I've been working on an article about whether or not wild salmon is really wild. It's really driving home the point that it's not an eco-friendly idea to recommend salmon as the only source of omega-3's. It's not, at all. Everything that comes from the water has them!
Tuna is a very popular, very available fish, and I get a lot of questions about it. I don't want to delve into the mercury issue here, that's something that is easily found on the Internet. But…I do want to share something I recently learned about tuna. That is, that in most cases, it is processed on the ship that caught it, and most of the fats are boiled out of it before being canned. Yup, the fats. The omega-3's. Gone.
Fortunately, there IS tuna that is not processed that way. One of the fishermen who offers a non-boiled, sustainably caught tuna is Captain Joe Malley, who runs the fishing vessel St. Jude out of Seattle. For those of you who ARE interested in mercury, he actually posts his mercury tests on his website.
My cats and I just had some for lunch. They are still licking their whiskers and looking happy. I'd be licking whiskers too, if I had them! Captain Malley definitely gets a paws up from this kitty condo!
Again, looking at this list of foods, I thought of the many vegans following our blog. If you're not seeing many foods here you can eat on a regular basis, think multivitamin.
Here's a great example, too, of why even though we love salmon for its omega-3 content, it is not showing up as a source of pantothenic acid. But there's cod, tuna, and lobster. The more you vary your diet, the easier it is to get all the nutrients you need to be in balance.
PCOS Diva does it again with her weekly menus! I almost felt bad about sending her such a short list but she comes up with great suggestions no matter what the challenge…thanks!
Way back when I first started studying omega-3 chemistry, I put together a list of DHA contents of a variety of seafoods. I was recently asked for a copy of that list, and since the list was not complete the first time I did it, I decided to update it.
I noticed when looking at the latest list that there were two significant changes: Over half of the seafood given the"green light" are farmed. Meaning we need to be more open to eating farmed fish and better manage our ocean farming habits. Secondly, as a consumer it is also important to know what fishing method was used. Some are sustainable, some are not.
The list below is based off of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch list, most recently updated January 11. As much as I advocate for all of you to eat more fish, I want to be sure that I do my part to encourage responsible use of the ocean's resources. So the only options included on this list are the"green light", or most sustainable options. If you don't see it there, it didn't get a green light. The (F) in front of an item denotes"farmed".
I'll update this from time to time so you all can keep current. I used the national list, but you can also find more specific regional lists at the same website. The downloadable wallet cards or iPhone application are great to keep with you so that you can always make better choices when you're grocery shopping or eating out.
Bottom line, any seafood has omega-3's. Even if they're not as high as what is found in salmon, every time you eat fish, you're not eating a meat higher in saturated fat. There's a"double whammy" benefit over and above that simple DHA.
Hope this inspires you to think when buying or ordering your seafood!
Milligrams of EPA/DHA/total omega-3 per 100 gram (3.5 cooked ounces)
I have a new favorite recipe that I thought you would like! If you use the anchovy paste, you'll get additional omega-3's; if you're vegan it's fine to use soy sauce. I use lite soy sauce to cut the sodium content. I have also cut the oil in half from the original recipe; feel free to add more if you need it. Just remember that it is the fat in the Caesar that can throw the calories out of whack.
Add chicken or salmon…or even canned tuna…for protein…and you've got a tasty, hormone-friendly meal!
Kale and Romaine Caesar Salad
Ingredients
- 2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice - 1 T anchovy paste from a tube (or substitute soy sauce) - 1 tsp. minced garlic - 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard - 3 T olive oil - 2 T + 2 T freshly grated Parmesan cheese - sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste - 4-5 oz. romaine lettuce, thinly sliced, washed and dried - 4-5 oz. dark green kale, washed, dried, and thinly sliced
Preparation
Blend the lemon juice, anchovy paste (or soy sauce), garlic, and Dijon in a food processor and pulse together a few times. Add the olive oil one tablespoon at a time, pulsing for a few seconds after each tablespoon is added. Stir in 2 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan and season the dressing with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Put dressing in the fridge and chill until ready to use, or if you want to make the salad right away, chill it in the freezer for 10 minutes or so. Thinly slice romaine lettuce and kale into 1/2 inch strips. Wash, then spin dry or dry with paper towels.
Place the kale strips in a salad bowl, and pour in salad dressing. Massage dressing into kale with your hands until the leaves change color. Add romaine and toss to coat with dressing. Add the remaining 2 T of freshly grated Parmesan to the salad and toss again. Serve right away.
I am starting this weekly feature as a response to the 25 year long quest for menus that clients consistently ask for.
I have always had a problem with menus, primarily because I have yet to see them help someone eat better. I have given them out, they get lost or tossed in the trash, or clients try them for a few days and abandon them because they couldn't follow them. Or…they bring out a sense of rebellion that sabotages healthy eating. I also think giving out menus implies that there is a"perfect" way to eat, which simply isn't true.
Clients, I believe, have a perception of dietitians as being perfect eaters, which so isn't true as well.
A menu is only an educated guess, and it cannot possibly be derived from my office with complete knowledge of what challenges arise in YOUR day and what foods are available to you. I feel I have more of a chance of undermining your success by handing you this uninformed document than I do encouraging your confidence with food.
I'd like to bridge the gap between dietitians and people who are not, by using this feature to show what realistic eating consists of. I'm going to start it off, and hopefully get other blog contributors to check in with their own diaries as well.
I want you to see that my life isn't perfect, and therefore my eating is not either. I do my best, always try to do better, and hopefully, 80% of the time, I make good choices, which include foods I enjoy eating.
Here goes…this is my day from yesterday. By the way, I eat about 1500 calories on days when I am not exercising. I do not measure my foods, so my menu does not include portions. If you want to replicate this and you do measure foods, you will need to adjust that individually. Remember, this is not an exercise in how to weigh and measure or eat exactly 1500 calories, it is an exercise in observing how other people eat.
I hope it helps! Here is my eating from yesterday.
Breakfast
Big bowl of oatmeal with sliced almonds, dried blueberries, and shredded oatmeal. Glass of milk Orange from my patio tree
Lunch (an elderly friend invited me over for lunch and I ate what he served even though I'm not fond of mayonnaise-based salads, knowing he was very much going out of his way to do something nice.)
Roasted chicken breast and thigh (chicken breast was very big) Scoop of store-made potato salad, scoop of coleslaw Banana
Snack Stopped at Trader Joe's and sampled a bite of roast pork, liked it so had a second sample: )
Dinner
Can of tuna on whole wheat bread Sliced tomatoes Orange from my patio tree Leftover potato salad and coleslaw from lunch 2 ounces of Trader Joe's chocolate with ancho chili powder
I was busy running errands and it got dark before I could get out and run, so this was a less active day for me.
It's little things that add up to big changes. And it's the canister of little pumpkin seeds in my kitchen cabinet that reminded me it was time for a new food of the week!
One of the things I think people miss most when eating healthier is the perception that they are sacrificing the"crunch". I'm not sure where that perception comes from, with most produce providing a great crunchy alternative…but for those of you who just don't think carrots are a fair crunchy trade for potato chips, think about seeds and nuts.
I used to hate pumpkin seeds as a kid, but it's probably because we scooped them out of the gooey Halloween aftermath and had to take the shell off to eat them. These days, shelled roasted pumpkin seeds are available in the bulk food sections of most grocery stores.
I like pumpkin seeds because they contain omega-3 fatty acids. Not the kind you'll get in fish, but still a healthy fat. I also like their versatility. You can sprinkle them on a salad or soups. You can add them to a tuna or chicken salad. Crushed or ground, you can add them to any flour you're using for a baking recipe. Mix them into your bread crumbs and crust your chicken or fish. Or…just have a handful when you walk in the door while you wait for dinner to be ready.
I like to store all my seeds and nuts in glass canisters so that I'm reminded that I have them. And if I remember they are there, I'm challenged to think of ways to put them into my other foods.
This post is interestingly timed, given what I wrote a few days ago about the importance of melatonin in maintaining fertility. The chemical pathways for both melatonin and niacin get their start with the amino acid L-tryptophan.
When a strong pro-inflammatory process is predominant, and the body wants to make more melatonin, it may do so at the expense of having enough ingredients to also make niacin…perhaps explaining why large doses of niacin have been found helpful to correct the lipid abnormalities associated with inflammation.
I've blogged before that people who eat more vegetables do sleep better and this may be one reason why. It gives your body what it needs to fight inflammation so that melatonin can be used to help you sleep!
For both vegans and omnivores, niacin is relatively easy to find. Mother Nature likely designed it that way because it's so important for fighting inflammation. The times you're most likely to get into trouble is if you're a chronic restrictive eater/dieter, or you're eating primarily processed carbohydrates.
See how you do with your niacin foods this week — it will be good for reducing inflammation, promoting sleep, and with the PCOS Diva's menus, pretty darn tasty!
If you're a foodie…a New York Times lover…or a Twitter junkie, you likely saw the article last week about the strong possibility that genetically engineered salmon may soon make its way to our marketplace. These salmon can grow twice as quickly as natural salmon, therefore making salmon more available to the growing market of people who have been educated to believe that this fish is the only one providing a significant source of omega-3 fatty acids. (An important note: These fish will not grow to humongous size, they will merely reach their mature size more quickly than natural salmon…a"body builder fish," so to speak.)
Essentially, this new type of salmon is an Atlantic salmon with genes spliced into its DNA from the Pacific Chinook salmon and the pout, another salmon-type of fish. The genes allow the new fish to produce growth hormone year round, and therefore grow year round, instead of just during the summer.
Aqua Bounty, the company that created this fish, has to provide seven sets of data to the FDA, proving that this new fish is the traditional equivalent of natural salmon; they've already submitted five of those sets.
This is what happens when we get overly enthusiastic about one type of fish and recommend it to the exclusion of all other possibilities in the sea. Greed sets in.
What is of concern to me is that these fish, according to current labeling laws, would not even be required to be labeled as genetically engineered. (The FDA to date actually opposes mandatory labeling on a food"merely because it was genetically engineered"). The CEO of Aqua Bounty, Ronald Stotish, has already absolved himself of responsibility in this area, claiming that since his company would only be selling eggs to fish farms, and not fish to markets, they would not be the party in the production chain to regulate. His take?"If there's no material difference, then it would be misleading to require labeling."
It seems as though this would be a great way to tank the entire salmon industry, given the fact that people tend to be all-or-nothing in their consumer choices and would likely shift away from all salmon"just to be safe".
If this technology is approved, it will still take 2 to 3 years for these salmon to show up in your stores.
For those of you reading this blog who know how much we love to recommend fish for your health, here are some questions to ask yourself and points to remember when making your own seafood choices.
1. ALL seafood contains omega-3 fatty acids. You don't have to eat just salmon! The benefit is double, as every ounce of fish you eat replaces an ounce of a more saturated type of meat. So whether it's bass, tuna, scallops, or shrimp, your choice is perfectly fine.
2. The Monterey Bay Aquarium, the go-to place for fish recommendations, lists Atlantic salmon, farmed and wild, as a type of seafood to avoid in their seafood watch program.
3. To help increase the total omega-3 supply, consider trout! Farmed trout, which is genetically and nutritionally slightly higher in omega-3's than salmon*, is on the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Best Choices List. You can buy it boned if that is a deterrent. I've been experimenting with trout and many of my salmon recipes work very well. It's a bit more fragile as far as cooking methods, but the flavors you cook with can work just fine.
4. In addition to trout, there are numerous farmed fish options getting the Monterey Bay green light, including: char, clams, cobia, mussels, oysters, striped bass, and tilapia.
4. If you're an adventurous eater…why not just eat the pout? It's plentiful and edible.
5. Speak up! Don't let this issue fall through the cracks. The only reason this kind of technology can even survive…is if consumers create a market for it.
*Trout contains 1.6 grams omega-3's per 100 grams Salmon contains 1.4 grams omega-3's per 100 grams
If you're a frequent traveler, chances are you have already had an opportunity to experience the new security measures at the airport, which include the new full body scanner.
One of the biggest concerns about this scanner has been the radiation exposure these scanners emit. Because radiation can affect fertility, a concern of many readers of this blog, I did some fact checking.
What is interesting to note is that before these scanners were even in existence, anyone stepping on an airplane was already increasing their exposure to radiation! In a 1998 study published in Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, scientists concluded that an airline captain is exposed to 37% more radiation per year (219 millirem) than a nuclear power plant worker in the same period of time (160 millirem). For the pilot, that is the equivalent to 22 chest x-rays, for the power plant worker, 16 chest x-rays.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, in an independent study, reported that the average scan with the TSA backscatter x-ray scanner provides 0.0024 millirem of radiation exposure. Meaning, you would have to have 4,000 TSA scans to equal one x-ray. The people at greatest risk for increased radiation exposure from these machines is most likely the TSA workers themselves, who conduct their work in the presence of the scanners for hours at a time.
Bottom line:
1. Your biggest dose of radiation exposure is actually coming from the time you spend on the airplane at altitude, not the short amount of time in the scanner. 2. If you are a pilot, flight attendant, or frequent flyer with concerns about fertility, it certainly is a good strategy to start being more diligent about your intake of antioxidants. I've listed the important ones below that are consistently recommended as cancer fighters. 3. If you are a reporter researching the scanner issue, instead of scaring travelers, perhaps the more relevant issue is why TSA is not requiring its employees to wear dosimeters to be sure their own exposure over time is not an occupational risk. It might also be a very quick way to identify a machine that is malfunctioning and exposing flyers to unnecessary additional radiation. 4. Flight crews and TSA employees might want to consider packing their bags with more fruits and vegetables. Especially since these are not items commonly available in airport food courts. 5. In addition to the standard security questions TSA members should ask for your 24 hour diet recall to be sure you're sufficiently protected for your flight. (Couldn't resist that one…just KIDDING!) 6. For our specific population most likely reading this post, I strongly recommend you discuss your travel strategy with the appropriate caregiver if you have a history of cancer, are in the middle of infertility treatment, or have a history of sexual abuse. It's best to know what choices are most appropriate for your personal situation before standing in the TSA line.
So if you're heading home at altitude for Thanksgiving, consider that the broccoli, cranberries, and sweet potatoes (even a small extra sliver of pumpkin pie) aren't all that bad if you're going to have seconds. Enjoy them, as well as your family.
BEST ANTIOXIDANTS FOR COUNTERING RADIATION
Vitamin C parsley, broccoli, bell pepper, strawberries, oranges, lemon juice, papaya, cauliflower, kale, mustard greens, and Brussels sprouts.
Vitamin E mustard greens, chard, sunflower seeds, turnip greens
Note: I've received quite a few compliments about this blog post. It was written and published without a single edit by Sarah Jones. Sarah is currently a nutrition student and Arizona State University and has been interning with me over this academic year. The attention to detail you see here is just how Sarah does things. I'm very lucky to have her, and glad she has shared such a timely topic in such a wonderful post. Thanks, Sarah!
You may have noticed that vitamin D has been a hot topic in the media lately and, at this point, it is likely that we as consumers are becoming overwhelmed by all the media hype. Recent studies have suggested that in prehistoric times, in addition to normal skeletal development, humans probably used vitamin D as a natural form of sunscreen. Before majoring in Dietetics, my basic knowledge of the role vitamin D played in the body is that it somehow worked with calcium to promote healthy bones. As it turns out, I had no idea how complex the relationship actually was between vitamin D and the human body! Let’s take a further look at vitamin D. Most of us may know vitamin D as the “sunshine vitamin.” We get it from the sun, right? Sure, but how? When ultraviolet light from the sun shines on a cholesterol compound in our skin, it is transformed into a vitamin D “precursor” (compounds that can be converted into active vitamins that the body can use) and is absorbed directly into the blood. The liver and kidneys finish converting the precursor to the active form of vitamin D. There are two major forms of vitamin D; these are vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol), which is present in plants, and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), which is present in the skin of animals. Vitamin D was discovered in 1920 and was originally classified as a vitamin. However, it has since been revealed that vitamin D is actually a hormone (steroid) since it can be synthesized by the body when exposed to sunlight. Essentially, the major biologic function of vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus in our bodies, which aids in the absorption of calcium and helps to form and maintain strong bones. Vitamin D3 is the most active form of the vitamin, which is what you will see in most supplements. Obtaining vitamin D from sunlight presents no risk of vitamin D toxicity because the body is able to regulate the vitamin D precursor – see what I mean about complex! But, as we know, getting too much sun puts us at risk for skin cancer. Since moving to Arizona, I have started wearing sunscreen everyday to decrease my risk of skin cancer, but sunscreen can reduce or prevent the synthesis of vitamin D. And, because vitamin D is one of the most toxic of all the vitamins, taking supplements can put us at risk for toxicity. Now you may be thinking, I wear sunscreen, I am concerned about supplementing without first consulting my doctor, and I live in an area that does not get much sunlight during this time of year, what foods can I eat that have vitamin D in them? As far as foods are concerned, dietary vitamin D is provided primarily by foods of animal origin, especially liver, beef and eggs (mainly the yolk). You can also find vitamin D in dairy products such as milk, cheese and butter. Lastly, vitamin D is in some saltwater fish, including tuna, salmon, herring and sardines. Because few foods naturally have substantial vitamin D content, i n the United States there are pre-selected foods, such as milk, cheese, margarine and yogurt as well as some orange juice, bread, and cereals that have been fortified with vitamin D. If you are a vegetarian, you likely will not be obtaining vitamin D by eating liver, beef or fish, but you may still be eating eggs and dairy products. I mentioned yogurt as a source of vitamin D, but after a trip to the grocery store and looking at no less than ten brands of yogurt, I was stumped! I was hard pressed to find yogurts that have been fortified with vitamin D. However, it was not a complete loss, as I eventually spotted one (which also happens to be one of my favorite brands). Stonyfield Organic Yogurt has fortified most of their yogurt products with vitamin D3. Here is a list from their labels of the “percent of daily values based on a 2,000 calorie diet”: Organic Fat Free Smooth and Creamy 6 oz (all flavors): 20% of D3 Organic Fat Free Fruit on the Bottom 6 oz (all flavors): 15% of D3 Organic Low Fat Smooth and Creamy 6 oz (all flavors): 20% of D3 Organic Low Fat Fruit on the Bottom 6 oz (all flavors): 15% of D3 Their soy and Greek yogurt’s do not have vitamin D, but they also make six and ten ounce organic smoothies that contain vitamin D. Additionally, they have two other products that are worth mentioning: “B-Healthy and B-Well.” B-Healthy includes omega-3 fatty acids, as well as three of the B vitamins ( B3 or Niacin, B5 or Panthothenic Acid and B12). B-Well contains vitamin B6, probiotic cultures and vitamin D. According to their website, if you live in the Phoenix area, Stonyfield Organic Yogurt can be found at: Bashas’, AJ’s Fine Foods and Sprouts Farmers Market.
References
1. K.M. Dixon, S.S. Deo, G. Wong, M. Slater, A.W. Norman and J.E. Bishop et al., Skin cancer prevention: a possible role of 1,25dihydroxyvitamin D3 and its analogs, Journal of Steroid Biochemistry & Molecular Biology 97 (2005), pp. 137–143. 2. Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Research for Optimum Health Website. Available at: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminD/. Accessed June 18, 2011. 3. Mahan, LK, Escott-Stump S. Krauses’s Food & Nutrition Therapy. 12th ed. St. Louis, MO: Saunders/Elsevier; 2008.
I gave this vitamin its nickname because its presence is needed in adequate quantities in order to have enough of many other compounds, such as niacin.
The most stable version of vitamin B6 is found in plant foods. Another reason to get more fruits and vegetables in your diet! For those of you who just don't like the dark green leafy options on the list, remember you can throw a handful into pretty much any kind of juice or smoothie and not notice the taste. You can also make your own vegetable broth and freeze it into cubes in your ice tray for future cooking. I'm not a big fan myself, but I've found when I include them in other dishes such as omelets, rather than trying to eat them alone where I'm 100% focused on the flavor, I can get them in more easily.
Here's the list, and the link to the PCOS Diva's vitamin B6 menus. Have a great week everyone!
I had a very interesting experience this past weekend that caused me to think about how and why we eat the way we do.
I'm working on an educational event for people with insomnia, and my partner in this project came across a restaurant in Los Angeles called Opaque. This restaurant serves the entire meal in the dark! So we decided to try it out as a potential event activity.
I found that the food became more intense when I couldn't see what I was eating. Every flavor, every texture, popped out at me as I moved from salad through entree through dessert.
Not being able to see anything I was eating also slowed me down. I had seared ahi tuna with sticky rice, and when I got to the rice I found myself resorting to using my hands to put food on my fork.
At one point I bit into something I really liked, but I couldn't identify it. My dinner parter had to tell me it was a strawberry! Which I couldn't believe, since strawberries are one of my favorite fruits. That made me think about how much of food is what you decide ahead of time about it…if you decide you're going to like it, based on what you see, you will eat it, and potentially eat more of it. Similarly, you may decide you don't like something because of its appearance, and cut yourself out of finding a food you'd like to eat more of.
You could easily replicate this experience at home, by eating blindfolded, either having someone serve you something you ask for in advance, or allowing yourself to be surprised. Perhaps what you learn about yourself in the experience will give you insight into why you eat the foods you do, in the quantities you do.
I'd love to hear feedback from anyone who accepts the challenge!
If you'd like to learn more about our insomnia events, join our Facebook Group!
I’ve done a great deal of volunteer work for an organization that helps the families of those who have died by suicide. In their newsletter, there’s a column called “The Gift.” At first, I thought, “how crazy, how obscene, how downright blasphemous – there’s nothing connected to suicide to be grateful for!” But as I read the column for a while, I began to see that even in the darkest acts, there are many unexpected things to be grateful for.
And so it is with PCOS. When I suggest to my clients that there might be something about PCOS that they can be grateful about, I usually get a similar response to the one I described above – or at least a look of disbelief and wonder. Then I explain that there’s always something to appreciate in a medical condition, a job loss, a car accident, or anything else you find unpleasant or undesirable. Sometimes, though, you have to look hard – but if you try hard enough, you can start to name the gratitude items. And when you’re feeling grateful, you’re feeling more positive, and less mired in the depressive, negative thoughts.
I’m going to start the list for you, with some of my personal gratitude items, and then you can continue from there with your own list:
*Some men like curvier women more than skinny women – score one for the plus-size women of the world! *PCOS isn’t exactly a hot topic yet for the rest of the world, but there’s vastly more research interest in 2011 than there ever was, and that means HOPE. *There are so many delicious, healthy, PCOS-friendly foods to eat, shop for, explore, and experiment with – today, I made an awesome salad plate out of Italian olive-oil packed tuna, heirloom tomatoes, farmers’ market fruits, and half an avocado with a lemon vinaigrette. That’s not suffering, by any measure. Quite the contrary. *We have this amazing support system called the internet (and I’m old enough to be able to compare that to a time when I was stuck going to the local library and searching the card file and the dusty biology books to try to figure out what was wrong with me). *There ARE some people out there who really do get it – especially inCYST’s very own Monika Woolsey, and her team of supportive, interested, and educated psychologists, dieticians, dermatologists, and exercise physiologists who comprise the balance of the inCYST crew. *We have allies in the most surprising, unexpected, and, dare I say FUN places – how about that hottie Hollywood trainer Craig Ramsay who’s doing the fundraiser for us in August? *PCOS has made me assert my health as a priority. If I didn’t have PCOS, it’s unlikely that I would be practicing this level of self-care – and I know that what I do is only going to benefit my PCOS in the long run.
I hope my list has given you a couple of laughs, a little inspiration, and a shift of perspective. I encourage you to start your own PCOS gratitude list or journal, and see how it shifts you into a more positive mindset.
Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses. If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com, or e-mail her at Gretchen@drhousemd.com
A lot has been talked about when it comes to skin cancer and its cause. Ninety percent of non-melanoma skin cancer is caused by sun exposure. Oddly enough one way we generate a very important vitamin (vitamin D) is from sun exposure! What to do? Expose skin to sun and risk cancer or become housebound avoiding all light from the sun and risk vitamin d deficiency?
Fact: Vitamin D is very good for you.
Fact: Sun is not.
First understand that I think the body is genius in the way it can take sun applied to the skin and start a biochemical process that makes us into little Vitamin D machines. It is photosynthesis like the plants! Without sun the machine does not work.
Without Vitamin D we experience a myriad of negative consequences. Vitamin D is necessary for healthy bones, good immunity and possibly in protecting us from diseases from fibromyalgia to multiple sclerosis, and cancers from prostate to colon. The NIH (National Institue of Health) has reviewed research on Vitamin D and found it to be very complicated. It is not just black and white (or in this case tan and white!). A lot of research is happening, just trying to figure out how much vitamin D we actually need for optimum health is an enormous undertaking (If you like data there is a good scientific review in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Feb 2006). Believe it or not we are still not sure how much Vitamin D is the correct amount.
We can all agree that we need at least some Vitamin D and we have three ways to get it; sun, food and supplements. Start with food; not a great source unless you eat a lot of fish (tuna, salmon, mackerel and fish liver). Beef liver, cheese and egg yolks have small amounts, but think for the cholesterol! Milk and bread are fortified which is helpful but many Americans still seem to be lacking.
So, supplement or sun? The reality is that if you have light skin and don’t live in a submarine you get about 15 minutes of sun on your hands and face just from living every day. The human body maxes out its Vitamin D producing capacity in 5 minutes (sunny day, hands and face unprotected). Anything more is not helping Vitamin D but is helping skin cancer. Shut-ins and dark skinned people are another story. Rolling grandma out to the sun porch everyday is an option but supplements are more practical. With very dark skin more sun time is needed to penetrate the natural advantage in sun protective color but how much time depends (I know, I hate that answer, too).
Bottom line, sun causes cancer; supplements are available to supply vitamin D, so why risk it? Until we know exactly what we need for perfect Vitamin D health perhaps we should go for the sunscreen and a pill. How much? 200 IU a day, 400 IU for over 50’s and 600 IU for over 70’s.
Note from Monika: One of the aspects of inCYST that I absolutely love is how because of our interdisciplinary team we can look at health issues in new and different ways. Dr. Van Dyke has been teaching me so much about skin issues and how the relate to PCOS. She has been very active this month on Twitter for melanoma month. It seemed like the perfect time to have her write about vitamin D from her specialty's perspective. Thank you so much for taking the time!
For more information on Dr. Van Dyke's practice please visit http://www.vandykelaser.com/. She can be found on Twitter at @drvandyke.
What a find! I have a thing for thrift stores, dollar stores, etc., and on a recent cruise through the local 99 Cent Store, I found these salmon cups. They're perfectly portable to work, the gym, on a business trip…and they're cheap and yummy!
I happened to try the salmon/mandarin orange variety, but as you can see by the photo, there are also tuna varieties including cajun and teriyaki.
One of my biggest mantras when teaching healthy eating is to break your rules--about what defines breakfast, snacks, etc. You can eat"lunch" food for a snack, and"dinner" food at breakfast, if that suits you better. (I happen to love leftover Chinese food for breakfast!)
Besides the point that this is a wonderful option for a meal you need to pack, I also wanted to reinforce that better food choices do not have to be expensive. Check out your own 99 Cent Store and see what great bargains can get you started on your own journey of better eating.
