The letter D is the fourth letter of the alphabet. It’s also one of the most important things you want for your body so your bones don’t deteriorate and so you don’t look like one of those Twilight vampires.

What do I mean, you ask? Well, I’m talking about vitamins. Specifically, Vitamin D.

Did you know that this D-elightful vitamin increases calcium absorption and thereby helps encourage healthy bone growth? It has shown promise in helping to prevent certain cancers, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, and osteoarthritis.

The Institute of Medicine currently recommends an Adequate Intake (AI) of Vitamin D of 200 International Units (IU) for adults under age 50 (that means you!). As new studies continue to showcase vitamin D’s potential benefits, more scientists are calling for increased recommendations, some suggesting as much as 1,000 IU!

That number seems high at first, but considering that a fair-skinned person can manufacture 15,000 IU or more of vitamin D in as little as 30 minutes of sun exposure, it’s not that hard to get. In case you don’t like the outdoors, though (or it’s just too cold during winter), here are some easy ways to make sure you get enough D in your life: Read More »

We all know that many celebrities such as Posh and Nicole Ritchie could really stand to eat some more food due to their skeletor like figures.

Not only are their stick thin bodies unattractive, but a new study reported on in The New York Times shows that young women who are consuming too few calories could be putting their bones at risk. I know that seems like an issue you won’t need to deal with till later in life, but come on, who really wants to end up looking like this because of weak bones?

The study found that even girls who still had their periods regularly were still not consuming enough calories and endangering their bone health.

“The study, by Anne Loucks and Aiden Shearer of Ohio University, looked at the role of nutrient intake and bone formation in women ages 18 to 32. For five days, the researchers restricted the women’s caloric intake and had them exercise for more than an hour and a half each day…When the researchers drew volunteers’ blood at the end of the five days, they found decreased levels of two markers for bone formation.”

The results from the study are not a total surprise, and mainly reinforce the fact that extreme dieting or starving yourself really will affect you in the long run. Although you may get immediate gratification from the loss of a few pounds, it can affect you in so many ways later in life that just don’t seem to be worth it.

Go eat a sandwich!