Wednesday, January 23, 2008 EMBRACE THE SEASON! Combat S.A.D. Ahhh... Its that time of year, birds are singing, flowers are blooming... oh, wait, No. NO ITS NOT! Its cold and wet and snowy and icy and cloudy all the time! For many years, I suffered chronically from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD for short. Yeah, SAD alright... talk about the definition of my mood and attitude. I once heard one of my kids ask, "Mommy, why can't Daddy just go to sleep for the winter like the bears do?". Boy, out of the mouth of babes! After trying a number of ways to combat the syndrome (I don't take any prescription or OTC drugs), I realized I had a very good friend that always seemed happier in the winter than he did in the summer, so I asked him what his secret was. He said, quite simply, "Hey, just embrace the season for all its worth!" Basically, most of us put up our outside gear and toys shortly after Labor Day, right? Well, afterwards, get out a whole different Tree Line Mt. Shasta set of toys and, you got it, EMBRACE THE SEASON! So, I took up a number of winter-time activities that are associated with the season. Since then, I can't wait until Autumn's brisk days give way to Winter's frigid mornings! You don't have to "go big". Just a moderate walk or a short bike ride on a routine basis, or a little snowshoeing, skiing or ice-skating can do the trick! Of course, taking Vitamin D3 sure helps, too! A study conducted at the Washington School Of Medicine in St. Louis showed that depressed patients were 11 times more likely to have low levels of Vitamin D! I take around 6000 IU daily in the winter, slightly less as the daylight hours become longer and I can be truly "in the sun" more often. Some health care providers will recommend 10,000 IU daily for moderate to severe SAD and clinical studies have been done at this level. The U.S.- RDA (U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance) for Vitamin D is 400 IU. Since I take Vitamin D, I use it in the form of D3 (cholecalciferol)... they say it is the form of Vitamin D that most closely resembles "the real thing" that we get from sunlight. By the way, if you think you get an abundance of Vitamin D from your diet, egg yokes and fish are the only foods that have any significant quantity. Yeah, that surprised me too… "the real thing" that we get from sunlight. Not only does Vitamin D help to combat S.A.D, many studies show that it is also important in helping the body to absorb and use CALCIUM from food and supplements. D-3 aids in bone and tooth formation and supports muscle and nerve function and it helps to prevent osteoporosis. Oh, if you're taking a calcium supplement, seriously consider taking one with Vitamin D as part of it's complex... or take Vitamin D3 with your calcium supplement. Remember that calcium can also deplete magnesium and magnesium deficiency can also contribute to S.A.D. Symptoms. Aside from this, magnesium is crucial to many key biological functions within the body. Many health care specialists recommend that a calcium supplement should include at least 1/2 the amount of magnesium as it does calcium. In other words, if you are taking 1000 milligrams (MG) of calcium, you should be getting at least 500 milligrams (MG) of magnesium. There are also several types of calcium and some are more readily absorbed and utilized by the body than others. If the price you're paying for your calcium supplements seems "too good to be true", it probably is! Cheap calcium supplements of low-grade are in abundance. Check out the type you are using with someone knowledgeable about such things. One more thing bears mentioning... the form a supplement is taken in: tablet, capsule, powder or liquid, but this is a whole new subject. Look for more on this later! Ken |
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