A health dilemma

 

Okay so I am very stuck in a health dilemma - after having had skin cancer and several procedures to removing offending or suspicious looking spots on my skin, I have listened to the warnings of my dermatologist and religiously applied sunscreen and avoided the big yellow ball in the sky.  So far this sounds like a good thing - right?  Well not exactly, I am now taking a special Vitamin D supplement because my level of Vitamin D is very low, according to my recent blood work.   Yup - I am confused - sun is bad but not having any sun can cause other problems from vitamin deficiency.  A quick internet search reveals a host of possible ailments related to low vitamin D. 

 

Now I am even more confused, I love spending time in the warm Arizona sun but I have tried hard to avoid excessive sun exposure because I do not love getting things removed from my skin.  Even looking online for some direction for dietary sources of vitamin D only list a few foods, mostly just Vitamin D enriched milk.  We won't even begin to discuss the controversy about whether milk and dairy is actually a healthy choice.  This feels a bit like a no-win scenario, but I will take the supplements that the doctor ordered, and I will make an effort to increase my exercise level so I am healthier in general, and reducing my weight should also be helpful for this vitamin D deficiency as well (although another confusing point online says that low vitamin D causes weight gain, yet low vitamin is more common in people who are overweight).  One bright spot, I am not alone - even actress Gwyneth Paltrow was recently diagnosed with very low levels of vitamin D.  According to one  website "Vitamin D absorbs calcium from the digestion system and deposits it in our bones, protecting children against rickets and adults against the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis."

Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/could-a-lack-of-vitamin-d-be-making-813009#ixzz2q3Sl6IYX

The article goes on to explain how vitamin D plays a role in boosting the immune system.  Unlike other vitamins - we get most of our vitamin D from the sun, so this leaves people like me with a serious dilemma, which is worse, sun exposure and possible skin cancer or Vitamin D deficiency and a whole host of problems including osteoporosis and higher risk for cancer. 

 

I don't normally fall into the hype of latest health trends, but instead, this challenge found me.  I guess I need to find an effective Vitamin D supplement on an ongoing basis and I will need to remember my mother's advice to drink my milk.