Sunshine and vitamin D

Recent research is once again underlining the fact that the Western lifestyle is undermining our health. By spending more time indoors--and slathering on the sunscreen when we're actually outdoors--it now looks like most Americans are deficient in vitamin D. While we may be getting enough to prevent rickets, the traditional reason cited for why we need the vitamin, we are likely not getting enough for vitamin D to perform its other, more recently discovered roles. Prime among these is its ability to help the immune system fight a myriad of diseases, including cancer and heart disease.

Scientific American featured an article in their January issue, "Cell Defenses and the Sunshine Vitamin," and the Los Angeles Times has an article today, "Sunshine may be nature's disease fighter."