You need sunlight for your body to make Vitamin D.
To keep the fat off, you need vitamin D, according to research from the Medical College of Georgia. The latest study, which focused on teenagers, found that teens who consumed the most vitamin D had less body fat, and kept fat off the waistline.
“…our largest source of vitamin D should be the sun,” says Inger Stallman-Jorgensen, a research dietician at the Georgia Prevention Institute. “But we don't spend enough time outdoors to get enough sun exposure and when we do, we're often covered up and wearing sunscreen.”
“We can get vitamin D from certain foods, like fatty fish and liver,” she adds, “but it's not in a lot of foods that we commonly consume. In this country, our milk is fortified with vitamin D...”
Meanwhile, a study last year by scientists from McGill University Health Center (MUHC) and the University of Southern California, found that teenage girls who don’t get enough vitamin D have stunted growth and gain too much weight. And they found that plenty of teens lacked vitamin D even in sunny southern California.
So put away the sunscreen and go outside!
Sources: The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 94, No. 1 67-73; and American Heart Association's Joint 49th Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention and Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism.
Comments
interesting article -- need more like this
This is a very interesting study and not surprising that most teenagers are deficient. However, you can't get any vitamin D from the sun in Seattle in the winter. In order to make vitamin D the UV index has to be 3 or higher. Even if the sun is shining - which we all know is very rare here in the winter months - it's still not strong enough. You can check the UV index for your area on weather.com. Plus, is it really a good idea not to wear sunscreen? Dermatologists definitely do not recommend that, especially on the face. A great way to get enough vitamin D every day for everyone including teenagers is by taking a liquid vitamin D supplement. See www.wellesse.com. It tastes great, has 1000 IU of Vitamin D3, the preferable form of vitamin D and it's really easy to swallow. My two teenagers love it! They hate swallowing pills and they don't go outside much or drink 10 glasses of milk each day - that's how much you would have to drink to get 1000 IU of vitamin D. You can find it at Walgreens and online at Drugstore.com and Vitacost.com.
Amazingly, moderate tanners have known this for years! Tanning in a safe non-burning fashion at a reputable Tanning Salon can give you as much as 10,000 iu of Vitamin D. Check out how the Tanning Industry is stepping up to get out the facts! www.tanningtruth.com www.vitaminDcouncil.org www.smarttan.com
Great article. The sun sustains all life on this planet practically. God put it there for a reason or yu can opt for the man-made chemicals they want you to slather on your bodies with chemical names you cannot pronounce. I would rather get a healthy dose of Sun than flourocarbomincolaticstine Glycohoniate Lisenticatic Acid?
Fantastic article. We want more! Thanks fr pointing out what the majority of us knew..livig in a dark cave is not meant to be for our bodies. Safe intake of sunning is something our bodies needs for health reasons. It costs nothing to get a few minutes of sunshine and in the winter I get some indoors. It keeps me healthy and happy and I am happy to report I am DRUG/Pharmacuetical FREE.
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