Sunshine Provides Much Needed Vitamin D: Helps to Prevent Strokes

Native News Network Staff in Native Health Discussion »

WASHINGTON – Sunshine makes us happy and now there is more evidence to support its health benefits.

Our bodies forms Vitamin D naturally after exposure to sunlight

A study indicates that the more vitamin D you have, the less likely you'll be to have a stroke. Data from 21,000 people, ages 45 and older, who took a food frequency questionnaire, examined vitamin D and stroke risk.

The majority of us get some of our vitamin D from the sun.

"We found an 11 percent reduction in stroke in those people who had the highest intake of vitamin D,"

said Suzanne Judd of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

"Ten minutes a day, arms and legs exposed in the spring and fall and summer should be fine."

Your body forms Vitamin D naturally after exposure to sunlight.

Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium, which your bones need to grow. A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone diseases such as osteoporosis or rickets. Vitamin D also has a role in your nerve, muscle, and immune systems.

You can get vitamin D in three ways: through your skin, from your diet, and from supplements. However, too much sun exposure can lead to skin aging and skin cancer. So many people try to get their vitamin D from other sources.

Vitamin D-rich foods include egg yolks, saltwater fish, and liver. Some other foods, like milk and cereal, often have added vitamin D. Fatty fish like salmon and tuna are also a good source of vitamin D.

The study presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

posted March 13, 2012 6:00 am edt