Okay, vitamin D has been so much in the news lately. And for good reason! However, we’re not just seeing a deficiency in vitamin D but also deficiencies in B vitamins as well, minerals (like magnesium and potassium), essential fatty acids and antioxidants like glutathione. What could be the reason behind these deficiencies? Besides our depleted soils, the refining of our food causes these problems. And then, there’s a small but significant fraction of the population who have malabsorption issues. As far as vitamin D is concerned, it’s our lack of exposure to the sun’s rays that’s causing this deficiency. We normally don’t see it in people living in the tropics but as the use of sun block (that are petroleum-based) gets marketed heavily (and people there use skin whitening agents!), we will see more deficiency states in those areas. Vitamin D, besides being good for your teeth and bones is an immune modulator. Research shows that is can actually protect against certain forms of cancer! To see if you have optimal levels, have your levels checked (OH-vitamin D) pronto!
Vitamin D
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That’s a tongue twister! What is resveratrol anyway? Well, let’s just say that if there’s any one supplement I would recommend, this is it! Intake of this nutrient mimics the effects on healthy aging seen in caloric restriction studies. That’s the benefits of longevity “without having to starve yourself to death”. Resveratrol, for those of you who are not familiar with it, is a very powerful antioxidant. It’s produced by some plants to protect themselves against the elements (strong rays of the sun and fungal infections). It is abundant in red wine (since it’s primarily found in grape skins) and is primarily the reason behind the French paradox. I would recommend taking it in a pill form if possible. For those wine lovers, red wine is what I would recommend, always in moderation of course. I myself can’t do it. I react weirdly to wine or any form of alcohol.
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- What is Resveratrol? (fitnesstipsforlife.com)
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Funny title, huh? Sleep is something we often take for granted until we lose it. A few times in the past (esp. during internship and residency), I’ve had poor quality sleep and boy, it really affected me. I was useless the following day and oftentimes, I became bitchy towards others. Yep, blame it on lack of sleep! Anyway, sleep’s main goal is to help us regenerate. That’s a time when anabolic and healing hormones are secreted by our endocrine glands. These hormones include melatonin, prolactin and growth hormone. If you wanna age better than your counterparts, get some sleep or else……
Related Articles
- The Sleep Diet? (psychologytoday.com)
- Can melatonin help you sleep better? (holykaw.alltop.com)
- Snooze Yourself Slim: The Sleep-Diet Connection (lifescript.com)
Hot Tips, News and Trends for Healthy Aging By Dr. Joel Lopez, M.D. 