Vitamin D Deficiency

JUNE 2015 SUN EXPOSURE NEWSLETTER

Hi I am Dr. Eric Shreder of Full Circle Health in Mesa, AZ.

I would like to talk to you about Vitamin D and sun exposure. With all the public education that has occurred over the last few years regarding skin cancer prevention many of us have been slathering on the sunscreen, especially during the summer months. If that’s you good job!

Sunscreen protects against skin aging, skin cancer, and risk of melanoma. Melanoma is responsible 73% of skin cancer deaths, 1 in 34 American’s have a chance to get Melanoma in their lifetime.

The main way to prevent Melanoma is to reduce ultraviolet radiation exposure. Did you know:

• Even on a cloudy day 80% of UV rays pass through the clouds.

• Increasing your elevation increases your UV radiation exposure by 4% every 1,000 feet you go up.

Sometime there is no substitute for a good hat and sunglasses, but sunscreen has been shown to protect your skin from aging.

In a recent study from Australia a group that used sunscreen showed no detectible increase in skin aging. Aging in the sunscreen group was 24% less than the group that did not use sunscreen.

UVA rays penetrate deeply into the skin and are the primary culprit in skin aging and wrinkling.

I recommend a broad spectrum sunscreen that protects against UVA and UVB rays with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of at least 15.

Did you know that SPF 30 is not twice as effective as SPF15, as a matter of fact SPF15 blocks 94% and SPF30 blocks 97% of UV rays.

Although using sunscreen is important, it may be a cause of something I see in my patients every day – Vitamin D deficiency.

I hear Vitamin D is linked to overall health, but why bother?

Vitamin D is not like most vitamins –your body can make its own Vitamin D in your skin when exposed to sunlight and when activated it is actually considered a Hormone.

Most different kinds of cells in your body have Vitamin D receptors which control gene expression and cellular function.

Low Vitamin D levels have been associated with:

Depression
Osteoporosis
Heart disease
Arthritis and inflammation
colon-rectal cancer
Auto-immune disease like Lupus and MS
Chronic Pain
Low testosterone

So what do you do about Vitamin D?

Get a blood test – your insurance may or may not cover it but we can get this test done as part of a comprehensive panel for a reasonable out of pocket cost if not covered.

If your blood works shows you are low on your Vitamin D – take a quality supplement that has been independently tested for purity and quality.

Recent studies show not all supplements are created equal and while some over the counter Vitamin D supplements might be okay – you are better off with a prescription grade version like the one we sell here are Full Circle health

Dr. Eric Shreder