Comments on Cranky Fitness: Beyond the ABCs of vitamin lore

Merry, did I read that right?Did your family come ...

2008-07-10T16:30:00.000-04:00

Merry, did I read that right?

Did your family come from Sligo? No shit!

It is pretty hard to be Vitamin D deficient in Aus...

2008-07-09T01:47:00.000-04:00

It is pretty hard to be Vitamin D deficient in Australia, but I live in Canberra where in winter the sun rarely pokes its head out from behind the clouds. In summer I wear a moisturiser with sunscreen normally and switch to heavy duty stuff if I'm going to be outdoors for a while, but in winter I tend to not bother because I'm never outside for longer than 5 minutes at a time if I can help it (by Australian standards its pretty cold here). So I take a supplement once or twice a week during winter to make sure I have enough vitamin D, but no more than that.

Hi, just calling in from the country with the worl...

2008-07-08T22:27:00.000-04:00

Hi, just calling in from the country with the worlds highest skin cancer rate. I read an Australian skewed report on Vit D last summer, which basicly boiled down to a bunch of doctors saying that down here we had nothing at all to worry about. It's amazing how much health has to do with physics.

I'm definitely in the fair-skinned group. (When I ...

2008-07-08T22:02:00.000-04:00

I'm definitely in the fair-skinned group. (When I read Christine's comments I thanked the ancestors for getting the heck out of Sligo when they could -- not that they had much choice.) I tend to go for large hats and thin-but-effective clothing to shield me from the sun, but then I'm allergic to most chemicals out there.
Waves to MaryAnne in K

I certainly don't advocate getting more sun than you need. Yesterday at work I was speaking to a co-worker. I'd always thought she was at least 10 if not 15 years older than I am. She is very tan. Turns out she's 1 year older.

(Hey, if health doesn't motivate you to avoid excess sun, vanity might do the trick!)

Yeah and also, sunscreen has lots of toxic chemica...

2008-07-08T21:44:00.000-04:00

Yeah and also, sunscreen has lots of toxic chemicals in it! safecosmetics.org

Yeah and also, sunscreen has lots of toxic chemica...

2008-07-08T21:43:00.000-04:00

Yeah and also, sunscreen has lots of toxic chemicals in it! safecosmetics.org

Sunscreen is one of my soap boxes (hand washing is...

2008-07-08T21:21:00.000-04:00

Sunscreen is one of my soap boxes (hand washing is my other one). I'm for it (hand washing too).
My skin is very fair, so I wear sunscreen every day. No sunscreen is effective in blocking 100% of the sun's rays, and I'm most likely not covering every part of my skin 100%. So, there's still room for the sun's rays to get through and cause their damage, as well as encourage some vit D synthesis. I take a multi vitamin too, for what that's worth.

mega dilemma especially for someone like me who av...

2008-07-08T21:10:00.000-04:00

mega dilemma especially for someone like me who avoids the sun like the plague and has already had three precancerous lesions.So I mx and match the sun screen to the amount of time I think I'll be outdoors and I try to drink vit. D fortified milk.

Hi Christine, I loved North West Ireland when I visted. In fact I love the entire country.

Terrie

Count me in with the "I wear sunscreen unless I fo...

2008-07-08T17:25:00.000-04:00

Count me in with the "I wear sunscreen unless I forget" group. It's a very scientific method, IMO. It's also the method I used to apply to vitamins. But when I read that vitamins coming from non-food sources are not easily absorbed (which is why all the labels are 500% of this and 652.123% of that), I just stopped taking them. I eat better now, and I spend the extra money on coffee. What? They say caffeine is good for you!

In Ireland's North West, we get less than an hour ...

2008-07-08T17:14:00.000-04:00

In Ireland's North West, we get less than an hour of sunshine a day for a few months in winter. (55 degrees north + clouds = I was one unhappy bunny)

I wear sunscreen on my face. Wrinkles and all that. But it very rarely gets warm enough that I wear short sleeves here - and putting sunscreen on just my hands just seems silly.

So I guess I hope I'm getting enough vitamin D via my hands?

...I'm going to go take my multivitamin now.

Daily intake of D vitamin from sun is supposed to ...

2008-07-08T16:33:00.000-04:00

Daily intake of D vitamin from sun is supposed to be fulfilled with calcium supplements, but there are also so many myths and facts on this.

My best friend is trying to get into medical schoo...

2008-07-08T16:14:00.000-04:00

My best friend is trying to get into medical school and he said he learned that living where we do in Canada, we don't get the amount of vitamin D that we need no matter how long we stay in the sun. All these bits of information coming every which way can be rather frustrating!

Well, I'm all for joining the Cancun - Vitamin D s...

2008-07-08T12:30:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm all for joining the Cancun - Vitamin D study! I wear sunscreen daily on my face year round. When I think I am going to be out in the sun for any length of time I wear sunblock everywhere that is exposed. The key being "when I think".

It's frustrating when it comes to any topic of nut...

2008-07-08T12:19:00.000-04:00

It's frustrating when it comes to any topic of nutrition...this or that? There is so much contradicting information out there it's hard what to believe.

Most of my genes are Scotch-Irish, so if I am out ...

2008-07-08T11:50:00.000-04:00

Most of my genes are Scotch-Irish, so if I am out in the sun for a long time (hiking, by the beach, working at summer camp etc), I will burn. So I am pretty careful. I sit under the umbrella at the beach.

However, I walk to work everyday, total 30 min roundtrip, and only wear sunscreen on my face. If I go out for a bike ride or long walk, I put on sunscreen.

I also don't take a multi-vitamin but I do eat fortified cereal and loads of fruits and veggies.

What does this all mean? I don't know! Probably being moderate and knowing your limits is good!

Oh science, you are crazy!

its ridiculous really. the doctors are contradicti...

2008-07-08T11:30:00.000-04:00

its ridiculous really. the doctors are contradicting themselves.

I honestly think that since you live farther up north you might want to consider supplements or *gasp* not wearing sunscreen everyday, or maybe when youre just outside for long periods of time.

I used to live in the portland, or, area and almost never got burnt. I now live in the kansas city area and cant spend more than an hour outside w/o getting burnt if im not wearing "the greasy stuff".

The Protein Power Lifeplan by Dr. Michael Eades ha...

2008-07-08T11:09:00.000-04:00

The Protein Power Lifeplan by Dr. Michael Eades has a wonderful chapter on Vitamin D and sun exposure... I highly recommend it! (And the whole book for that matter...)

Apparantly our body cannot regulate the absorption of Vitamin D that we take in supplement form, so by taking supplements your body will continue to store the vitamin even when it doesn't need it. Excess stores of Vitamin D in the liver can actually be toxic. Also, sun screen blocks UVB rays rather than the harmful UVA rays that cause skin cancer. So... ideally you would just want to limit sun exposure to what your skin can handle without burning, then cover up. If you're light-skinned and burn easily it doesn't take nearly as long to absorb Vitamin D so it all works out!

Honestly - I think just getting some sunlight is e...

2008-07-08T11:07:00.000-04:00

Honestly - I think just getting some sunlight is enough. Your body will not come down with skin cancer if you're out for 20 minutes or so in a day - we're not made to live in caves all the time. Moderation in all things I think.
I find walking about half an hour will do it - my walk or bike ride to and from work is usually enough for me. I'm a pasty lab rat, and don't like the sun. Too much vitamin D is not that pleasant...hot and sweaty and crampy (for me anyways). I don't like vitamins for that - a bit of sun will do you. Not enough - well you get moody and aren't as healthy. I just figure I do what I can and forget about it.

I wonder if you could just get one of those "mood" lights for people who get SAD and get the light that way?

As a Canadian - south central Ontario, actually - ...

2008-07-08T10:54:00.000-04:00

As a Canadian - south central Ontario, actually - I just have to point out that we get a lot of heat and sunshine in the summer months. Today is 27 celcius (about 84) but with the humidex, we are looking at more like 104.
In fact, there are parts of Ontario that are in the same climate and growing zone of that of the Nappa Valley! (Just had to clarify that - we don't have winter all the time, here!!)

I wear sunscreen, for the most part, but I will admit it - I like the way my skin looks with a good ole tan. Often times there are just too many 'reports' to know what is credible or not!

I don't use sunscreen nearly as often as I should....

2008-07-08T10:29:00.000-04:00

I don't use sunscreen nearly as often as I should. I'll apply it when I know I'll be out in the blazing southern sun for over an hour, but for everyday stuff, I blow it off. I have olive skin, but I can still burn. That being said, this is the first time in years that i have even a bit of real tan on my legs thanks to my running shorts, and I have to say I like it.

One time I definitely don't wear it that could be questionable is on my long runs. Yes, I'm outside for at least 90 minutes, but I'm sweating so profusely (think water fountain) and wiping my face & neck, I'm not sure there's a sunscreen that would survive. Anybody tried anything that works?

Being a bald-headed irishman, sunscreen and I have...

2008-07-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

Being a bald-headed irishman, sunscreen and I have a very intimate relationship. That being said.. I love being out in the sun, getting a tan. I sometimes don't know my limits, but I ALWAYS have sunscreen on!
As for vitamins.. I do take some supplements, for other benefits. I used to take a multivitamin, but like you after reading too much, I came to the conclusion that no one pill can fulfill everybody's body need for every vitamin. LOL

Agreed! It's so hard to keep up with it all...and ...

2008-07-08T09:54:00.000-04:00

Agreed! It's so hard to keep up with it all...and I'm allergic to most sunscreens, so basically I'm out of the sun all during midday.

I've read that some cultures get their vitamin D from fish, especially in the summer months when sunlight is scare. Maybe I'll just eat tons of fish.

I never used to take vitamins, because I'd look at...

2008-07-08T09:49:00.000-04:00

I never used to take vitamins, because I'd look at the label and it was 300% of this, 500% of that. Even if it's water soluble, I don't see the need to take more than 100%. But I did find one (and chewable and tasty no less) that I keep at work and have built into my routine to eat after my snack every day, along with my yummy omega-3 chew. I don't take it on weekends, so I hope that balances out if I do ever get too much of something. Whatever, I don't pay close attention.

I've got blond hair and my skin has two colors - white and red. Tan is not in the cards for me. So I live by sunscreen. This summer I haven't used to much, apart from a moisturizer with sunblock for my face every day. I think because this summer hasn't been too terribly sunny so far. I figure, I'm not usually out in the sun for more than 15 minutes at a time, so I'll just put on sunscreen if it's longer or if it's really hot and sunny (like today).

I'm a recovering slacker with this kind of thing - I've always paid attention to sunscreen, given my skin, but the whole making sure I have enough vitamins thing is new. The divergent studies pulling me in every direction definitely doesn't help. So I just do what I want and hope it's helping...

I have pretty much given up worrying about stuff l...

2008-07-08T09:31:00.000-04:00

I have pretty much given up worrying about stuff like this. I just try to act as much as possible like a human animal. I.e., do what I want and don't obsess about the flibberty-gibbet that is The Latest Nutrition News. I take a multivitamin when I remember to, but only one (you're supposed to take two of these a day) just because I kind of don't like the idea of having to take vitamins. My bone density tests have been fine.

I use a moisturizer on my face and hands that contains sunscreen, but really only because I'm vain and don't want wrinkles and sunspots. I'm hardly ever out in the sun except for short walks to the bus stop. Not a beach person.

But don't listen to me, I'm a fitness idiot. Why I even read this blog it's hard to say, except that it's friendly and funny. And I hope that by reading it someday I'll be inspired to get off my butt.

All of these conflicting studies and warnings just...

2008-07-08T09:23:00.001-04:00

All of these conflicting studies and warnings just prove one thing.. we read too much. I only slather on the screen if I know I'm going to be out and exposed to intense sun for a significant period of time. I only take supplements if I feel I've really been slacking in what foods I've consumed recently.

That having been said, I'm still willing to be a part of your Canadians and Vitamin D study. ;)