Posts Tagged ‘sunlight’

What are the health benefits of Vitamin D and how do you get Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids. In humans, vitamin D is unique because it functions as a prohormone. Also, the body can synthesize it (as vitamin D3) when sun exposure is adequate. It is also known as the “sunshine vitamin”.

Health benefits of Vitamin D
1. Maintains Your Calcium Balance.
- Narrow range is vital for normal functioning of the nervous system.
- Vitamin D is required for bone growth, and maintenance of bone density.
- Vitamin D is essential for absorption of calcium by the body.
2. Aids Your Cell Differentiation
- Differentiation of cells leads to a decrease in proliferation.
- Cellular proliferation is essential for growth and wound healing.
- Uncontrolled proliferation of cells causes diseases like cancer.
- Proliferation inhibition and stimulation of the differentiation of cells is done by Vitamin D.
3. Boosts Your Immunity
- Active vitamin D is a potent immune system booster.
4. Has a Role in Insulin Secretion
- Insufficient vitamin D levels may have an adverse effect on insulin secretion.
- It also effects glucose tolerance in type 2 diabetes.
5. Blood Pressure Regulation
- Adequate vitamin D levels is important for decreasing the risk of high blood pressure.

Vitamin D and Diseases
- Osteoporosis
- Cancer
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

Autoimmune Diseases
- Diabetes
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis

Vitamin D overdose
- Hypercalcemia
- Bone loss
- Kidney stones
- Calcification of organs like the heart and kidneys
- Primary hyperparathyroidism
- Sarcoidosis
- Tuberculosis
- Lymphoma

Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for Vitamin D
- Infants 0-12 months- 1000 IU
- Children 1-18 years- 2000 IU
- Adults 19 years and older- 2000 IU

Vitamin D Deficiency
- Rickets
- Osteomalacia
- Peripheral vascular disease
- Certain cancers
- Multiple sclerosis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Juvenile diabetes
- Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease

How do you get Vitamin D?
- Sunshine (natural)
- Foods are artificially fortified with vitamin D
- Vitamin Supplements

Dietary sources of vitamin D
- Fatty fish species, such as:
- Catfish, 85 g (3 oz) provides 425 IU (5 IU/g)
- Salmon, cooked, 100 g (3.5 oz) provides 360 IU (3.6 IU/g)
- Mackerel, cooked, 100 g (3.5 oz), 345 IU (3.45 IU/g)
- Sardines, canned in oil, drained, 50 g (1.75 oz), 250 IU (5 IU/g)
- Tuna, canned in oil, 100 g (3.5 oz), 235 IU (2.35 IU/g)
- Eel, cooked, 100 g (3.5 oz), 200 IU (2.00 IU/g)
- A whole egg provides 20 IU if egg weighs 60 g (0.33 IU/g)
- Beef liver, cooked, 100 g (3.5 oz), provides 15 IU (0.15 IU/g)
- Fish liver oils, such as cod liver oil, 1 Tbs. (15 ml) provides 1360 IU (90.6 IU/ml)
- UV-irradiated mushrooms and yeast are the only known vegan significant sources of vitamin D
- Exposure of portabella mushrooms to UV provides an increase of vitamin D

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Squamous Cell Carcinoma – Type of skin cancer

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer and accounts for 20% of cutaneous malignancies.Squamous cell carcinoma frequently arises on the sun-exposed skin of middle-aged and elderly individuals.

- Squamous cell carcinoma arises from squamous cells in the uppermost layer of epidermis – stratum corneum.
- It appears as a scaly, reddish, dome-shaped, fleshy nodule, from 5 mm to few cm (if left untreated) in size, often with a central ulcer. It mostly appears on sun exposed areas of the skin or lips.
- It grows slowly, but it can spread to other organs.

Risks for squamous cell skin cancer include:
- Having light-colored skin, blue or green eyes, or blond or red hair.
- Long-term, daily sun exposure (such as in people who work outside).
- Many severe sunburns early in life.
- Older age.
- A large number of x-rays.
- Arsenic.
- Chemical exposure.
- Chronic skin ulcers.
- Actinic keratoses (These lesions have the potential to progress to squamous cell carcinoma.).
At first cancer cells tend to spread only as far as the nearest lymph nodes clusters of tissue found in the underarms, groin, neck, and other parts of the body that help fight disease. When cancer spreads, they often trap cancer cells. structures, which filter out and trap the cancer cells. If spread has occurred, the affected lymph nodes can be removed before cancer spreads to vital organs.
With early detection and proper treatment, SCC is curable. Allowed to progress, SCC can invade and destroy much of the tissue surrounding the cancerous tumor, which can be disfiguring.
Some SCCs, such as those that develop on a lip or an ear, can be particularly aggressive. Left untreated, aggressive SCCs have a greater risk for metastasis (spreading) to the lymph nodes and other internal organs. This makes early diagnosis and treatment of SCC essential.

Basal Cell Carcinoma – Type of skin cancer

There are a number of different types of skin cancers depending on the type of skin cell from which they arise. Each kind of skin cancer has its own distinctive appearance. Certain skin cancers also tend to develop in specific areas of the body.

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA : This cancer is the most common type, and is the type of skin cancer that 90% of US citizen are diagnosed with.
- Basal cell carcinoma arises from the basal cells in the bottom layer of the epiderrmis – stratum basale.
- Basal cell carcinoma does not metastasize like the other skin cancers, but can still badly damage the area they occupy.
- It resembles a small nodule that is red in color, and located on the face, hands, or sometimes the torso. Occasionally, these nodules appear on the trunk of the body, usually as flat growths.
- Basal cell carcinoma can lead to the loss of organ function on such external organs as the ears or eyes.
- Although most cases of basal cell carcinoma are caused by the sun, other exposures can have the same results. Arsenic, severe burns, tattooing, vaccinations, and radiation can all cause basal cell carcinoma.

The variety in which basal cell carcinoma can appear makes for hard diagnosis. It can hide itself in the form of a mosquito bite, wart, rash, or cyst. For these reasons it is important for one to see a physician if any area of sun exposed skin looks unusual or has had prolonged pain.