Are your ailments cyclical? Sometimes we are so busy we fail to see that our general well-being holds a pattern within us. Instead we grab some pain killers or skip a day from work hoping it will pass. But natural pain is telling us that we need to pay closer attention to our inner harmony. When I say ‘natural’ I mean a pain that is not self inflicted. This is when we resort to self-remedy or visit our GP.

During the darker months we are more prone to Vitamin D deficiency. By simply visiting your GP you are able to have your blood tested to see if your D levels are normal, or whether you need a supplement?

Vitamin D is best absorbed with plenty of natural daylight and recent studies show that over protective parents who wrap their children’s skin up against sunlight, may actually be doing more harm than good.  Our flesh needs at least twenty minutes of natural light exposure per day.

With an increase in skin cancers caused by the sun’s harmful rays, we are caught between right and wrong. But provided we protect our skin with the correct sun screen and stay in the shade – sunlight/daylight is essential for our well being albeit in small doses.

Vitamin D is essential for our skin and bones plus it aids our immune system.

If you are a vegan you may lack in Vitamin D and require a supplement during the darker cycles of nature. Be sure to check your levels with your GP. Avocado and broccoli are great sources but may not be enough during the winter?

Apart from daylight, here’s some foods Vitamin D can be found in :-

• Cod liver oil (warning: cod liver oil is rich in vitamin A; too much may be bad for you)
• Tuna canned in water
• Sardines canned in oil
• Milk or yoghurt — regardless of whether it’s whole, non-fat, or reduced fat — fortified with vitamin D
• Beef or calf liver
• Egg yolks
• Cheese

If your Vitamin D levels are adequate, other reasons for feeling low during winter can still be caused by lack of daylight. I recently purchased a day lamp. It was around £40 and by plugging it in – the lamp provides a vibrant room light, tricking our natural mechanism to believe the day is brighter. Day lamps are said to help aid winter blues and/or symptoms of ill health that seem ‘ever increasingly’ prevalent during the darker season.

Please be aware if you think you may suffer with depression or other mental illnesses or a lack of sleep during certain times of the year – It’s important to check your body’s cyclical nature as many ailments are effected by our surroundings and climate. By doing this we can set about discovering our own personal needs for better health. Thus avoiding anti-depressants and other pharmaceutical products by adjusting our diet and exposure to the ‘organic’ elements.

People with darker skin are more prone to Vitamin D deficiency and winter blues. My GP informing me that the further North we live the more prone we are to D deficit. Darker skin needs more sunlight than Caucasian skin, in most cases.

Although a lack in Vitamin D is certainly not limited to skin colour alone. Other factors to consider are relocation to a place that has less daylight than you are used to.

Many foods that are seasonal to our region are not promoted strongly enough in our Supermarkets. We become baffled and often greedy by the vast choice of cardboard clad world foods.

I also believe that our heritage and culture are imperative to provide ‘soul food.’ I am of Irish descent and my family all tend to enjoy potatoes and Guinness. Two habitual pleasures of the Irish folk! So perhaps our instinctive pleasures are genetically in our blood to nourish us best?

I am a firm believer that we are what we eat and making tweaks and adjustments can improve our health before we need to resort in the pharmaceuticals of today. We should enjoy our cultural instincts and healthy traditions of eating. What we truly yearn is often what we need most. So let’s forget sugar and stimulants and go with nature. It will seldom let us down. Balance, moderation and common sense.

~Namaste~

Tiffany Belle Harper – Holistic

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