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All About Vitamin D

We all know Spain is a sunny country so today I thought I'd do an article about vitamin D.

Before I get into it I want to stress that I have no medical background, all the information is from reading articles and if you are concerned about your health and vitamin levels then you should visit a qualified medic or your local GP.

We get most of our vitamin D from sunlight on our skin. The vitamin is made by our body under the skin in reaction to summer sunlight. However, if you are out in the sun, take care to cover up or protect your skin with sunscreen before you turn red or get burnt.

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Vitamin D is also found in a small number of foods. Good food sources are:

  • oily fish, such as salmon and sardines
  • eggs
  • fortified fat spreads
  • fortified breakfast cereals
  • powdered milk

Vitamin D has several important functions. For example, it helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. These nutrients are needed to keep bones and teeth healthy.

A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children and bone pain and tenderness as a result of osteomalacia in adults.

Most people should be able to get all the vitamin D they need by eating a healthy balanced diet and by getting some summer sun.

However, there are some groups of the population who are at risk of not getting enough vitamin D. These groups are:

  • all pregnant and breastfeeding women
  • babies and young children younger than five
  • older people aged 65 years and over
  • people who are not exposed to much sun, such as people who cover up their skin when outdoors or those who are housebound or confined indoors for long periods
  • people who have darker skin such as people of African, African-Caribbean and South Asian origin

There are supplements available that you can take but you need to take care not to overdose.   When sunbathing you cannot get too much vitamin D as the body stops production when it has reached the appropriate levels but it can be toxic if you intake too much through foods and supplements.

Other research has shown that vitamin D can also help prevent cancer especially breast and prostate cancer.  It also shows that people who already have breast, uterus and ovaries cancer that vitamin D can help improve their condition.

It can also help to strengthen the immune system and help fight diseases.

Vitamin D and Depression!

New research suggests that low levels of vitamin D and depression may go hand in hand.

The new study included about 12,600 people aged 20 to 90. Researchers measured the vitamin D in their blood and assessed symptoms of depression.

People with the lowest levels of vitamin D were more likely to report symptoms of depression, compared to people with higher blood levels of vitamin D. This relationship was strongest among people with a history of depression.

The Institute of Medicine recently raised its recommendations for vitamin D. The institute recommends that people aged 1 to 70 take 600 international units (IUs) of vitamin D per day, and people older than 71 should aim for 800 IUs.

Exactly how vitamin D and depression may be linked is unclear. Vitamin D deficiency may result in depression, or depression may increase risk for low vitamin D levels.

For example, depressed people may spend more time indoors, and are less likely to eat a healthy diet and take care of themselves, all of which could affect vitamin D levels. On the other hand, there are vitamin D receptors everywhere in the body, including the brain. These receptors need vitamin D to do their job.

The new findings appear in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

The new findings “add depression to the spectrum of medical illnesses associated with low vitamin D, and people with depression probably should consider a blood test to see if their vitamin D is low and whether supplements may be needed,” says researcher E. Sherwood Brown, MD, PhD, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Other studies on the link between low vitamin D and depression have yielded mixed results, but most have pointed toward a connection. The new study is among the largest to date, and shows that the two may indeed be linked.

Is Vitamin D the New Antidepressant?

So will vitamin D supplements cure depression? “We can’t promise that,” Brown says.

Some foods like fish and fortified dairy products are rich in vitamin D. These D-rich foods are few and far between, which is why many people recommend supplements of vitamin D.

Robert Graham, MD, routinely discusses vitamin D with his patients. He is an internist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “It makes sense to me that vitamin D deficiency is correlated with depression or anxiety,” he says. “There is something there.”

Whether low vitamin D is causing depression or if loading up on vitamin D can help a person feel better is not known, he says: “I would check patients who are showing signs of depression and if they are deficient in vitamin D, it makes sense to supplement.”

So what are your thoughts.  I definitely see peoples mood improve when they've spent a little time in the sun or even just seeing the sun through the window other than dull grey skies and rain and cold seem to make people more happy to get up and do something.  I definitely feel when you hear the rain pounding on your window and it's dark in the morning you don't want to get out of bed, you would much rather stay in bed and not do anything that day.  Here in Marbella Spain that very rarely happens.  I find every morning is bright and sunny and it definitely makes a difference, I have no trouble getting up and am ready to face the day.   I can't speak for everyone but I agree that a little sunshine (provided you don't bake yourself) is definitely good for helping you feel happier and enjoying your life better.   After living here in Spain for a long time now, I can't imagine feeling happy if I had to go to somewhere like England and have to live life in the cold and rainy conditions they have there.

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Leave us a comment on how you feel on how sunny days makes you feel and if you agree with this article or not or if you have mixed feelings about it.

Foreign Plate Cars in Spain

The time when you could drive around Spain with illegally registered cars is coming to an end.   I have just read on the internet that The Guardia are stopping ALL UK & Foreign plated cars checking documents, if you can not prove there and then the vehicle is legal then they give you 5 days to register it in Spain or they will take the car and crush it. I'm not quite sure how they can do this without knowing if you are actually on holiday or you are planning to stay here.  Unless you have to show documents of where you are staying and provide details of your return trip to your own country.  I did hear in the past the way they caught people out was by catching the ones who are dropping the kids off at school (because obviously if your kids are in school then you must be living here). Let's see if they can get a grip on it.  And for all those out there who are interested, we do have a contact of someone who can help change your plates if you need it.  Just contact us.  

RECEIVE A FREE CAR OR 3D TV

What better way to start our blog than to tell you all about our new promotion: With certain properties we are giving away a brand new Renault Twizy or a 3D TV.  The Renault Twizy is a new electric car which is compact and perfect for driving round town, especially with the summer coming and how hard it is to find a parking space.  There is nothing like it around yet and which is why we have chosen this to be one of our give away products.  The other being a 3D TV, again something a bit different to just a normal TV and what better way to start life in you new home than snuggling up to your loved one and watching your brand new TV. Has anyone driven a new Renault Twizy yet?  Let us know your thoughts and also post your comments on what you think to our promotion.  To find out more come to our office on Marbella Paseo, you can find the address on our website  
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