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We offer 'yoga for depression' on Mondays from 4:30
to 5:30pm and 'yoga for larger
bodies' on Mondays from 5:30 to 6:30pm. Please
call us for additional information.
For up-to-date information about our upcoming
workshops and classes, please check our website or
give us a call. Registration and payment in advance
are required for all ph&w; events and space is limited
to
12 (cooking classes are limited to 6). We strongly
encourage early registration.
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Please join us in welcoming the newest member of
our team, Marta Vaughn, RD, LD. Marta received her
training in nutrition at Bastyr University. She is
passionate about food and the potential of food to
promote good health. Her areas of professional
interest include weight management, treatment of
eating disorders, the prevention
and treatment of diabetes, mindful eating, and the
treatment of a variety of health conditions with nutrition
therapy. She enjoys working with people of all ages.
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By now, many of us have memorized the weather
forecast in Portland: rain, rain, and more rain. While
this ongoing dreary weather can get in the way of
some outdoor activities, and even dampen our mood,
those of us living in the Pacific Northwest have
something else to consider: our latitude may have an
adverse effect on our health. And we're not talking
about seasonal affective disorder. Whether you live in
sunny (but cold!) Bend or gray and wet Portland, one
fact that you shouldn't ignore is that your body most
likely is not producing sufficient amounts of vitamin D
during the fall and winter months. Simply stated, our
production of vitamin D, also known as the "sunshine
vitamin", comes to a screeching halt during these
cold, dark months. According to scientific studies,
those of us residing north of San Francisco are at risk
for vitamin D deficiency.
Vitamin D has become a hot topic. Search Medline,
an online database of citations and abstracts from
health and medical journals, and you'll find 35,854
documents related to this vitamin. So what is all the
fuss? Well, vitamin D is both a hormone and a
vitamin; it is fat-soluble and essential for
maintaining normal calcium metabolism. But this is
only the beginning. Vitamin D action has been
established in the following tissues and organs: brain,
nerves, immune cells, pancreas, breast, liver,
intestine, kidney, prostate, parathyroid, fat, skin, and, of
course, bone. There are many other potential health
benefits of vitamin D: sufficient levels can prevent
rickets, osteoporosis and osteomalacia, prevent
certain cancers and regulate your immune system.
When comparing children and young adults who have
had the most and the least amount of sun exposure,
those with the most had a 40% reduced risk of non-
Hodgkin's lymphoma and a decreased risk of dying
from malignant melanoma once it develops. People
who are born and raised at higher latitudes are at
increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis,
Crohn's disease, type I diabetes, osteoarthritis and
rheumatoid arthritis. These risks, however, are
reduced significantly in people who take vitamin D
supplements. Vitamin D deficiency has also been
associated with hypertension and cardiovascular
disease. Lastly, there is some, although limited,
research suggesting a link between low levels of
vitamin D and psychiatric conditions such as
schizophrenia and depression.
Your body can produce it naturally year-round if you live
in the tropics; in our temperate climate, however, this
is not the case. Just 10 to 15 minutes of summer sun
exposure three times per week is enough for fair-
skinned people to maintain an adequate level of this
important vitamin during the summer and fall. If you
have dark skin, use sun block or avoid the summer
sun, then your body may not be producing sufficient
vitamin D year-round. When the ultraviolet-B (UVB)
rays from the sun hits your skin, your body produces
vitamin D. If you are an adult woman with light skin
and you are wearing a bikini, exposure to the sun for
15 to 20 minutes will cause your skin to generate
approximately 10,000 IU of vitamin D3. However, the
darker your skin color the longer you need to stay in
the sun in order to create vitamin D because darker
skin pigment blocks the effects of the sun. Likewise
sunscreen blocks at least 90% of your vitamin D
production, so try putting your sunscreen on after you
get in the sun. By the time it absorbs you will have
produced your vitamin D. While there clearly are risks
associated with frequent sunbathing, sensible sun
exposure is likely to allow your body to produce
adequate amounts of vitamin D while not putting you
at great risk of skin cancer.
There are 3 ways to get vitamin D: from exposure to
sunlight, dietary sources, or supplements. If you live
in Portland (or anywhere in a temperate zone), even if
it didn't rain much, between the months of November
and March, the sun is at such an angle that we do not
get enough UVB rays to produce sufficient vitamin D.
Unfortunately, there aren't many foods that are rich in
this vitamin, so just eating a healthy diet does not
guarantee that you are getting the vitamin D you need.
Fortified milk contains less than 100 IU of vitamin D
per serving, egg yolks 20 IU, cooked tuna or sardines
between 200 to 360 IU per serving, and wild salmon
between 600 to 1000 IU per serving. Cod liver oil is a
vitamin D powerhouse, clocking in at over 1300 IU per
tablespoon. In the US, good quality vitamin D
supplements are available over the counter. And they
are inexpensive. New Seasons sells Carlson vitamin
D3 (1000 IU), 100 capsules, for less than $6.
So how much do you need? The jury is still out on this
one. According to the Institute of Medicine, the daily
adequate intake (AI) for all people under the age of 50
is 200 IU daily, 400 IU between the ages of 50 and 70
and 600 IU for individuals over the age of 70. Some
experts believe that the recommended daily allowance
of vitamin D is too low. Way too low. Without
adequate sun exposure, most people need between
800 to 1000 IU per day. There are certain medical
conditions and circumstances in which you may need
more or less. For brief periods of time, doses of up to
10,000 IU per day have been found to be safe, and
some experts advocate for daily doses of 2,000 to
5,000 IU. Since this vitamin is fat soluble, it is
possible to develop vitamin D toxicity. In order to
maintain an adequate level of vitamin D, you could
have your physician order a 25-hydroxy vitamin D
level. This simple blood test is ideally performed after
fasting for 8 to 12 hours. While the reference range is
broad, in order to get the benefits of vitamin D it is best
to maintain a level near 50 ng/ml.
In sum, our bodies are loaded with vitamin D
receptors and deficiency of this important vitamin has
been linked with diseases ranging from breast, colon,
prostate and other cancers, multiple sclerosis, and
osteoporosis, to name a few. If you live in a temperate
zone, as we do here in Portland, even if you get
adequate, sensible sun exposure in the summer you
are still at risk of being vitamin D deficient in the winter
and early spring. There are some health conditions in
which higher doses of vitamin D should be avoided,
so it is best to discuss supplementation with your
physician before getting started.
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copyright 2008 portland health and wellness We are very interested in your comments and suggestions. Please let us know if you have a topic you would like to see covered in future newsletters. We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
the staff of
Portland Health and Wellness
email:
infoph_w@comcast.net
phone:
503.236.4506
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