Dear Miss Vitamin D and Mr. Sun...
When I moved to Seattle I was ecstatic about a few things. The air quality, the stunning scenery, the ever-green look of the city and the fact that I could walk to run my errands if I wanted to. Surrounded by water and mountains, Seattle seemed to me like this natural, magic place where no one can ever get sick.
Plus, every time I visited before moving, it was sunny here. Of course, I used to scoff at the "rainy city" legendary fame of the Emerald City.
I arrived to my new hometown on June 2nd, 2008, after a marathon-like cross-country drive from Atlanta. We entered Seattle during a serious downpour. The rain didn't stop for days. Yes, Summer 2008 wasn't very sunny.
All right. It rains in Seattle after all. I began to "mentally prepare" for this, and I thought I had it worked out. I didn't.
Pounds began to slowly crept and pile up in my body. My hair began to fall more than normal. I wasn't very motivated. I was very sensitive. At some point, I didn't even know what I was doing in Seattle. I knew I was (and am) madly in love with the reason I was in Seattle (take a guess!). I adored the city. Still, something didn't feel quite right.
Then, Fall and Winter came. I wished I had a special power to make the clocks stop at 3:30 in the afternoon. Days became short and tormenting. And that feeling of something not being right kept growing. I found myself wanting to turn into an ostrich, when I'm naturally a festive salsa dancer, for example. One thing I learned back in that time is that I will never use the word depression lightly.
I grew up and lived until 8 years ago in the Caribbean region of Latin America. Sun was a given and a companion we soaked in everyday. Atlanta, my first hometown in the USA, was also mostly sunny. I never imagined that that orb that I was poetically enamored with was so necessary for us to feel healthy. Not until I was fiercely deprived of it.
I went through all the ordeals of the Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD syndrome). This is what people colloquially calls "the Winter Blues". I wish it was as fleeting as a song is but it wasn't. It got etched in me. I was a sugar monster wiping anything sweet from the face of the earth. Pounds were out of control, hiking to the top like nobody's business. Crying became so easy I didn't really needed a reason to do so, and being away from the family during the holidays didn't help. I also began to suspect that the lack of sun was "killing me softly".
People advised me to do a handful of things to avoid being eaten by SAD. Some worked, some didn't. Winter went away and I was still feeling under the weather. At this point, I still wasn't fully aware of the Vitamin D deficiency syndrome, and that lasted until almost a year later. When my doctor finally tested me, I was down to 12 ng/mL of blood. The lowest level acceptable is 32 ng/mL of blood and people shouldn't even be there. When in Caracas, my levels were usually over 60 ng/mL of blood. No wonder I felt like I was slowly dying inside.
I was prescribed 50,000 IU for three months. Then, and while I live in Seattle and have no access to sun, I was recommended to take 5,000 IU a day. When I began the treatment, it was like I was being injected liquid life. It was a slow recovery, but every day kept being better and better.
Taking Vitamin D helps in many ways: is good for bones and joints, and helps with calcium absorption, something very good for preventing osteoporosis; it's been shown it helps preventing certain types of cancer; there's a study by the University of Minnesota that links successful weight loss with healthy Vitamin D levels. There are many other benefits associated to healthy level in Vitamin D.
This journey prompted Ryan to start this blog, as a diversion for me, and to document all the "Vitamin D inspired" adventures we embark on. Some of them include cooking, which we're trying to do as healthy as possible, especially since I began my weight loss program (I gained 50lbs during the process). Also, traveling has been crucial for my well-being. I went to Caracas in February, and sat under the sun for two weeks. We also took a trip to Vegas in March, where I became a walking solar panel. Sunlight is life: the warmth, the brightness, the soft tingling on the skin. But the best part is the smile it powers for me.
This year, I'm bringing my love to my Caribbean birthplace. I'll make sure we pack on lots of natural Vitamin D, so that cabinet might take a vacation as well. Sun and smiles, that's how we are planning to enter 2011.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and this is my personal story, it reflects my own experience. I am not giving or pretending to give any medical advice on this post. If you feel you have similar symptoms or want to know more about Vitamin D deficiency, talk to your doctor. Never take supplements or any medicine without your doctor's advice. Also, I wasn't payed or approached by any of the brands of vitamins in the photo. It's just an everyday shot of one of my kitchen cabinets. With lots of Vitamin D bottles, I know.
