Curiously Awesome

One of my very favorite grocery stores is Whole Foods Market. I don’t get to shop there very often, because the nearest one to me is about an hour away…but a trip to Whole Foods is my idea of a great excursion. Not only are the prices great, but I love so many of their items. We have our favorite crackers, I love their coffee and liquor departments, their deli is a great place to get a snack, the organic produce in their produce section is top notch, and visiting their meat department is how I stock my freezer for weeks and weeks. I seriously love this store.

This is why I was so excited to learn that Whole Foods Market is now running a podcast series covering natural health alternatives.

The topic of this month’s Whole Foods podcast is “The ABC’s of Supplements.”

There is so much misinformation about supplements out there. Many people are confused about supplements and are not sure how to choose what they need. Watching these podcasts will be a great way to educate yourself about supplements and much more. They will be covering the basics and answering common questions about various benefits and forms of supplements and lots more.

I will be a regular visitor…let me know if you will be too!

A vitamin D deficiency can cause many health problems, including many kinds of cancers, osteoporosis, depression, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular issues and others. Many health issues can be prevented by getting an adequate amount of vitamin D.

As many as 36% of all Americans are deficient in vitamin D.

Healthy individuals are often able to convert adequate sunlight exposure to vitamin D. This may not be the case for everyone, however.

A study was conducted by University of Wisconsin researchers on people who lived in Hawaii. The participants in the study spent an average of 11.1 hours in the sunlight per week. None of the participants in the study used any type of sunscreen.

Even though the people in this study received a great deal of sunlight exposure, 51% of them were deficient in vitamin D. The conclusion is that as the body ages its ability to convert sunlight to vitamin D through the skin is reduced.

Obese people are often vitamin D deficient. This is because these people store vitamin D in large amounts of body fat where it becomes inaccessible.

Whether people get their vitamin D from sunlight, vitamin supplements, foods rich in vitamin D, or some combination of these sources, no one should ignore the body’s need for this vital nutrient.