D is for Data.....and the Sun

I love data!!! And I love the sun and firmly believe I am solar powered..So when I came across this sun altitude/azimuth table last year I was hooked! And you should be too because knowledge is power..and you can safely use the power of the sun to heal. D is for Vitamin D which is not a vitamin at all really but a pre hormone and the best place to get it..yep from the sun. The problem is #1 if you live in Northeastern Pa like I do there has been very little in the way of sun this entire winter and we all welcomed its return today...but more importantly is #2 the angle of the sun needs to be strong enough to create Vitamin D in our body when our skin is exposed to sunlight. Here is where a little data helps. With the use of this table you can plug in any date and any place and find out when the sun angle will support the body to create Vitamin D. What is amazing to me is that from around Sept 20 through March 20th the sun angle (here where I live) is NOT strong enough for my body to make its own Vitamin D...That is 6 months out of the year!!! And Vitamin D deficiency is a growing problem in many parts of the country...You can read about the symptoms of low Vitamin D levels anywhere and there are many..I work part time in a health food store and almost weekly people come in saying they were just diagnosed with a low level. I personally made it my mission this past winter to keep my Vitamin D level in a therapeutic range. I used a combination of food, supplementation with D3 (2-6,000IU) daily and the use of a Dr. Mercola Vitamin D bed (the 2nd best way after the sun). Qi Spa in Catasaqua has one and after doing my research I happily used it about every 10-14 days during the winter months.   I just had my blood Vitamin D level checked last week and it was 51..a level of 50 or above in considered protective. I worry not in the summer months because I get enough sun exposure..This is just my journey and I just want to share information and not give advice here..So here is how the table works..click on the link..plug in your city and state(it will automatically have today's date but you can change that too) and hit compute table...you will see 3 columns of numbers..the first is the time (military time) the 2nd column is the one you want to look at and the magic number (per Dr. Mercola) is 50 or above..so whatever time corresponds with the number 50 or above for that given day you can synthesize Vit D from the sun on exposed skin. So for example today from 1040am-130pm the sun angle was strong enough....what you need to know:sunlight on exposed skin converts circulating cholesterol into Vitamin D and is self regulating which means you cannot make too much.. What you need to do: expose your skin to sunlight during this optimal time 15-20min/day.. no sunscreen during this time because it will block the conversion.  http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/AltAz.php  Here is the link..check it out!!
be well...