I was half asleep when I heard the bit about Vit D but apparently Public Health are going to do a campaign
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What I heard someone say was that we should take vit D from October to March because there isn't enough strength in the sun to make our own. But - (big but!) we store vit D in the liver (as well as in fat) so a lot of what we make in the summer is meant to last - not sure what the data are on how long etc, but if you've had good exposure to sunlight throughout the summer (and I gather it doesn't have to be full on sun worshipping to achieve this) then I doubt you would need much supplementation for all that time anyway.
Anyone who covers up their body completely as women in some cultures do, or is fair-skinned and uses Factor 50 most of the time - would need to do so.
I'm not sure it has to be daily either (the sunshine) - eg if you spend longer in the sun such as at weekends I imagine you would make more intuitively - that would make sense.
It's the time of year I don't have time to look things up so only my thoughts here and would love to read any studies!
Re the Magnesium - Dancinggirl - do you have any data on our being deficient in Magnesium? I still think we should be able to get what we need from our diet and this is recommended by NHS - there was a report on this recently (vits and supplements). NHS does not recommend we take magnesium for our essential functions:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vitamins-minerals/Pages/Other-vitamins-minerals.aspx#magnesiumHowever the use of magnesium for medicinal purposes is a different issue entirely eg as spray etc for certain conditions ( I haven't read about this aspect), Milk of Magnesia for stomach problems etc - and different from our every day use of dietary magnesium in normal body processes.
We should not need to research what foods we need to get everything we need - beyond a basic knowledge of different food stuffs, and to eat as wide a variety as possible of different foods in all groups, and make sure it is all cooked from fresh ingredients as far as possible.
A few well chosen supplements just to top up or if you are shown to be deficient or know your diet is poor - may be necessary - but I think we should all aim as far as possible to do without them - or keep them to a minimum (which I do), and concentrate on our food and lifestyle!
We do grow fruit and veg, catch our own fish - but not chickens or a cow - nor even the ale
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. Even those with minimal garden could grow a few fresh veggies in pots in a yard
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Hurdity x