To shed light
The Sun. It might bring the cold back due to the layer of clouds not blanketing our earthly dwelling, but it is just so very glorious. It gives me at least a sense of nourishment and warmth. This warm lively ball of exquisite luminescent light makes way for many things to come to fruition, to grow, to ‘shed light on’ (ba-dum tiss). It is a welcomed thing to see after a period of darkness, or with cloud coverage. Some out there would agree with me that the moment when you see the sun for the first time in days... the sensation you get. It’s like your heart warms again and you can feel the warmth from the sun as well externally. It’s a magical experience.
On second thought, I might just be a cat. One who really, really enjoys sun bathing when I am cold. I wonder if what I described before is something, maybe, what they feel when they sun bath.
Ok, back to the main point. I spoke of a period of darkness, in that I mean: The five weeks before the winter solstice, December 21, reaching until five weeks after the solstice, January 25. That day makes it official. The darkest part of the year is over! During that time of the year I can feel many struggle without the sunshine bringing new light on different aspects of life. Sometimes it is just a brilliant feeling going out and sitting under the rays. Vitamin D, yes, please! But there is that “lack there of” right now and it is hard to stay outside with the cold before the frostbite takes effect. So, what can people do who need that extra boost of vitamin D when there isn’t a lot of sun? Short answer: healthy foods and supplements. Long answer: still healthy foods and supplements.
First of all I want to make sure this is very clear, always make sure to do your own homework on anything you put inside your body. If you have questions about something, ask someone who you trust. Whether that be a trained herbalist, nutritionist, physician, licensed nurse, etc. for a better frame of reference. Okay onwards, ho...
A fun fact that I learned recently is that there is a type of cholesterol in our skin that needs a form of UVB light (sun) to convert it into vitamin D. It doesn’t stop at that point. During this conversion your liver and kidneys are activated to truly transform it into the proper form of vitamin D to D3. Truly amazing. Fun things to learn. We are going to throw in another vitamin; vitamin K. “What does that do?” Well, let me tell you. Vitamin K helps direct the D3 that is produced which is the next stop to make. Simple as that. Voila (insert jazz hands here)!
On reading various notes about vitamin K, I find that it is actually known in some circles as a type of couple, if you will, with Vitamin D. I didn’t know the vitamins were pairing up? Who knew? Vitamin K, which you receive when you take a supplement or eat those delicious green leafy vegetables: kale, spinach and collard greens. I know kale is everyone’s favorite (I actually like the stuff, yummy homemade kale chips), as well as spinach. But you can become like Popeye and make sure you eat your spinach to produce a natural forming vitamin K, which then in turn can help the process of transforming vitamin D into D3, to help feel that wonderful feeling of happiness and less of the seasonal depression.
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