Viamin D

As we get older our wants and needs change…and for those of you who are prejudging what I’m thinking I’m not talking about sex or food. Instead I’m talking about a simple vitamin D deficiency that can seriously impact our lives.
A researcher tested more that 1,500 residents in German nursing homes and found that 89 percent of them had insufficient levels of Vitamin D and about 64 percent had severe deficiencies of vitamin D. There is also anecdotal information here in the U.S. that indicates that hip fractures after falls are significantly greater during the winter months than during sunny summer months.
When you think about it the shorter daylight period and the fact that it’s colder encourages people to stay indoors, especially the elderly. I know that I’m more aware of slipping on the ice and I’m very aware that at my age the bones tend to get a little brittle. But I’m also aware that I can consume a vitamin D supplement in order to minimize my risk of orthopedic injury if I take a fall.
 The interesting part of this blog that I’m now writing is that at an American Stroke Association International Conference a study of more that 16,000 patients was presented that indicates those who lived in areas with shorter exposure to sunlight have a 56 percent increased risk of having a Cerebral Vascular Accident.
The two studies are not mutually supportive and both fail to account for social, cultural and dietary differences but to my curious mind both have a similar conclusion that as we age the absorption of vitamin D, either by pill or by sunlight can only be beneficial.