There’s no shortage of sunlight in the country and yet 75 per cent of Mumbaikars surveyed have a severe deficiency of the sunshine vitamin, Vitamin D, which our bodies produce naturally, when exposed to sunlight.

It’s not just this survey of 1100 Mumbaikars by PD Hinduja hospital. Studies by the Arthritis Foundation of India have found that an average of 70 per cent of urban Indians have a Vitamin D deficiency.Sufficient levels of vitamin D are crucial for calcium absorption in your intestines. Without sufficient vitamin D, your body cannot absorb calcium, rendering calcium supplements useless.

Chronic vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed overnight: it takes months of vitamin D supplementation and sunlight exposure to rebuild the body’s bones and nervous system.Even weak sunscreens (SPF=8) block your body’s ability to generate vitamin D by 95%. This is how sunscreen products actually cause disease — by creating a critical vitamin deficiency in the body.

Many of us work in air-conditioned offices, go back to air conditioned homes and commute in air-conditioned cars. Think of it, in a sunny country like ours, we don’t spend more than 30 sunscreen-free minutes in the sun.

Sunscreen may protect against harmful UV rays, but doctors say it can also block elements the body needs to produce vitamin D.Vitamin D prevents osteoporosis, depression, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and even effects diabetes and obesity. Vitamin D is perhaps the single most underrated nutrient in the world of nutrition. That’s probably because it’s free: your body makes it when sunlight touches your skin.

According to Dr Kaushal Malhan, Orthopedic Surgeon who does Knee and Hip Replacements at Fortis Hospitals said, “We are sitting in the sunlight today, we are getting a lot of Vitamin D, but to get adequate benefits of sunlight I need to have at least 15 per cent of my body exposed to sunlight. So if I am all covered with clothes even if they are cotton clothes the sunlight will not work. If I am sitting in a room with glass all around and even if the sunlight is coming all through the glass it will not work.”

There is no substitute for a regular dose of sunlight with the lack of vitamin D being linked to bone disorders, diabetes and some cancers. According to a recent research, that super antioxidants greatly boost your body’s ability to handle sunlight without burning and at the same time prevent  the sun rays to harm your skin . Astaxanthin is one of the most powerful “internal sunscreens” and can allow you to stay under the sun twice as long without burning. Other powerful antioxidants with this ability include the superfruits like Acai, Pomegranates (POM Wonderful juice), blueberries, etc.

source :Ibnlive

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that interrupts breathing while sleeping. There are three distinct forms of sleep
apnea: central, obstructive, and complex.

In the first, breathing is interrupted by the lack of respiratory effort. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused, when breathing is interrupted by a physical block in the airflow, and, complex sleep apnea displays a combination

of the symptoms of the first two. If ignored, it can become life-threatening.
Here are some of the symptoms:

• Increasing your awareness on Heart Care
• Frequent breaks in breathing while sleeping;
• Choking or gasping during sleep;
• Loud snoring;
• Waking up abruptly or in sweat to restart breathing;
• Daytime sleepiness due to frequent sleep interruptions during the night

Sleep apnea is not difficult to rid yourself of. All you need to do is:

Reduce weight, if obese;
Give-up alcohol, tobacco, Sedatives, and anything that relaxes throat muscles and encourages snoring;
Sleep on your side;
Raise the head of your bed by about 4 – 6 inches to make
breathing easier;
Maintain regular sleeping hours;
Use a nasal dilator/ breathe-right strips/ saline nasal spray to open nasal passages

Healthy Heart Diet:

Eating your way to a healthy heart is possible only if you eat the right things. Consult your doctor for an eating plan that suits your dietary needs. Meanwhile, here’s what you should be mindful of, irrespective of your diet plan:

Fat. Your fat consumption should be no more than 30 per cent of total calories per day.
Saturated fatty acid. Your saturated fatty acid consumption should not exceed 30 per cent of your total daily calories.
Mono-unsaturated fatty acid. Consumption below 10 to 15 per cent of total calories per day is the optimal limit.
Cholesterol. Consumption should never exceed 300 milligrams per day.
Sodium. Do not consume more than 3000 milligrams in a day. Avoid foods containing chemicals and food preservatives.