Vitamin D - The research on Vitamin D has been pouring in and if you haven’t had your Vitamin D level checked yet, you need to.  Research has shown that people with low vitamin D levels are at higher risk for Osteoporosis, depression, proximal muscle weakness (i.e. difficulty getting out of a chair), auto immune disorders like Multiple Sclerosis.  Also patients with Vitamin D deficiency have increased mortality with breast cancer.  An adequate level is 50 - 70 ng/dl(the lab range is lower - so we really need to pay attention to your actual value).  

Risk factors for Vitamin D deficiency include: aging, reduced sun exposure, dark skin, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, fat malabsorption syndromes, and exclusively breast-fed infants. When we use sunscreen we block our absorption too.  My recommendation is to sunscreen the face and decolltage but get at least 20 minutes exposure per day everywhere else!  For dark skin, you need at least 40 minutes.  We can also supplement your diet with Vitamin D3, because we do realize skin cancer is a risk too.  Read more  Vitamin D info at   http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminD and more on my website at www.CabecaHealth.com