Saying Goodbye to the Sun

Along with the Daylight Savings time shift, we here in the northern part of the country also have a noticeable decline in sunlight to enjoy. Add to the astronomically shorter days the gloom of the weather and you almost want to send the sun a going away party. Seems like we had one or two sunny days from the beginning of November to June last winter and spring. Even on the nice day we get each month, it is cold enough that we bundle up and cover as much skin as possible. Not the best way to catch some rays, dude.

The lack of sunshine means a drop in the vitamin D produced by our bodies for the next few months. Vitamin D has been in the news recently as more and more studies have found links between it and various cancers, H1N1 (swine flu),  and some forms of depression.  There more peer reviewed studies released everyday. Its support of the immune system could be why sickness is more common in the winter.

Unless you have a polar bear somewhere in your family history, snow-tanning is not a likely option for you in your efforts to maintain your body's Vitamin D levels during the winter. Some people try using tanning beds, but that leads to other cancer issues. You could always drink more milk, of course each serving has only got about 150 iu, which is about 25% of your needs to prevent rickets.

So, just how much Vitamin D should you try to get in your day? Well 10 minutes of direct summer sun in summer attire will generate about 10,000 iu. That would be, umm, about 67 servings of milk, per day, every day. A family of 4 would need two happy cows and a milking machine for its needs.

While some I know would love a couple of new pets, I suggest trying supplements. Vitamin D3 in supplemental form is very cheap and easy to take. I use a liquid version and just take a few drops a day. Being a fat soluble supplement you can take your weeks supply in one serving and be just fine. I have had people come to me with prescriptions for 50,000 and 100,000 iu doses. I personally shoot for about 5,000 to 7,000 a day to maintain good health.

Rays, cows, or pills your choice for your sun loss needs.

EDIT 11-8-11:

At the risk of offending Dr. House, you can add Lupus to list of illnesses are impacted by vitamin D.

Big Pharma Agrees, Kinda

In a brilliant flash of insight, researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center realized that squalamine, originally from shark livers, has anti-viral properties. Seems that, they noticed that sharks don't get many viruses, probably from the lack of great white sharks in the ER. Sharks don't have insurance.

Of course this piece of information has been available to them from the researchers in the supplement industry for decades. There have been numerous studies on shark liver oil:

Arthur, G., and Bittman, R. "The inhibition of cell signaling pathways by antitumor ether lipids." Biochim Biophys Acta 1998 Feb5; 1390(1): 85-102.

Fujiwara, K., et.al. "Cytokinetic and morophologic differences in ovarian cancer cells treated with ET-18-OCH3 and the DNA-interacting agent, etoposide." Anticancer Res 1997 May-Jun; 17(3C): 2159-67.

Hichami, A., et.al. "Modulation of platelet-activating-factor production by incorporation of naturally occurring 1-O-alkylglycerols in phospholipids of human leukemic monocyte-like THP-1 cells."
Eur J Biochem 1997 Dec 1; 250(2): 242-8.

LeBlanc, K., et.al. "1-O-hexadecyl-2-metoxy-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine-a methoxy ether lipid inhibiting platelet activating factor-induced platelet aggregation and neutrophil oxidative metabolism." Biochem Pharmacol 1995 May 26; 49(11): 1577-82.

Pugliese, Peter T. Devour Disease with Shark Liver Oil. Green Bay: Health Information Specialists, 1999.

Pugliese, PT., et.al. "Some biological actions of alkylglycerols from shark liver oil." J Altern Complement Med 1998 Spring:4(1): 87-99.

Robinson, M., et.al. "Inhibition of phorbol ester-stimulated arachidonic acid releases by alkylglycerols." Biochim Biophys Acta 1995 Feb 9: 1254(3): 361-7.

Verdonck, LF., and van Heugten HG. "Ether lipids are effective cytotoxic drugs against multidrug-resistant acute leukemia cells and can act by the induction of apoptosis." Leuk Res 1997 Jan; 21 (1):37-43.

Wang, H. "Differentiation-promoting effect in human colon cancer cells." J Cell Physiol 1999 Feb;178(2): 173-8.

Seems that these studies are not valid because they are for a “supplement”. Now that a pharmaceutical company has made a patentable synthetic version, squalamine bears studying. Of course they are quick to point out that squalamine comes from liver tissue, originally. It is however present in the oil with several other compounds that provide immune support. What I fear they are overlooking is the fact that the virus free sharks have all of these compounds, not just the squalamine. That is usually important to achieve the health benefits desired. Kinda why you have to eat your vegetables, not just “take a pill”.

I am glad they have found a more sustainable way to create squalamine. I have no issue with a company making money selling their products. It is also nice to watch them back away from the scoffing they do towards supplements as well.

Now That They Are Back in School

They spent all summer without so much as a sniffle, then go back to school and a few weeks later they have this year's version of the plague. Kids seem to be the catalyst for flu season in my part of the world. More people tell me about how they got sick, their spouse got sick, the whole house got sick a month or so after the school season starts up again. Why are the schools such breeding ground for colds?

Begin by looking at the situation we created in the summer. Kids have the worst diets and spend all of their time being as lazy as they can get away with. (Maybe not just kids) This is a great recipe for an impaired immune system. They do not suffer from anything largely because they are not exposed to anything. Kids only hang out with a few different people for most of their summer time off.

Then, just when the hayfever season starts to ramp up again, we ship them off to school. My kids have never had a class smaller than 25 students in their lifetime, and usually larger. Each class had a generous mingling of different students and teachers, plus time in the halls with several hundred other people. Add to the mix no central HVAC, so no real air circulation. It really is a wonder that all we get from this environment is a “cold”! Exposing people with even slightly impaired immune systems to that breeding ground is ridiculous, but we do and then accuse them of faking to get out of school.

Kids must go to school, if for no other reason than to give moms a break. The environment in the schools is not going to change. It would be wise for us to shore up the defenses our bodies have to ward off as much as possible. I suggest you keep it as simple as possible, multivitamin and extra vitamin C daily. With a good diet this is usually enough to fend off most of the illness in the schools. At the first sign of a cold, however, pull out all the stops! I personally swear by liquid oil of oregano, but you are not very likely to get a kid to take it. It really does burn. For most kids, I would suggest Wellness Formula from Source Naturals. It takes an “everything plus the kitchen sink” approach to immune support. As always follow the dosing instructions for each.

I would also suggest that when the first little bout of illness comes around everyone in the house start taking either supplement. As the expression goes: The best defense is a good offense.