What do you get out of travelling?
1. Additional learnings
2. New friends
3. Fun experiences
4. and vitamin D!
When you hit the beach or the pool, don’t you soak yourself under the sun? When you climb hills, when you trek on mountains, don’t you kiss the sun that is so close to where you stand? When you traverse around streets and alleys, don’t you absorb some of the sun’s rays as well?
Yes, traveling gets you out of your cubicles and homes and let you out in the open!
But, I must confess, that though I love the outdoors and travel to new shores, I am not a big fan of the sun. I always keep myself under the shade to prevent the prickly heat of the sun’s rays. And when I don’t travel, I am always cooped inside my office space or in the comforts of my house.
So, yes, I am one of those who may probably be vitamin D-deficient, which may pose serious health risks. Good thing that Unilab recently commissioned a study on the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, and found that 53% of its 118 test participants were found to be lacking with enough vitamin D.
It was Hi-Precision Diagnostics, a licensed medical facility under the Department of Health and backed by Unilab, which carried out the collection, assessment, and interpretation of the blood samples derived from the participants. Following international laboratory standards, a 30 ng/ml level of vitamin D was considered the baseline for all tests. Those who registered below said level were deemed vitamin D deficient.
“Staying indoors for most parts of the day, habitually wearing long-sleeved clothing and slacks or pants, using too much sunscreen, and eating barely enough vitamin D-rich foods are just some of the factors that lead to vitamin D deficiency,” said Dr. Alejandro Diaz of the Philippine Neurological Association.
“Melanin, while serving as a protective barrier for the skin against ultraviolet (UV) light, also works to block the sun’s rays, which is needed to activate vitamin D in the body. Studies have proven that there is a direct correlation between melanin levels and vitamin D production, with melanin affecting the skin’s ability to synthesize vitamin D. Thus the darker the skin, the less vitamin D is produced,” added Dr. Diaz.
Uh-oh. So, that means I need to go out more and expose myself under the sun? That means more travels!
The good thing is that even when you head to the Arctic region or cold and dark places where the sun never shines all year round (unlike in the Philippines), Unilab has come up with Forti-D, the latest vitamin D supplement, a single-dose supplement that contains 800 IU of vitamin D3. Also known as colecalciferol, vitamin D3 impacts one’s over-all health.
“Taking one capsule of Forti-D every day helps reduce the risk of getting chronic diseases by unlocking the proper function of organs typically affected by such illnesses,” emphasized Alex Panlilio, Unilab VP for consumer health.
In the meantime, while I’m mostly indoors, I have to rely on Forti-D for my vitamin D, and plan when I can head to the beach.
