Estate Living Magazine Alfresco Living - Issue 36 December 2018 | Page 46

Good morning ,
sunshine
Feeling tired and run-down, suffering from inexplicable aches and pains or unable to shake
off a simple (hardly) man-flu virus? Could be you’re deficient in Vitamin D.
It’s common knowledge that Vitamin D is manufactured by
your skin from sunlight, so it’s the one vitamin we don’t have to
worry about – at least in sunny SA. Or so we thought. But recent
studies show that – surprisingly – a significant number of South
Africans are vitamin D deficient. There is no one overarching
consolidated study, and those that have been done are spread
across a wide geographic and demographic range, making
definitive conclusions difficult. But the data indicates that there is
a problem – not surprisingly more so with black people, but even
blue-eyed blondes whose ancestors evolved in the snowy north
are unable to produce sufficient vitamin D. This is largely due to
lifestyle issues – we spend so much time indoors – and also the
fact that, when we do venture outside, we slather ourselves with
Factor 50.
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estate-living.co.za
The source of all life on earth
Almost every civilisation on earth has – in one way or another –
worshipped the sun, but we have ceased to do so. We turn our
faces from its presence, and shun its warm caress. But the sun is
the source of virtually all energy – and the sustainer of all life – on
earth, and we cannot live without it. So, while most of us do need
to earn a living indoors, we really should make time to be out in
the open, to feel the sun gently warming our shoulders, and give
it the opportunity to create the life-giving vitamins we need.
Of course, there really are good reasons we no longer lay
ourselves down almost naked on beach loungers like so many
lamb chops on the braai. There are real risks associated with
excessive sun exposure, with skin cancer being the most