As it's now the second week of January we can now start thinking about our health again, which may or may not have slipped your mind during the Christmas fun.
It would be great to have some suggestions for healthy heart newsletter topics this year – what would you like to know more about?
It was a very mild Christmas this year, which I was happy about as it meant getting out for lots of walks without my toes freezing! While the sun was out, it was only for a few hours each day so it made me think about how to get enough vitamin D, which we mostly get from sun exposure.
Vitamin D has several important functions. For example, it helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body.
These nutrients are needed to keep bones and teeth healthy.
A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone deformities and bone pain and tenderness as a result of a condition called osteomalacia in adults.
Most people should be able to get all the vitamin D they need by eating a healthy balanced diet and by getting some summer sun but it is always a good idea to eat foods that also contain Vitamin D to ensure you are getting enough.
Vitamin D is found in a small number of foods. Good food sources are:
- oily fish, such as salmon and sardines (canned salmon has a lot if you mash up and eat the bones - trust me, you can't taste them!)
- eggs
- mushrooms (ones grown in sulight eg potabello)
- milk from cows that are exposed to the sun
Let me know all about your big plans for 2017 – big and small!