When seeing your health care professional about vitamin D testing, make sure they order the correct blood test. Since the correct testing for vitamin D may not be well known, it’s important to confirm that you’re getting the right one. There are two vitamin D tests: 1,25(OH)D and 25(OH)D.

25(OH)D is the better marker of overall D status. This is the marker most strongly associated with overall health. The correct test is 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D. When dealing with your blood test levels, be aware that many commercial labs are using the older, dated reference ranges. I’ve been told by cancer specialists, including Dr. Mercola, that we should all be in the range of 50 and 70 ng/ml if we do not have a history of cancer, and up to 100 ng/ml if we have a history of cancer. This applies to everyone, including children. If your levels are below 32 ng/ml, you may be at serious risk for many illnesses, including cancer. That’s why it is so important to have your levels tested 3 to 4 times a year initially, until you get into a comfortable groove with your range.

But Be Careful….

You may be wondering if there are any risks associated with vitamin D3 supplementation. As with any supplement or lifestyle changes, it’s very important to see a doctor first. A simple blood test can show you where your levels are, giving you a better gauge on the appropriate therapeutic dosage for you. Remember, everyone is different. This is an issue of genetics and biochemical individuality. Therefore, some people may need 10,000 IU or more daily to improve their levels, while others may find that anything over 200‑400 IU puts them in an overdose situation. That’s quite a difference in dosage, so you can see why it’s so important to test your levels regularly until you know (a) that you’re at the correct levels and (b) how much you will need to maintain those levels.

People with lymphoma, sarcoidosis, or tuberculosis need to be particularly careful, since these issues can cause a disruption in the way vitamin D is metabolized, leading to high levels of calcium in the blood. In this case, it’s vitally important to consult a medical practitioner.

It’s also important to know that adequate calcium and magnesium, as well as other minerals, are critical parts of vitamin D therapy. Without calcium and magnesium in sufficient quantities, vitamin D supplementation will withdraw calcium from the bones and allow the uptake of toxic minerals.

So it’s not cut-and-dried, one-size-fits-all, but you can see how important it is to check into this and to do it properly. Most of all, enjoy those beautiful rays!

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By now you may have been hearing the message loud and clear that vitamin D is essential for every cell and function in our body. But how do you get it without getting burned? The great news is, you have three options for getting enough vitamin D to help your body function at optimum levels:

1. Direct sunlight
   The best way to get vitamin D is through direct sunlight on your skin for 15‑20 minutes a day, making sure you don’t burn. This means you need to expose yourself to the sun rather than cover up with long sleeves, heavy sunscreens, and slacks during those 15 minutes—which goes against what we’ve been taught for years. When you head out for your daily dose of sunshine, shorts and a tank top or bathing suit are the best way to go. Take a brisk walk around the neighborhood (that also fits in with your daily 15‑20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, which most doctors recommend), and while you’re at it, you could be doing some breathing or meditating. By the time you’re done, you will have allowed your body to produce its own custom vitamin D and improved your cardiovascular and mental health, all in 20 minutes.

   Of course, this may not be easy for you if you’re in an office during the day, when the sun is bright and high. Or the weather may be cold or rainy. And in winter the days are shorter and direct sun is hard to come by. Also, I think it’s important to wear a hat and put sun block on your face—the most sensitive part of your skin to sun damage.I mean, who wants to age prematurely?You can then leave the rest of your body bare, but get out of the sun before you burn. If you’ve had skin cancer, it’s really important to limit your sun exposure. And if outdoor sunshine simply isn’t an option for you, you still have two other choices.

2. Vitamin D supplements
   You can also increase your vitamin D levels through vitamin D supplements. If you decide to use a supplement, it’s very important to have your vitamin D levels tested first, since excess vitamin D can actually create health problems. If you’re letting your body make its own vitamin D through sunshine, this won’t be an issue, because it will be naturally regulated. But taking a supplement doesn’t allow your body to regulate vitamin D on its own. Studies show that nearly everyone in the United States is vitamin D deficient, so it’s important to check your levels fairly regularly. According to Dr. Mercola, the general rule is that vitamin D levels should be between 50and 70 for someone who is not dealing with a serious health issue, and as high as 70 to 100 to treat cancer and heart disease, but don’t exceed 100.

When it comes to vitamin D supplements, you have several choices. You can take pills, tablets, or drops. I prefer vitamin D drops in a fat-soluble form (http://tinyurl.com/25mhexx).Using drops; I was able to raise my levels dramatically in a short time. So once again, it’s important to keep checking your levels.

A second choice is capsules. But capsules have to go through your digestive system before they can be used. Often a lot of the vitamin D gets wasted. For this reason, many people prefer vitamin D sprays. These sprays give you the full benefits of vitamin D (and especially vitamin D3) immediately, and they are designed to boost your energy and your body’s efficiency exponentially. They also tend to be less expensive than vitamin tablets or pills, and they’re definitely cheaper than a tanning bed membership!

1. Sun beds
   I’m still having a hard time wrapping my arms around this one, and I think it should be a last resort (say, if you’re in Anchorage in January), but it seems that sun beds are okay in minimal doses. Sun beds have been greatly demonized as sources of skin cancer, but many dermatologists, doctors, and dieticians believe that they can be useful in moderation. Just as with real sun, you need not (and should not) expose yourself to more than minimal time in a sun bed. A tanning bed with UV-B rays (the ones that produce vitamin D) can be a viable alternative to natural sunlight if you can’t get natural exposure. Generally, you should limit yourself to 10 to 15 minutes (sun beds are much stronger than the natural sun). Work with a dermatologist to make sure you’re handling your sun bed exposure correctly and make sure you’re getting UV-B rays.

No matter how you decide to get your vitamin D, it’s vitally important that you start getting it immediately. If you are vitamin D deficient, your body is literally malfunctioning. This means every single cell and tissue is operating below its potential. Whether you take a walk in the park, hop into a bronzing bed, or squirt your vitamin D directly on your tongue, check this out as soon as possible.

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I cracked the code!  What code? The one in my dream!  You’ve got to be kidding me? No, seriously — just listen.  I had a really cool dream last night.

In my dream, I was outside a public area that I wasn’t familiar with.  It was within a block or so of my old grammar school. I knew that Kevin would be worried about me so I was trying to get in touch with him.  I realized that I didn’t have a cell phone.

There was a teenager there, a kind of frumpy, not the cool jock type kid, but more of a geek (which by the way I think is cool).  I asked if I could borrow his cell phone.  He was very reluctant and explained that his parents only let him use it in case of emergency.  I explained that it was kind of an emergency because my husband didn’t know where I was.  He would be ready to send out the search party so I had to let him know I was okay.

I was some where between my teens and early 20’s in the dream.  So the teenager pulls out this huge cell phone that is really old-fashioned, a first generation cell phone that looks more like a large walkie talkie.  You’ve probably seen one like it on the free credit score commercial.

I looked to the left and saw a really funky modern high tech looking payphone that definitely didn’t fit the scene.  I saw that it was still only 25c. But I looked around me and realized I didn’t have my wallet with me or even a pocket book so I didn’t even have 25c.  I don’t know why I would have travelled without one.

So I started dialing the numbers on the cell phreone’s huge keypad.  As I am doing this we are walking around to the other side of a wall and there is a picnic table with some people sitting there.  They are talking so we start talking to them.

I then get up and walk to another separate building.  There is a girl in the room that was a new friend (I don’t know her in real life).  She is pretty tipsy, clearly she has had a few drinks.  We were talking about something having to do with going out to the East End of Long Island, the Hamptons or the Northfork area, and partying — after all I was in my late teens/early 20’s, what else do you do?  I kind of go off to the East End for a minute and then just as quickly I am back in the room — you can do that kind of cool stuff in a dream.

I tell her I have to check my computer and had to put in my password.  She asked what my password was and for some odd, crazy reason, I told her what it was.  As I turned to leave the room, out of the corner of my eye, I saw her reach into a drawer.  In her tipsy state, she took out a small notepad and pen and wrote something down and tucked it into her sweatshirt pocket.  I thought, hmmm, that’s odd, I wonder if she is writing down my password.

The next thing I remember I walk into my old bedroom in the house where I grew up and she’s in the room standing next to my bed.  She is holding her sweatshirt in her hand.  Kelsey is in there too (my 12 year old — that would have meant I had her when I was 8). Kelsey smiles at me as I enter the room and then goes back to watching the tipsy girl looking through her things. The tipsy girl is even tipsier at this point as she is frenetically searching through her things for something.  I thought hmmm I wonder if she is searching for her pad.  I was really curious to see what she wrote on it.

Just as I reach for the sweatshirt to intercept the note pad to see if my password is on the note, Kelsey reaches over and picks it up off the night table and says, “Is this what you are looking for?”

I reach over and take it from Kelsey and read it.  It isn’t the password, it is just a series of letters and numbers.  For a moment I let out a huge sigh of relief.  As I look at it again more closely, though, I realize that she has actually written down a code of some type.  In a split second I decipher the code and realize that it is actually my password.

At this point I start going into that twilight state.  I think I got so excited I started waking myself up. You might say, “So what?”  What does that have to do with anything?  What are you getting all excited about?”  Well, it has everything to do with everything.  You see, in my dream in what was probably a split second, I came up with a code and in another split second I broke the code.  You might be saying, “Okay, so what, I still don’t get it.  Maybe you’re laughing at me and saying, “Well silly of course you could break the code — it’s your dream!  You must have created it in the first place.”

That’s what’s so cool!  It was a real code!  I realized that it was a logical code that I never would have come up with or been able to break if I were awake.  It was a system for switching out numbers and letters and replacing them in a certain way that made sense.

Well, the reason I was so excited about it was that it made me see just how powerful the subconscious/unconscious state is.  I was so much smarter in the subconscious state than I was in the waking state!  So I said, “Well, if I am so much smarter in the subconscious state, how can I tap into it without being in a dream state since I might not remember the dream when I wake up?”   I had my answer in a second – voila — Meditate!

Look for this months Healthy Living Ezine in your inbox for more information and tips on making a mediation a part of your life. If you are not already receiving our Ezine click here to sign up! For other great posts on mediation click here.

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I was horrified when I saw the news of a 10 year old California girl who was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Eleven years ago, at age 33, I was diagnosed with breast cancer as well.

Everyone was shocked and horrified including the doctors especially since I had no family history of breast cancer.  I was the youngest woman being treated at the time at one of the largest cancer hospitals in NY.  Shortly after, to add more shock, my husband was diagnosed with malignant melanoma.  He was just 34.

I didn’t make any changes to my lifestyle, other than being told not to take vitamin C; I wasn’t told that I needed to make changes.  I wish I had made changes.

Nine years ago, the cancer returned and I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.  I was told nothing could be done to save me.

At that point, I became passionate about learning why cancer and other illnesses happen and what we can do to prevent and heal from them.  We applied what we learned and my husband and I have been cancer free for 9 years.  It became our life mission to share this information.

As I began speaking and writing about cancer and other illnesses, I noticed that the age of both women and men being diagnosed with breast cancer became younger and younger.  Having been diagnosed with breast cancer in my thirties, it deeply saddened and frightened me that teenagers were now being diagnosed.

Now the worst news of all…
a 10-year old is diagnosed with breast cancer.  As a woman, mother and someone who lived through breast cancer twice, I am devastated for her and her family. Very sadly, though, I am not shocked.  These days, it’s not uncommon for 16- and 17-year olds to be diagnosed, however the large jump in age down to 10-years old has happened too quickly.

In my speaking and writing, I often talk about what is happening to our children’s health and the impact that our choices are having on them.  This is the first generation of children that is on a path to live shorter lives than their parents.

I urge you to please visit our site to learn more about why this is happening and how we can help not only ourselves, but more importantly, our children, and prevent a continuation of this terrifying destructive spiral.

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“How Biological Medicine and a Cancer Reversing Diet Saved our Lives”

One day, Joyce and Kevin O’Brien were walking around thinking they were perfectly healthy. They were living life, working hard, playing hard and having fun just like any other 30-year-old couple. Their lives were ahead of them with nothing in the way. Same stuff, different day or so they thought.

Click here to read more

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Keeping a success journal is a great way to empower yourself and demonstrate how far you’ve come.

A simple way to get started is to make a commitment to yourself that you will do a certain number of positive things a day to improve your wellness and, then, write them down.

One small, simple task a day to start will set you up to establish a healthier tomorrow.

Keep it simple and choose something that you know, without a doubt, you can accomplish.  Make it super-achievable to start so that a positive health regime is created It could be something as simple as 3 positive affirmations, three minutes of dancing or some type of movement, smile at your self in the mirror, do five to fifteen minutes of walking or some type of exercise or even bouncing in place can qualify for this.

Another great place to start? Think about something healthy you can add into your diet each day.

Replace one carb-heavy side dish with an enormous salad and, viola`, SUCCESS!
Leave off the high fat bottled dressing and…ANOTHER SUCCESS!

REMEMBER: When you make any positive change, don’t just give yourself a high-five, give yourself a high-ten!
Jot down every time you do something positive for your health. Take the emphasis off weight loss because no matter what, if you are doing things for your health, even if you don’t lose weight, it is still a fantastic win and congratulate yourself.

Set yourself up for success and remember Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Here’s some brief tips to get you going:
” set achievable goals
” increase goals once you meet with success
” re-enforce and celebrate your successes
” reward yourself with healthy things (ex: a bubble bath, listening to music, flowers, etc.)
” forgive yourself for not being perfect

Make a note on your calendar on the first day you succeed at change and circle it as the first day of the rest of your life.

In order to achieve your wellness goals, it is important for you to realize that making these changes will incorporate your whole being not just a part of your life.

Little changes can go a long way. Making positive changes in one area of your life, will have a positive impact on other parts of your life and health, for example better quality family life, career, less stressed, having more fun etc.

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