Seasonal Affective Dissorder S.A.D.

S.A.D affects millions of Americans, yes it is real, however it is very combat able! When we understand the how's and whys of this foe we can effectively win the battle. The missing link in the equation is the sun. We become deficient in Vitamin D and it can feel like the world is crashing in on us. For some regions in the country it is much worse than others. In the Icelandic regions they have very little sun at times yet much less of a problem with S.A.D. and researchers have found that diets with higher intake of fish could be the answer.
Fish is very high in Vitamin D with Cod liver oil leading the list at 1360 IU per tablespoon. Now if you find that hard to swallow there are gel caps available or the next best thing on the list is salmon at 360 IU for a 3.5 oz portion. mackerel comes in after that with 345 IU and tuna at 200 IU. Milk is down there a ways with 98 IU per 8 oz. glass and ready to eat cereals as 40 IU per 1/2 cup serving. You have to watch what they are using to fortify the milk and cereals with as in some cases they are not absorb able and if they are synthetic you are adding insult to injury. The recommended daily allowance of Vitamin D is 200 IU for new born-50, 400 IU for 51-70 and 70 plus needs 600 IU for optimal health. When we understand the correlation between a lack of sun during the cold and flu season and summer being a time where we tend to be a lot healthier because we are naturally out in the sun, taking Vitamin D supplements during the dreary days will make much more sense.