How to Avoid Vitamin D Deficiency



Get Outside and Walk
Photo by Public-Domain-Photos.com

Although Vitamin D is one of the easiest vitamins to obtain, it is shocking that many people are deficient in it.  As a result, we are seeing a return of diseases that should be easy to avoid.  As we age, Vitamin D deficiency can contribute to a number of serious health issues.

Approximately half the people in the world are experiencing a Vitamin D deficiency, according to the VitaminCouncil.org, in an article dated 9/21/11.  With so much known about the importance of Vitamin D in maintaining good health, how can this be?

Vitamin D from Sunshine

Vitamin D is known as the Sunshine Vitamin because our bodies are able to make this vitamin when our skin is exposed to a few minutes of bright sunlight every day.  However, as we get older, it is not uncommon for people to spend more time indoors and avoid the hot mid-day sun.  When we do need to be outside, we often take great care to cover all our exposed skin with a thick layer of sunscreen.  After all, dermatologists and other physicians have been telling us for years that we need to keep our skin out of the sun in order to avoid skin cancer.  As a result, our skin is rarely, if ever, exposed to the bright sunlight that we need in order to make our own Vitamin D.

How much sunshine is necessary?  I have read that our bodies can create an adequate amount of Vitamin D if we expose at least our faces and forearms to the mid-day sun for about 20 minutes every other day. This is considered a healthy amount of sunlight by many medical personnel.  However, this is only true if you live in a mild climate, preferably in the southern half of the United States.  If you live in the north, the winter sun is not bright enough to produce the Vitamin D you need.  In addition, it may be too cold in some areas to expose our skin to the outdoor air for 20 minutes.

Illnesses Caused by Vitamin D Deficiency

What are some of the illnesses that can develop if we do not get enough Vitamin D?  We are hearing about more and more new diseases every day that may be related to Vitamin D deficiency.  Here are a few that are either caused directly by a deficiency, or are suspected to have a relationship to a deficiency, as reported in Wikipedia and WebMD: 

Rickets -- characterized by a softening and weakening of the bones and dental deformities.
Osteomalacia -- bone-thinning and muscle weakness
Osteoporosis -- reduced bone density; this is a very common disease as we age
Fasciculations -- muscle twitching
Colon Cancer -- taking 1000 IU daily reduces this cancer by 50%
Breast and Ovarian Cancer -- taking 1000 IU daily reduces these cancers by 30%
Pancreatic Cancer -- taking 400 IU daily reduces this cancer by 43%

In addition, I saw a recent article that linked low Vitamin D levels to Fibromyalgia.

How to Avoid a Vitamin D Deficiency

What should you do?  Ideally, for optimal health, we should all take the time to get some sun on our skin as often as possible ... as long as we do not exceed 20 minutes in a day.  After that, we can slather on the sunscreen.  In addition, to be certain that you are getting enough Vitamin D, you may want to supplement your diet with at least 400 IU of the vitamin every day.  It would be sad to reach this stage of our lives, and let ourselves become ill because we were being so careful to keep our skin out of the sun, wouldn't it?

If you are interested in reading more articles that could be of use to Baby Boomers and retirees, click on the tabs or pull down menu at the top of the page to find links to hundreds of additional articles on health, where to retire, medical issues, financial planning and more.

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Gift Giving Ideas on a Fixed Income

Fashion Island Mall in Newport Beach
(photo by public-domain-photos.com)

It is not too soon to start thinking about your holiday shopping ... especially if you are on a fixed income.  As the holidays approach, one concern that many retirees have is how they are going to handle holiday gift shopping.  This is one of those extra expenses that is often left off the retirement budget you originally planned.  Before you retire, you need to decide how you are going to pay for all those little extras that can add up to a lot of money.

In our family, we have four grown daughters, three son-in-laws, and seven grandchildren, and we like to purchase gifts for all of them. We have also always bought gifts for my parents, who are still alive, as well as my sister and her family, and assorted other friends and relatives. However, we do not earn nearly as much money as we used to.  There was a time when I could go to the Fashion Island Mall in Newport Beach (pictured here), and purchase a nice gift for everyone on my list.  Today, however, that is not as realistic.  The older we get, the more difficult that is likely to become.

I recently read a darling article about purchasing small or fun items and tucking gift cards into them.  Among the suggestions the author made were putting gift cards in underwear, and coffee mugs!  I don't think I'll buy underwear for anyone on my list, but I do like the idea of buying small gifts and inserting a gift card into each one.  For example, all our daughters and granddaughters have pierced ears and they all like silver earrings.  I'm watching for a good sale on silver earrings.  If I can purchase earrings for all the girls on my list, it will greatly simplify my holiday shopping.  I'm still exploring what small gift I can get for the guys.  Funny coffee mugs might be an excellent idea.

For the three youngest grandchildren, I will continue to purchase them toys, and perhaps give them a little cash to go along with their gifts.  My parents have asked that we no longer send them gifts because they already have everything they need.  However, I know they love chocolate, so I'll certainly send them a nice box of candy.  My sister and I have agreed to stop exchanging gifts this year, which is a relief to both of us.

Giving homemade cookies or nut breads is something simple I can do for many of my friends.  I may make my life even easier by picking up some cute, decorated cookies at the store and giving them to friends.

The bottom line is that now is the time in our lives when we need to start saving money on holiday shopping.  The expense has become so large, that I can no longer handle all the purchases we made in the past.  It is almost a relief to begin to cut back on the big holidays we used to have!


If you have some ideas on how you are going to save money on holiday gifts this year, feel free to pass on your suggestions in the comments section.  Who knows how many other people you could help with your ideas!

For more ideas on saving money, retirement planning, where to retire, health issues and more, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of the page for links to hundreds of additional articles.

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Use It or Lose It - Your Brain in Retirement

As you prepare to retire, have you given much thought to how you will spend your time?  Many people look forward to the day they can finally retire, kick back and relax.  However, there is a lot of medical evidence indicating that spending too much time resting our bodies and our minds is not a healthy approach.  Relaxation might be great for a one week vacation, but it is not the ideal way to plan to spend the next twenty years of your life.

According to Dr. Mehmet Oz, in an article he wrote for the May/June, 2011 edition of the AARP Magazine, there are risks in retirement, especially for your brain.  In essence, we must use it or lose it.  It is extremely important that we continue to keep our brains stimulated and it helps to learn something new ... to play an instrument, speak a new language, or learn a challenging new game.

We have always known that this is true when we have talked about our body and our muscles.  If we don’t get up and take frequent walks, we will eventually discover that it becomes harder and harder to maintain our health and stay in good physical shape.  The same principle applies to the brain.

Earlier this year, the RAND Center for the Study of Aging published a study that was done in conjunction with the University of Michigan.  They tested cognitive performance in people from a variety of countries and discovered that cognitive performance was lower in countries that had earlier retirement ages.  In other words, when people stop working and spend too much time in undemanding activities, their mental ability begins to atrophy!

Think about what that means when people strive to give up their careers as soon as possible.  Suddenly, they no longer spend their work days around other people.  They no longer have to read challenging material, or learn new skills.  They are less likely to be engaged with complicated problems that they have to solve.  Their brain begins to lose its edge.

What can you do to prevent this decline?  Many medical researchers suggest that retirement is the perfect time to start a second career, or learn a new language.  Have you always wanted to play a musical instrument?  Retirement may be opportunity you've been waiting for.  You could even get together with your friends and start a garage band.  Why not?  This is the time of your life when you have the time and opportunity to learn anything new that interests you!  Just remember how important it is to keep challenging yourself.

This might also be a fun time to go back to college and advance your education.  Many community colleges offer inexpensive or free classes to senior citizens.  Ask about the Emeritus Program at a college near you.  

You could take up writing, become a yoga teacher, or design jewelry and sell it at craft fairs.  Whatever you do, you should make certain that you are exercising both your mind and your body frequently.  Find activities that are mentally challenging and that force you to interact regularly with other people.  Both the mental stimulation and the social interaction will have a positive effect on the quality of your retirement years.

If you are interested in learning new things that will improve your life after retirement, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of this page for links to hundreds of additional articles on financial planning, health concerns, where to retire and more!

Photo credit: Morguefile.com

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Women and Social Security

No matter what your age, women need to understand how Social Security works.  For most women, Social Security will play a major role in how much money they will have available once they reach their 60's.  Since you will have some important decisions to make when you begin to collect Social Security, it is very important that you have all the necessary information, so that you make the best possible decisions and maximize your income.  Below are some of the basic facts that you need to know. 

For more personal details about your specific situation, you may want to visit your nearest Social Security office, or read more online at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/.

Facts about Social Security for Women

The first thing you should know is that you can collect your Social Security benefits any time between the ages of 62 and 70 (or even at a younger age, if you are a widow.)  However, the younger you are when you begin to collect, the less money you will receive for the rest of your life.  As a result, many women are smart to postpone collecting their Social Security benefits until they are at least 66.  However, the decision is completely up to you.  If you are ill, cannot work, or desperate for money, you may feel that your situation forces you to collect your benefits sooner.

If you did not earn very much income during your lifetime, you can still collect some Social Security benefits based on your husband's earnings.  This is true even if you are divorced, as long as the two of you were married at least 10 years and you have not remarried.  At your full retirement age (around the age of 66 or 67), you can receive 50% of what your husband receives at his full retirement age.  You will need to compare whether you are better off using your own benefits, based on your own past earnings or whether you would collect more money by receiving half of your husband's benefits.

On the other hand, if you earned more than your husband, then it is possible for him to receive benefits based on your earnings.  The helpful consultants at the Social Security office can help you decide how you can collect the maximum benefits.

You will also be eligible for Medicare once you turn 65, whether your Social Security and Medicare benefits are based on your own earnings or those of your husband.  Medicare will withdraw a premium of about $104 from your Social Security benefits in order to pay for your basic Medicare healthcare.  You may want this used to pay for a Medicare Advantage plans that has more benefits or you may wish to purchase a Medicare Supplement plan in addition to the basic Medicare plan.

If your husband dies, you can collect widow's Social Security benefits.  The amount varies depending on when you begin to collect.  If you wait until your full retirement age, you can collect as much as 100% of what your husband would have collected. 

There are many other factors concerning Social Security that could affect when you decide to collect.  Be sure to check with your local Social Security office as soon as you begin planning your retirement.

It is important for everyone to understand their Social Security benefits, but especially women, because so many American women spend the last few years of their lives in poverty.  You do not want this to happen to you, if you can avoid it.

If you are interested in more retirement information, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of this article to find links to hundreds of additional articles about financial planning, including Social Security, where to retire, medical issues that could arise, family relationships and more.

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Photo credit: Morguefile.com