An Old, Unknown Empidemic

Your family probably has a very serious health problem that you've never heard of. The latest flu? No, this has probably been an epidemic since people started working in factories and office buildings, but has gone unnoticed and unheralded until very recently. So I'm writing this little note to add a little heralding.

From WebMD: "Seven out of 10 U.S. children have too-low vitamin D levels, putting them at risk of heart disease, rickets, and weak bones... Vitamin D deficiency is a serious health threat..."

70%! Every family is probably affected. Your family is probably affected!

While the linked article is about children (of all ages), do a little more research and you'll find that vitamin D inadequacy and deficiency is also prevalent among adults.

Doctors have been increasingly aware of the seriousness of vitamin D inadequacy and deficiency, not only for physical health, but also for mental heath. And they've been increasingly aware that they have not been adequately monitoring the problem, which prompted the study at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine behind the article linked above. "We expected the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency would be high, but the magnitude of the problem nationwide was shocking."

So, read the linked article, read other articles, then get everyone in your family tested to find out what your vitamin D levels are, and if they're low, start getting more. If you take vitamin D supplements, make sure they're vitamin D3. Get it locally to start with, and while you're taking those, you can save money by ordering online. This is where I get my vitamins, and no, that's not an affiliate link so I'll get a little commission if you buy something there. It's just a link directly to a reliable source of inexpensive vitamin D3, from a large vitamin manufacturer.

By the way, my doctor found my vitamin D inadequacy a few years ago, and I started taking supplements, and it makes a big difference to my energy levels and helps me keep a positive attitude toward life. I'm sure, because I have a compartmentalized pill box with a box for each day of the week. That let's me see when I've forgotten to take my vitamin D, B-complex, fish oil, thyroid pill, and blood pressure med. When I forget them for a day, I can see a real difference. When I forget them for 2 days in a row, I see a much bigger difference. And a few times I've run out of D when I had the other things, so I learned what it was like to take everything except D, and wow, does D make a big difference!

Remember, 70% of U.S. kids have inadequate vitamin D, and 10% have full-on vitamin D deficiency, and it causes a wide variety of mild to very serious health problems. And since it's easy to test for, and cheap to take supplements, don't ignore it!!