Does it seem like winter will never get here? The cold part of winter seems to be pretty shy about arriving on time that is for sure. The daylight hours are still short but increasing by two minutes or so a day. We are well into Wintering Well.
So what else can I do to “Winter Well”, I’m sure you are asking yourselves. “This stuff is easy” you are saying, and yes, you are right, small changes over time make a huge impact. So soldier on!
Let’s get rolling…
The sun is your friend. Vitamin D is your friend and let’s face it, who doesn’t need a couple of new BFF’s. New year, new friends.
Why are the sun and vitamin D your new friends? Thank you for asking.
Let’s start with the sun. The sun just feels good, doesn’t it? It feels good on your exposed skin. The sun has a twofold affect on us:
1) It activates your better brain chemistry when the retina of the eye is stimulated by full spectrum light. Take off the Ray Ban’s (or Vuarnet’s if you are still living in the 80’s). All those colors that make up the rainbow have an affect on your brain when they touch your retina. Who doesn’t want or need a rainbow dancing in their head on a daily basis? (Sugar Plum fairies and Unicorns can’t be far behind.)
2) The production of vitamin D occurs or is stimulated by the sun. Vitamin D is crucial and has so many functions that this little blog is not the time or the place for espousing its wonders. Suffice it to say we store vitamin D from exposure to the sun in the summer and by this time of year we are running low. This has multiple effects on us such as depression, lethargy, changes of blood pressure (usually up), weight gain, and increased cardiac risks. Cancers have also been linked to a lack of this element.
And the best way to get it? Yep, the sun. So get outside and expose your skin, everyday that the sun is shining.
Ah but alas, most of us reading this live far from the equator (Nampa, Idaho is 43.5747 degrees North) and our ability to absorb UVB is curtailed by this fact alone. Even if you spend several hours this time of year exposed to the sun, you might still be deficient. It depends on your skin color, pigmentation and ability to store vitamin D.
So let me recommend a Vitamin D supplement. The best one we have found is Primal Sun and can be purchased here: Primal Sun Vitamin D Supplement
Let me end with a quote from the Australian scientist, Robyn Lucas, in the International Journal of Epidemiology:
“Far more lives are lost to diseases caused by a lack of sunlight than to those caused by too much.”
So expose yourself! Every day that it is available and don’t look back.
Winter Well,
ks