Winter is dark. You go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. On December 21, the shortest day of the year, people in Miami can expect about 10 ½ hours daytime while people in Seattle will only have about 8 ½ hours.

Short days mean more than just coping with dark commutes. Without enough sunlight, your body can’t produce Vitamin D.

Your body needs sunlight to produce Vitamin D. Vitamin D is important for absorption of calcium and regulating the immune system. It keeps your brain healthy, helps you maintain your weight and helps reduce your risk of cancer and heart attacks.

Low levels of Vitamin D are linked with many health risks. Vitamin D deficiency can cause Rickets, a condition of soft, weak bones, but it also plays a role in heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Studies have even linked it with an increased likelihood of catching a cold.

Scientists disagree about the extent of the problem. Different studies estimate from 10 – 75% of US teens and adults to have a Vitamin D deficiency. But everyone agrees that Vitamin D levels are dropping.

Certain groups have a higher incidence of Vitamin D deficiency. Blacks and Hispanics have the lowest levels of Vitamin D. People with no college education, obesity, poor health, hypertension, low HDL cholesterol or who don’t consume milk daily also show deficiencies.

But everyone should be concerned. Because more and more people use sunscreens, stay indoors, or wear long sleeves, scientists and doctors worry that Vitamin D deficiency will continue to grow.

How to Increase your Vitamin D

Sunlight is the best way to increase your Vitamin D however it’s a tricky balance. Using just a SPF 15 sunscreen cuts the skin’s Vitamin D production by 99 percent. But of course, soaking in the sun without sunscreen may increase your risk of skin cancer.

There are several dietary sources for Vitamin D. Fatty fishes like salmon, tuna, and mackerel contain healthy amounts. Some fortified foods like milk, orange juice or cereal contain high Vitamin D levels. Cod liver oil is also high.

Supplements are another option. Vitamin D3 is the best supplement form to take for those who have deficiencies. Vitamin D requires other fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A and K and certain trace minerals in order to be properly utilized by the body. Use a holistic view when you choose your supplement. Consult with your acupuncturist if you are unsure which is best for you.

Curried Cashews

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons curry powder
• 4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 6 cups unsalted cashews

Preparation

1. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 250°F.
2. Whisk lemon juice, curry powder and salt in a large bowl. Add cashews; toss to coat. Divide between 2 large rimmed baking sheets; spread in an even layer.
3. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until dry, about 45 minutes. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Tips & Notes

Make Ahead Tip: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks. This recipe works great for a holiday gift. Make several batches, put them in pretty containers, and you have a delicious treat for your loved ones.

For more healthy spiced nut recipes, visit:
www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/healthy_spiced_nuts_recipes

Nutrition

Per 2-tablespoon serving: 101 calories; 8 g fat ( 2 g sat , 5 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 6 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 3 g protein; 1 g fiber; 96 mg sodium;
111 mg potassium.

From: www.eatingwell.com/recipes/curried_cashews.html

Wash Up 

Your Grandmother was right—wash your hands! Wash them before meals, after meals, and periodically through the day. It’s not just old-fashioned hygiene; it’s good medical sense.

Washing your hands is one of the best ways to prevent a cold. Doctors tell us that adults average 2 – 4 colds/year and children average 6 – 8 colds/year. Washing your hands reduces the bacteria and viruses on your hands, decreasing your exposure to the germs that cause colds. Even the FDA recommends that the best defense against colds is plain old hand washing.

When you wash your hands, lather up and wash your entire hand—front and back. Lather for a full 20 seconds, a very long time if you’re not used to it. Try singing the Happy Birthday song twice to estimate the time.

Research shows that there is no increased benefit from using anti-bacterial soap. Use common hand soap but be sure to scrub the whole time. Most of the benefit of hand washing is simply rinsing the germs off your hands.

If you can’t wash your hands with soap and water, then hand sanitizer is the next best thing. Not all hand sanitizers are equal. Look for alcohol based sanitizers and avoid anything with triclosan. For added natural benefits, look for hand sanitizers with essential oils.

Tomatoes have so many uses. Made into soups, sandwiches, stews, and sauces, the tomato is more than just a fruit, it can be an essential ingredient to good health. Tomatoes are very rich in antioxidants, beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, flavonoids and carotenoids, especially lycopene. Lycopene is a substance which is naturally found in tomatoes. Not only does it give the tomato its bright red coloring, but it also protects the fruit from the effects of the sun’s harmful UV rays.

Considering how it protects the tomato, scientists conducted research which proved their theory that it can also protect the human body. Lycopene is concentrated in the prostate gland, and is used as a preventative against prostate cancer. It has also been shown to protect the body against mouth, lung, stomach, pancreas, bladder, colon, and rectal cancers.

Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant, in fact is it 100% more effective than the well-known free radical scavenger, Vitamin E. It is also 56% more powerful than beta-carotene, one of the ingredients which make carrots healthy. Antioxidants are known for their power to neutralize oxygen free radical molecules, which are the highly reactive and toxic by-products of biochemical reactions which occur during cell metabolism.

Exposure to smoking, pollutions, and other damaging influences of the environment can further aggravate this condition. We will have to contend with these free radicals for as long as we live. The impact that they have can be greatly reduced by antioxidants, which help minimize the damage that that is done when the number of free radicals in the body overwhelm its capacity to deal with them.

The bio-availability of this beneficial, fat-soluble carotenoid can be greatly improved when the tomato is cooked into a sauce. The levels of lycopene in both the blood cells and immune cells are raised when tomatoes are cooked. With that in mind, it is reasonable to say that even eating small amounts of the cooked tomato can help to protect the immune system. Oriental nutrition suggests that the tomato can do even more. The fruit is said to moisten the body by building the Yin fluids, which will relieve skin dryness and thirst. Tomatoes also strengthen the stomach, cleanse the liver, purify the blood, and remove toxins in the body according to this ancient nutritional knowledge.

Sources:

1. Page, N.D., L., Healthy Healing – a guide to self healing for everyone. Traditional Wisdom, Inc. 2002.
2. Porrini, M., Effects of Processing on Bioavailability of the functional components in tomatoes.
3. Kucuk, O., Evidence for reducing the risk of prostate cancer – a clinical trial. 90th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. 1999.
4. Pitchford, P., Healing with Whole Foods – Oriental Traditions and Modern Nutrition. North Atlantic Books, 1993.