Autumn 2017

LIFE Edition 7, Issue 26 - 2017

Let moments of stillness lead you to a place of mindful reflection

as you lean to sit, wait and rest!

WELCOME....

The LIFE publication is produced quarterly. Our desire is to bring you stories and articles that will encourage and inspire you as you journey through life.

Life is a journey with many twists and turns, valleys and mountains, laughter and sorrows. It is not always how we start that matters, rather how we choose to live everyday with the options and choices that are before us.

Today choose to live and love, your life!

In This Issue WELCOME.... ................................................................................................................................... 1 Rest..................................................................................................................................................... 2 Being an Introvert in an Extrovert World .......................................................................................... 3 To Say or Not to Say? ........................................................................................................................ 4 Through Fathers Eyes ........................................................................................................................ 5 Treasures out of Darkness .................................................................................................................. 7 Follow Me .......................................................................................................................................... 8 Our Love and Hate Relationship with Anxiety ................................................................................ 10 Anxiety and Autism Spectrum Disorder ..........................................................................................11 Vitamin D level too low? You and your doctor might be surprised!................................................ 12

Rest

knowing we have done our best and what we have done is good and pleasing? I would say many of us would not be pleased and hence we struggle to enter rest on a weekly basis.

Candy Daniels What images emerge for you as you think of the word rest? Do you feel rested when you wake up after a night’s sleep? When was the last time you experienced complete rest? When was the last time you experienced peace, security, freedom and was refreshed?

The guidelines for rest changed some two thousand years after creation with an invitation from Jesus to rest daily as seen in Mark 6:31 when he said ‘come away with me and rest awhile’. The first rest was to teach us to reflect and be satisfied with our weekly work. The second rest was to show us how and where we find our rest; that we may be satisfied first with ourselves before we can be satisfied with our work.

Rest is not simply the act of being still or ceasing activity, rest is far more than that. Rest is choosing to enter into a place where we cease to move physically, cease to be distracted or worried, mentally, emotionally or spiritual. Entering into rest is the act of choosing to purposefully cease activity so that we may gain security, peace and be refreshed and strengthened giving us freedom. For optimal productivity we must rest body, mind and spirit.

Today, we must learn to rest from the high expectations we place on ourselves. We must learn to be satisfied with who we are and enter a place of rest. Before we can enter mindful and physical rest, we must learn to enter spiritual rest.

The cover photo was taken by me when I was on a recent weekend away. I had decided that this was going to be a weekend of rest. For me that involved taking time away from my usual activities and creating space away from the everyday duties and expectations I have of myself. It was great not being in work mode. My definition of work mode is when I am doing the things I have signed up to do, which also involves being a wife and mother. Being at rest body, mind and spirit is making time to just be.

Spiritual rest enables us to clarify our identity, giving us security and freedom to be our best and not compare ourselves to others. Once we know our identity we are more capable of entering into spiritual rest. Security and freedom found in spiritual rest welcomes us to stop and have physical, mental, emotional rest.

I encourage you to enter daily rest, find a place that you can be yourself, a place you can reflect and be mindful of who you are, what you are doing and where you are going. Remember that before we can ever rest in peace, we want to know our resting place.

Peace, security and freedom is found in knowing who we are resting with.

Often depending on the age of children it can be a hard thing to find rest from parenting duties apart from other duties. Yet, to be our best we must choose to rest. In the beginning of creation the recommendation was that we take one day in the week to reflect on all that we have done and see that it was good and pleasing and then rest. I wonder how many of us can look back on our week reflect and decide that we are satisfied with our achievements LIFE Edition 7, Issue 26

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Being an Introvert in an Extrovert World Trudy Buchanan There have been many memes on Facebook of late about the struggles of, making fun of, and ways to treat an introvert. Just in case you’re not on Facebook, or you’re an extrovert who choose not to read these memes & articles, I thought I would put some of the ideas together in one article. Understanding and respecting these differences can revolutionise your inner life, relationships, work place and understanding of church/community and team life. If you’re an introvert who has struggled to feel like you fit, or are worthy, or you’re an extrovert trying to live with an introvert, I highly recommend reading or listening to Susan Cain who wrote to book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.1

Cain suggests that western society honours the charismatic leaders, the likeable extravert.

With the rise in collaborative workplaces etc., this can minimise, exhaust and/or lessen the value and feelings of worth for those of us who are introverts.

Fig 1. Ambivert Continuum Scale2

Firstly, it is worth noting that this concept sits on continuum (see fig.1) — we are not necessarily one or the other and many sit in the middle. Having said that however, there are certainly those of us who sit at either end, which at times creates challenges on how we do life, communicate and feel about ourselves.

Introverts, however, do have an innate strength, such as intuition, creativity, focus and observa-

Fig. 2 Essential Differences3

While not exhaustive, Fig. 2 provides a summary of the differences between introverts and extroverts, and how these perhaps play out within relationships. Research suggests that extravert and introvert chemical brain pathways do operate somewhat differently, thus influencing what makes us happy, rewarded, relaxed, or stimulated. These chemical pathways therefore greatly influence our behaviour and sense of satisfaction as well as social output.

1

Cain, Susan. (2012) Quiet :the power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking New York : Crown Publishers

2

https://lonerwolf.com/ambivert/

3

https://au.pinterest.com/source/highability.org/

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tion. They are often deep thinkers who bring a wealth of imagination and insight to the table.

The introvert’s ability to spend time alone, and actually enjoy it, is also a gift.

cialise. Strategies can be put in place for how often couples go out, when they talk, how they show love to one another, offering time out to think etc.

It provides opportunity for introverts to put self-care strategies in place to manage their own energy and output.

Our favourite saying in couple therapy is “different isn’t wrong or stupid, it’s just different”.

When we get this working, living together is a lot more cooperative, satisfying, and provides the uniqueness and creativity of each individual person to flourish — as an autonomous individual and as a part of a greater relational whole.

To Say or Not to Say?

Practically this can include an:

Melody Durand

▪ Ability to focus and develop a depth of understanding

Unassertiveness is a learned behaviour and thinking style!

▪ Comfort with independent thought and action ▪ Capacity to listen and connect with people on an intimate level

Passive people act in this manner in order to be loved, but that very way of being eventually creates conflict and estrangement. Aggressive people are very fearful: people are aggressive not because they feel strong, but because they feel weak. Identifying unhelpful beliefs and thoughts is the first step towards changing them. For some people realising that they have been thinking in this manner is enough to change and break the cycle.

▪ Calm, steady presence during turbulent times ▪ Willingness to put other people and their vision in the spotlight

What this all means: When introverts grasp their strength and are valued, then risk taking and the discomfort to achieve in varying arenas is easier to face.

The alternative to passive, aggressive and manipulative behaviour is Assertiveness. It is the ability to clearly and confidently communicate needs, wants and feelings respectfully. The term and concept of assertiveness was popularised to the general public by books such as Your Perfect Right: A Guide to Assertive Behaviour (1970) by Robert E. Alberti and Michael L. Emmons and When I Say No, I

Working in teams and understanding each other’s strengths and weaknesses breed not only respect, but also ensures healthy teams with the best possible outcomes and decisions. It also allows people to work and play solo on occasions —recognising the benefits this brings.

It enhances communication and understanding in how couples/friends communicate and soLIFE Edition 7, Issue 26

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Feel Guilty: How To Cope Using the Skills of Systematic Assertiveness Therapy (1975) by Manuel J. Smith. An attribute to building selfesteem is empowering oneself to be assertive.

Assertiveness can be learned and therefore, contributes to building one’s self esteem. Assertive behaviour will help with identification of aggressive, passive and passive-aggressive behaviour. It will help with respecting personal boundaries for self and others with the objective of initiating and maintaining healthy relationships through assertive behaviour.

There are times and situations when submissiveness and aggression are appropriate. The problem is when those kinds of behaviour are compulsive. Assertiveness is a set of skills that can improve over time. We can only control ourselves and our own behaviour and accept the learning curve. In the first instance in practising assertiveness: it is important to focus on smaller and more manageable difficulties. The most effective way of learning the new skill is to apply knowledge and skill to smaller challenges which helps with building confidence and also success and having immediate rewards.

Assertive people acknowledge both their strengths and their limitations. Mistakes made should be looked at as learning opportunities and setting realistic goals. An important part of being assertive is taking responsibility and therefore not ignoring the consequences of our actions and the rights of others as this then becomes aggressive behaviour.

Gael Lindenfield in her book “Assert Yourself” makes references to the need for human beings to recognise that we have human rights. She states, “Rights are anything which we think human beings are entitled to by virtue of their very existence.” Assertiveness is a communication style that helps to express feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and opinions in an open manner that does not violate the rights of others and the self.

Assertiveness is a complex concept to navigate. As a beginner identifying behaviour as under-assertiveness or over-assertiveness can be tricky. Assertiveness may be practiced in an unbalanced way, especially by those new to the process. Learning assertiveness takes effort and can be a struggle for co-dependent individuals. The ability to replace the negative situations and thoughts with positive ones is an important assertive skill that will be acquired as a result of continuous repetition (Bishop, 2010, pp. 9-27). It is not easy to change a habitual way of communication. It can also be very painful to communicate vulnerably and honestly what you need, want, or feel and have that lead to conflict or rejection. In order to be assertive, you must be willing to risk enduring a conflict in order to hopefully forge a more authentic, intimate, and satisfying connection.

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Through Fathers Eyes Karen Bekker There are times in life when we all have to face things we don’t want to, when life becomes hard. Sometimes these hard, challenging times are for just a season and we know it will come to an end. But what about the times that come that there seems to be no way out. The times that are ongoing day after day, week after week, month after month…… The things that we are faced with that without a miracle there seems to be no end.

How do we cope with those things? How do we learn not just to survive but to live?

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Over the years I have had to face many of those situations; situations and circumstances that seem to have no end. Things that have seriously impacted the normality of everyday life.

that we don’t necessarily deserve either but we receive them.

There is nothing that can happen to us that takes God by surprise. Some may now be thinking, ‘well I feel angry at God, He could have stopped it” Unfortunately we live in a fallen world, our food is full of chemicals, we read or watch the news and our thoughts are challenged as fear and anger rises, media/magazines constantly point out our lack. Our thoughts can become toxic, our manufactured, genetically modified food affects our bodies in many negative ways; physically and mentally yet we blame God.

Anybody who has had a special needs child, or has had a life altering diagnosis either for themselves or for someone they love will understand. Accidents happen, injuries happen, jobs are lost; and often these types of situations put extra pressure on finances creating an extra burden on individuals and families.

So, what can we do; to learn how to not just survive, not just cope but to begin to thrive and live in and through these challenging situations that life brings.

That might sound a bit blunt but for too long we have blamed God for things going wrong.

When we begin to see things through Gods eyes, we begin to see that He is a loving Father.

That He is with us in all we go through. Yes, He is a miracle working God but sometimes the beginning of the miracle is realising that there is nothing we will go through that He is not right there with us. Sickness, death/grief, financial loss…the list goes on. He is with us.

For me after years of trying to understand, trying to figure things out, I realised that it is my faith that will see me through. I realised that we live in a world where sometimes things happen to us, our families and our friends that aren’t fair; we don’t deserve it, but also there are many good, wonderful and excellent things

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When His word says, “All things work together for good for those who love the Lord.” He means it. Is it easy, No! Will some days be harder than others, Yes! Will there be days that tears are shed, Yes! But as we look to the Lord and ask, “Help me to see my situation through your eyes Lord?” Day by day things will become clearer and hope will be renewed.

important. If it is too much to cope with on your own seek the advice from a professional service such your doctor, a trained counsellor, your local pastor…

With God, there is always hope, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and although the tunnel may seem long and dark, He is in the tunnel with you and will carry you when you feel you cannot go on.

This is a journey that took me years to understand. Such a simple thing to pray, such a simple prayer. I now also start each day with a heart of gratitude, of thankfulness. When the budget is tight and I feel stress rising I look around and thank Him for all the great things I have both big and small. When my health is strained, I thank Him for each day and the life He has given me. When my family is facing challenges, I thank Him for watching over us and that we are in His hands.

Treasures out of Darkness Danolene Johanessen Can treasures come out of darkness and can they be changed into a dream? This is what I have been pondering for the last few months, wondering how treasures can be hidden in darkness and how does one then change them into a dream.

There was a time when I suffered with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after tragically losing my brother and two weeks later I had an accident which left me unable to walk and house bound for months. Our finances where strained and we did our best but our family suffered I had four very young children at the time. I struggled to make sense of things and I remember the Lord saying, “find something to be thankful for.” Each day I started to look for something to be thankful for. At first it was simply acknowledging “thank you that I am still breathing.” My attitude wasn’t the best. I had to force myself to say it but from there it grew.

Through reflecting back over my life’s journey, I have discovered and realised that in many instances I am exactly the same as the kids I meet on my journey. They are children that experience the lack of basic needs, like having a pair of school shoes and food. I don’t necessarily have those needs, but it doesn’t mean I am not barefooted. We all experience being in need in many different ways. For some it is the physical need of food, clothes and basic necessities while for others the needs are not visible to the naked eye such as emotional neglect.

Bad things do happen and we don’t always deserve it but when we understand who we are in God, when we see ourselves and our situations through His eyes; strength is renewed, hope and joy are renewed and peace returns.

My journey of discovering the treasures began when I was 9 years old. In looking for attention and love I found contentment in writing, drawing and making cards. I didn’t know that this would lead me into a very dangerous place and a tool for the enemy to use to lure me to be the victim of an uncle and his tendencies of abusing young girls. At the age of 9 I also discovered the pain and nakedness of sexual abuse, where my self-esteem, my self-belief and who

Add to that an attitude of thankfulness and we can truly begin to live life not just survive life.

Please remember when things get tough don’t try to do life alone. Keep connected with family and friends, they may not understand what you’re going through but companionship is LIFE Edition 7, Issue 26

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I was became messed up. The abuse stripped me naked of my shoes on my feet and left me bear with nothing to hope or dream. All abuse has the ability to strip you of your dignity, your self-worth and your belief in yourself and in the human race and it comes in many faces leaving scares creating stories that haunt us forever.

The scripture in 1 Peter 2:9 is true “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” I was a Treasure hidden in darkness because of the wounds of the past. God in His infinite wisdom came and called me out of darkness into His marvellous light.

Depression and a sense of abandonment and issues of self-worth and belonging were compounded when I discovered the person I called daddy was not my father. I now wondered who am I and where do I belong?

Each one of us is a treasure, a special jewel, handcrafted by God so that we can declare His praises, and Give Him the glory, but the enemy comes and uses the things of the past to change our perception about who we are, and we can’t seem to see ourselves the way God sees us.

The more the wound of abuse festered, the bigger the hole in my shoes and the more tattered my clothes became. It was hard to believe that treasures could be hidden inside of me.

I had to make that choice with my heart and thoughts/head, that I will believe the report of the Lord concerning me and that I will choose to look at myself in the mirror the way the Father sees me. Because of that revelation I found my purpose and calling in life and I know now that I am a treasure in Gods eyes.

How does one climb out of the deep, deep dark hole that has been created for you by words, actions and behaviour patterns? How does one find the strength to break out of the darkness?

For as long as I can remember, I was living my life in the shadow of someone else, looking for the real person that I was meant to be. Was I meant to be without scars or wounds, or were the scars and wounds meant to unlock the treasures on the inside of me?

You are a treasure, choose today to get your wounds healed rather than keeping it sealed.

Follow Me Jodie Chambers

I believe today after many years of questioning and the many tears; “Why does the wounds, when healed leave a scar?” We choose how long our wounds can stay sealed and not healed, we decide when it is the time for it to be healed, God always stands ready to heal, but every wound will leave a scar.

What does it mean when Jesus says “Follow me”?

The first thing Jesus asks each of his disciples to do is to “come, follow me.” He is not looking for the disciples to change or to have a special ability and He never chose them for their status in society. Jesus met his disciples where they were; emotionally, physically and spiritually going about their daily work in their very ordinary lives.

Every scar has the potential to tell the story of Gods healing. It could be a child, a teenager or a adult who has been abused or left abandoned, struggling with self-worth, belonging or fitting in, that needs to hear the story of how God healed the would.

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What it means for me to follow Jesus is a journey. That may seem to be what everyone says 2017

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however my journey of discovery is not only about who I am through the eyes of Jesus but also a journey that evolves and changes over time with no real destination. To follow Jesus is to believe He knows the way, He has the plan and He is able to keep me feeling safe. In short, following Jesus means to trust.

and tend to spend more time in the sit, wait and listen position. I would like to say that following Jesus is easy for me and my faith strong enough to drop everything and follow where He leads. For a ‘doer’ the waiting can be hard and the listening can also be a challenge. At the same time, there will be those of you who will be great at sitting and listening and less inclined to do, perhaps waiting for that five year plan or asking “Where am I going?” We can also find ourselves in a place of ignoring.

We hear what God is telling us however we choose to ignore or doubt what we have heard, perhaps even dismissing the idea of hearing from God altogether. The challenge is to have faith enough to make the first step.

I will confess that I am a doer, which is to say that I tend to head off on a tangent of my own design, sometimes with not too much forethought, expecting things will happen. This is not entirely negative as my heart’s desire is to be doing the things Jesus wants me to do, however at times my idea of following Jesus is more of me asking Jesus to follow me and to bless the things I am doing. It is a big challenge for me to follow Jesus. I tend to get a glimpse of what I think Jesus may want me to do and off I go, or worse still, believe I am doing something under the auspice of what Christ would supposedly do. Sitting, waiting and listening to Christ is not one of my strong points.

To finish off with some words of encouragement I am going to actually leave you with the same words I started with. What does it mean for you to “Come, follow me.”?

For each of us the answer will be different.

Can you sit a little longer and wait for Jesus to lead you? Can you take His hand and let Him lead you without knowing where you are going? Can you believe that Jesus is communicating with you? Are you able to trust Him? Are you ready to start following Jesus wherever He may lead you? I can guarantee the journey will not be boring but filled with adventure.

What would I do if Jesus walked up to me right now, while I’m at my desk typing, and called me to come and follow Him? Would I drop everything, leave my family and friends and simply go? I think I would want to know where I was going first. Then I may explain how I need to finish this article and the rest of the work I need to get done. Or I may simply pretend I didn’t hear Him because I am too busy to deviate from todays, this weeks or this month’s schedule that are part of my plans.

What was it about Jesus that allowed the disciples to leave their life as they knew it and follow Him? How did they trust enough in Him? Then, a question I ponder often is, what made them stay? Jesus didn’t sit them down and show them a well-designed and thought out five year plan for spreading the Good News and planting churches.

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such an extent that it can reduce our stress response.

Our Love and Hate Relationship

with Anxiety Donna Hunter

Learning how to still the storm within and notice that which is inside of us without judgement and in a way that is safe, can help us to change our perspective about anxiety from one of being afraid to one of curiosity. One practice that can help with this is to sit in a comfortable chair and close your eyes. Drawing your attention to the room around you, noticing any sounds. Then focus your attention and look inside notice your breath. See if you can feel the breath enter your nose and follow it all the way down into your belly and then back out again.

Do this several times, slowly and deeply. Focus on your hands. You can ask yourself the question “how do I know that I have hands when my eyes are closed?” We know this because we are connected to our bodies by our thoughts and emotions.

Learning to find emotional balance isn’t always easy but it is possible. Anxiety is one of those emotions often thought about negatively.

Anxiety, which is part of our fearful emotional responses, looks different in different situations, generally involving feelings of tension, distress or nervousness, in which a person may avoid, or endure with dread, situations which cause them feelings of distress. Statistics tell us that anxiety is the most common mental health condition in Australia, with on average, one in four people experiencing anxiety at some stage in their life. This means that within a 12-month period, over two million Australians will experience anxiety (Beyond Blue).

Although this is true, anxiety is more than it is made out to be. There are positives to think about when talking about anxiety. Anxiety, like a smoke alarm system warns us to take action when in danger, and may just be the warning sign needed to bring awareness to a current situation and motivate us to make the changes needed to in order to feel at peace with life once more. When we understand that too little anxiety in life stops us from being motivated to find what we love and do it, and too much anxiety is debilitating to the point where we are too afraid to go out and find what we love and do it, we can start to understand our anxiety.

Henry Ford once said “if you think you can’t or think you can, you are right”. It is the perspective that we choose to take that either helps or hinders our anxiety levels.

These sorts of practices will help integrate the mind, body and emotion into the here and now, which will help change your perspective about anxiety. Learning to find emotional balance isn’t always easy but it is possible, but if you are feeling like you are unable to balance your anxiety, seek the support of someone who is qualified to help shift your perspective.

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.” - Corrie ten Boom

Bringing awareness to present thoughts and feelings can actually lower anxiety and research has shown present awareness practices such as mindfulness, lowers stress, improves memory retention and can change the brain to LIFE Edition 7, Issue 26

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Anxiety and Autism Spectrum Disorder

ing adolescence. Whilst they may not understand the social cues of others, they become increasingly aware that they ‘are not getting it’, that they are perceived as different and they are falling behind their peers in their social adeptness. They know that they don’t know, and this realisation along with their inability to understand why, can result in intense social anxiety.

Samantha Brown In general terms, anxiety is future-focused fear.

It is a negative mood state that develops out of excessive fear, worry or apprehension about the future. It includes feelings of dread or a sense of losing control as the mind ruminates on all those ‘what ifs’ that might happen, or could happen, but in many cases probably never will happen. Most people will experience some form of anxiety during their lifetime, and people with Autism Spectrum Disorder are no different. In fact, anxiety is one of the most common conditions that co-occurs in people diagnosed with ASD.

One significant difference for people with ASD is that their anxiety often has a more immediate focus, rather than a future focus, because their cognitive abilities for planning and thinking ahead are less developed or less efficient; they often need longer to process certain types of information and coordinate procedural thoughts. Whilst typical anxiety sufferers think ahead and worry about the future, for people with ASD their future is often right now.

Sensory sensitivity is another notable aspect of ASD that contributes to anxiety. For people who are particularly sensitive to certain sensory inputs, the implementation of structure and routines into daily life is an important way of managing levels and patterns of stimulation.

When these routines and structures are interrupted, when plans are changed without notice, their sensory responses can be severely affected. Their sense of control over their environment is lost and just as it is for most people who feel out of control, powerful anxiety ensues.

The population of people with ASD has a higher percentage rate of anxiety sufferers than the typical population of people without ASD. Research is yet to determine whether anxiety is a psychological response that arises from ASD, or if it is part of a person’s constitutional makeup. However, it is believed that people with ASD usually suffer from two main types of anxiety and these appear to be directly related to levels of cognitive function and social awareness.

Being a condition that negatively impacts on social communication, people with ASD often struggle to understand social cues, facial expressions, tone of voice and other social behaviors. Those with an IQ < 70 are diagnosed with intellectual disability, are often non-verbal and have extremely low social awareness, of both themselves and others. For these people, their anxiety relates to their immediate world and their inability to understand and predict what is happening around them. For those with higher cognitive function and better social awareness, their anxiety surprisingly, is very often socially provoked. Particularly for children approachLIFE Edition 7, Issue 26

Some simple strategies that can assist people with ASD to better manage anxiety might include explaining and teaching common facial expressions, body language and voice intonations, avoiding sarcasm, meaning what you say and saying what you mean. By maintaining regular structure in daily activities, giving warnings ahead of time if routines might change, and by providing calm spaces and time to process information, helping people with ASD to better manage their anxiety can go a long way in helping us manage our own.

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payer in our largely non user pays medical system in Australia.

Vitamin D level too low? You and your doctor might be surprised!

John Stewart

If you hate having blood taken, your doctor may suggest taking a 1000 international unit Vitamin D capsule daily for 3 months at 10cents/day, then have your Vitamin D levels measured in your blood. Although it is a lot less common to have too much Vitamin D, you should have your levels checked. There is a “sweet spot” when the Vitamin D levels in your blood are between 40 and 60 nanograms per milliliter. Avoid getting Vitamin D levels above 80 nanograms per milliliter (Vieth, R. Vitamin D supplementation, 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, and safety. The American journal of clinical nutrition 69, 842-856 (1999).)

Less than optimal levels of vitamin D are common in the Australian and American populations. Some researchers estimate up to 70% of people do not have enough. We do not get as much sunlight as our hunter gatherer ancestors of a million years ago. (Holick, M. F. High prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy and implications for health. Mayo Clinic proceedings.

Mayo Clinic 81, 353-373, doi: 10.4065/81.3.353 (2006)).

How do I know if I do not have enough?

If you have less than optimal levels you may not have any specific symptoms that allows your doctor to say, “you are likely to have Vitamin D deficiency.”

If you hate taking capsules, oily fish twice a week (eg. salmon) is a good source of Vitamin D and will also provide omega 3 fatty acids which many Australians do not get enough of.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble hormone. Via your genes, it has an influence on approximately 1000 processes in your body! The Vitamin D levels in your blood should be between 40 and 60 nanograms per milliliter. Less than 20 nanograms/milliliter indicates a deficiency state and may be associated with less than optimal bone strength (osteoporosis).

Getting 15 minutes of sunlight daily to a part of your body (eg abdomen or legs, not your face) that is normally protected from the sun will be a compromise between skin cancer risk and vitamin D production.

Have the vitamin D discussion with your doctor. Encourage your doctor to order a blood test to check your vitamin D level .You will probably have to ask your doctor for this test as the Australian government is trying to reduce the number of Vitamin D laboratory blood tests that are being conducted due to cost to the taxLIFE Edition 7, Issue 26

Scientist Dr Rhonda Patrick PhD has an interesting YouTube video on Vitamin D for the reader interested in more information (eg effect on ageing and telomere length) and further references. https://youtu.be/uc815fQn8iY 2017

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