Recently a good friend of mine, who normally has the energy of 10 teenagers, complained to her doctor about feeling exhausted all the time.  He ran some tests and found she had extremely low levels of Vitamin D.  After about a month of treatment, she was as good as new again.  But what if she just chalked up her fatigue to the aging process and not addressed it with her doctor?  And why is Vitamin D so important?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is unfortunately found naturally in very few foods (the flesh of certain kind of fish—salmon, mackerel and tuna).  You can also get very small amounts of Vitamin D in egg yolks, cheese and beef liver.   Since the 1930’s, milk products in the United States have been fortified with Vitamin D to combat rickets, a softening of the bones in children which can lead to fractures and irregularly formed bones.   Luckily, the milk fortification program eliminated the disease in the US but rickets is still a major problem in many developing countries today.  Other foods, such as certain breakfast cereals, orange juice and yogurt are often fortified with Vitamin D as well.

Your body also produces Vitamin D when exposed to sunlight, which is why it’s often called “The Sunshine Vitamin”.  This presents a conundrum for us!  We’ve been told to cover up and wear sunscreen all the time.  However, the NIH states, “It has been suggested by some vitamin D researchers that approximately 5-30 minutes of sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at least twice a week to the face, arms, legs, or back without sunscreen usually leads to sufficient vitamin D synthesis.”   I’m not sure if dermatologists would agree with this since they’re the ones who’ve been telling us to get out of the sun.

So what do we do?  I’ll present the research and let you decide…

Dangerously low levels of Vitamin D have been linked to:

• Heart Disease. In a study published in June, 2008, subjects with low levels of Vitamin D were 80% more likely to have peripheral artery disease (Arterioscler, Thromb, Vasc Bio–2005; 25-39: 39-46).
• Depression. Blood levels of Vitamin D have been shown to be 14% lower in depressed individuals (Arch Gen Psychiatry; May 2008).
• Osteoporosis.  According to Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, 85% of women hospitalized for hip fractures have a Vitamin D deficiency.
• Back Pain.  In the report, “Vitamin D—A Neglected Analgesic for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain” 95% of back pain sufferers (who had low Vitamin D levels) reported decreased symptoms after 3 months of supplementation.

Getting Adequate Amounts of Vitamin D has been shown to ward off:

• Diabetes: In a study of more than 83,000 women over a 20 year period, the ones who took the highest levels of calcium AND Vitamin D had a 33% lower risk of Type 2 Diabetes (The Nurse’s Health Study).
• Cancer: Higher levels of Vitamin D may cut your risk of certain cancers—particularly, breast,  pancreatic, colon and rectal cancers–and possibly ovarian, kidney and prostate cancer.

Vitamin D may also protect against fatigue, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, dementia, psoriasis, and colds/flu. Vitamin D levels are the lowest in the winter, which coincidentally is the peak season for catching colds and flus.

If that’s not enough to get your attention, low levels of Vitamin D have even been linked to premature death.  A paper published in March 2010, urges the Canadian government to take action against the low levels of Vitamin D found in their residents–which they  associate with a 26% increase in the risk of premature death.

So, while I’m not a doctor, my advice to you is this:  get your Vitamin D levels checked the next time you visit your physician.  She can guide you in the right direction.  Knowing your levels can make a world of difference to your health and the way you feel.

If you’ve been diagnosed with a Vitamin D deficiency, please tell us how it made you feel and what you did to get your levels up to an optimal level.

Know Your Numbers and Smile,

Molly

Walking into a gym for the first time can be a really scary experience.  The physical therapy centers I used to manage were located inside health clubs and many of our patients were simply afraid to come in.  They would tell me they felt like a “double out”—out-of-shape and out-of-place.

How do members of health clubs overcome those fears?  How do you get up enough confidence to walk in a gym and get started?

The Reality

If you’ve never been in a health club before, I’m sure your mind goes straight to pictures of beautiful men and women, in tightly clad clothes, laughing and lighting perspiring (not sweating).  They are busy telling each other how great they look—even though you can’t really figure out what kind of exercise they’re doing.

This may be true on “All My Children” or “General Hospital”, but the reality is that a health club is a place where people go to FEEL BETTER and GET HEALTHIER.  I’m not saying that there aren’t any tightly clad beautiful people, but they are truly the exception rather than the rule.

When my parents moved to Gainesville, I tried really hard to talk my dad into joining the health club where I was working.  He basically said there was NO WAY he was going to a gym with a bunch of young, skinny people.  Well, I’m nothing if not persistent.  I spent months droning on and on about the benefits of exercise and kept telling him how much better his back would feel if he went to the gym.  So he gave in and joined.  And were his fears a reality?   NO!   He wanted to know why there were so many old people in the gym!  He said he felt like a spring chicken and he loved it (not to mention his back got much better).

Understanding Your Fears

So many of our fears melt away when we figure out what it is that’s scaring us.  Once you know that, then you can deal with the situation.  If you think that everyone else will be in great shape and you want to “wait until you lose weight” before you join, please reconsider.  Nearly everyone has been in that same situation and there are lots of different body shapes in gyms.

As I said, people join a gym because they want to feel better and get healthier.  Joining the gym will help you get motivated and stay motivated to reach your goals.  If the machines are scary to you, hire a personal trainer for 3 sessions and have him/her teach you how to use all of the equipment in the club.  If group classes are scary, go with a friend for a few weeks until you learn the routine and feel comfortable going by yourself.

Be Confident

The stronger and healthier you become, the more confidence you will exude.  Confidence is a wonderful thing to have.  Confidence is sexy.  Confidence makes you look stronger.  And confidence can even makes you look 5-10 pounds lighter (great posture will do that).  So face your fears, take control and go get yourself some confidence.  You will never look or feel better.

Stay well and smile,

Molly

“Originally published in GO, GlobalFit’s online healthy living newsletter.”  http://www.globalfit.com/gonewsletter/default.asp



Osteoporosis conjures up images of little old ladies hunched over with cute little canes.  But there’s nothing cute about it.  My first real slap-in-the-face experience with osteoporosis was when my 87 year old buddy, Elizabeth suffered a broken femur.  No, she did not fall.  The break was the result of nursing aides transferring Elizabeth from her bed to her chair so she could watch tv.  Wow.

I was 23 years old at the time and working as an exercise physiologist at an independent and assisted living facility.  It was a true education in osteoporosis—there’s nothing like real world experiences to teach you about life.

Scary Statistics

• Osteoporosis is a major health threat for an estimated 44 million Americans (10 million people have the disease while 34 million have low bone mass (which greatly increases the risk of developing osteoporosis)
• 80% of people with osteoporosis are women
• Osteoporosis is not just an “old person’s” disease—it can strike at any age
• In 2005, $19 billion was spent on fractures caused by osteoporosis
• Women can lose up to 20% of their bone mass in the first 5-7 years following menopause
• Approximately half of all women over 50 years old will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime
• A woman’s risk of getting a hip fracture is equal to her combined risk of developing breast, ovarian, and uterine cancer
• An average of 24% of hip fracture patients (aged 50 and over) die in the year following the fracture

Risk Factors

• Being a woman
• Getting older
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Low body weight
• Smoking
• Family history of osteoporosis
• History of broken bones
• Excessive intake of caffeine, sodium and protein
• Abusing alcohol
• Low sex hormones
• Menopause
• Certain races and ethnicities
• Missing your period (often caused by eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa)
• Certain medications

Symptoms

Unfortunately, most women don’t know they have osteoporosis until they break a bone.  A bone density test will let you know how healthy your bones are.

Prevention & Treatment

For women, most of your adult bone mass (approximately 85-90%) is acquired by the time you’re 18 years old.  Building strong bones during your growing years will help prevent osteoporosis.

Other steps you can take to ward off this silent disease include:

• Make sure you get the recommended amounts of calcium and Vitamin D every day
• Don’t smoke
• Don’t drink excessive amounts of alcohol
• Engage in regular weight bearing (such as walking) and strength training exercises
• Talk to you doctor about your bone heath
• Get a bone mineral density (BMD) test if you’re at risk
• Take medications that will help build your bones (only if necessary)

Fighting osteoporosis is something you should take seriously.  So get started—it’s never too late!   For more information, please go to the National Osteoporosis Foundation.

Stand Tall and Be Strong!

Molly