BeanDiet

Thank you for all of you who have taken advantage of my book sale (www.fiber-girl.com). I sign all the books I send, and they will be on sale for a little longer. Also, for those of you in Sacramento, I will be speaking this month at the Natural Foods Co-op (Wednesday, May 19th at 6:30pm - free). I think the class might be close to full, but would love to see you there. If you are interesting in purchasing my book without paying shipping, the Co-op carries it as well.

Now, about that famed vitamin D.

If you haven't noticed, everyone in the world - or at least the U.S. - is deficient in vitamin D according to the new standards. Even yours truly. I am frequently asked about taking vitamin D supplements, since most people are advised to take them by their doctor.

As my blog readers know, I am not a fan of supplements unless there is a pronounced deficiency. I believe that the new vitamin D standards are set too high, which is why even those of us who spend plenty of time in the sun are coming up "deficient". So I found this study, published in the Nutrition Journal to be interesting.

To read the abstract directly, click here.

Over the course of a year, 312 Norwegian adults were given either a high dose of vitamin D supplement (either 40.000 IU per week or 20.000 IU per week), or a placebo (dummy pill). After a year, blood levels of vitamin D were higher in the groups given vitamin D supplements, but bone mineral density and several other biomarkers of bone/vitamin D status were the same for all groups. In other words, there was no significant increase in bone density for those taking high levels of vitamin D verses those who did not.

I will continue to research studies on vitamin D so we can make an informed decision regarding whether to take a supplement or not. Either way, please make sure to get outside and soak in the sunlight, which is essential for our mental and physical health.