesses are initiated or promoted by toxins in the body. This field of research will generally be ignored by the medical establishment since prescription pharmaceutical drugs are not likely to be developed that can address this issue. In general, such drugs are actually just another toxic chemical that the overloaded liver must detoxify and excrete.
The violence in video games, TV, movies, magazines, newspapers, rap music and other media are toxic to our emotional and mental health. I recommend that each person evaluate how much of this they are exposed to each day and then reduce your exposure by avoiding this type of media. This is especially important to children, since frequent exposure to media violence desensitizes them to the violence and makes it seem "normal". There is nothing normal about stylized murder and mayhem on TV, movies and video games.
Daniel Blodgett MD