You’re welcome Twink…
There has to be a link between the better weather in summer and the lack of sunshine in winter. Granddaughter number two was found to be deficient in Vitamin D in the summer…:surprised: It turns out that she rarely left her house while studying for her degree, doctor put her on a large dose of D and she feels so much better now.
It could be said that we tend to spend more time indoors in the winter, but everyone I know who works outside throughout the year never seem to catch even just a cold, and these people spend much of their time indoors in the winter when they are not working, but still seem to be cold and virus free…Could it be that they still catch colds etc, but due to the sunshine vitamin their immunity keeps it in check.
Foxy, in the past they used to do blood tests for Vit D in a room with with no daylight & a dark cloth over the needle & blood samples, so no light could affect the results. I know I had one!
Now they can do it without those precautions so I think they should check vulnerable people once a year. Just think of the money they could save on treating broken, or weak bones , medicines for many who get breathing problems with chest infections, if they get them to take regular Vit D supplements :!: Like I said you can buy supplements for around £20 a year, or less with some companies…and if it was British companies making them it could boost our economies if we could show the world how good they are at beating poor immune systems.
I always feel prevention is better than cure… perhaps I should apply for a job looking after NHS finances!
According to the Cancer Council a few minutes outdoors each day when the UV Index is above 3 is all that is needed to maintain more than adequate Vitamin D.
When the UV Index is below 3, eg winter, then a couple of hours a week casual exposure (ie walking) gives you sufficient Vitamin D for good health.
Above a reading of three is when you need sun protection for any extended exposure to sunlight.
The UV Index is part of the weather forecast:
Your figures might not be as high as ours but they will be there, it is not hard to get enough sun exposure without having to resort to supplements which are nowhere near as effective.
It’s probably one of the reasons why the infection rates are low in Australia Bruce, and the death rates even lower. The bloke on the link said that anyone who lives below or above a certain latitude will probably suffer from vitamin D deficiency in the winter. Most Americans were found to be deficient. Something to do with the sun being so low on the horizon. Add to this the fact that people don’t go out much in the winter here, and when they do there is very little skin exposed. That’s assuming you can even see the sun.
I think the cancer people are biased the other way and don’t want you going out in the sun at all. I believe the skin cancer rates in Ozz are a lot higher than they are in the UK.
I don’t think that is the case though - I looked at the UK BOM site (Kent) and today UV Index was 1 (you use the same scale as us). If you look at the average UV Index for July in Australia it is similar for southern latitudes. As the BOM site points out UV and temperature are not the same thing.
On a side note, one of the many reasons that getting outdoors year round (cold and heat) and exercising for at least 30 minutes is so important in maintaining good health’s is that it maintains the immune system that weakens as we grow older.
In addition to facilitating vitamin D synthesis, the body senses that it is under stress (fight or flight - being too cold, being too hot, being in danger), which boosts the immune system by circulating killer T and other immune cells.
I wholeheartedly agree with you surfermom, and they would have to post an armed guard at my door to stop me going out walking or running…And he would have to be able to outrun me…Errrr, I haven’t thought this through though have I?..I don’t think I could outrun a speeding bullet…Perhaps when I was younger…
I used to work with a Kiwi who would talk about the high skin cancer rates there. This was apparently down to an ozone hole. I seem to recall reports recently that it’s closed. But she had “heaps” of school friends who died young because of the cancer link.
Yes I read that too Annie.
You are right Bruce, it’s not about the temperature, it’s more about the length of daylight and the angle of the sun.
Very short days in winter here, and very weak sunshine.
Apparently nobody is in hospital suffering from flu this year…
You don’t think the tests are positive for both covid and the flu? The hospitals (ours certainly) are usually packed to the gunnels with sick and dying flu patients this time of year. Mostly elderly.
The increasing numbers of the UK Coronavirus appearing in hotel quarantine has lead to an early recall of the National Cabinet comprising of the PM, Premiers and First Ministers. It will meet tomorrow (Friday AEDT) to decide what measures need to be taken to keep the UK Virus out of Australia.
Queensland Government has announced a lockdown of the greater Brisbane area after a case of the British Coronavirus escaped from hotel quarantine.
From 6:00pm tonight people living in Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton and Redlands will be required to stay home until 6:00pm Monday in a bid to stop the spread of the highly-infectious United Kingdom strain of the virus.
It comes after a cleaner at a quarantine hotel in Brisbane tested positive yesterday to the mutant strain and was in the community for five days.
All residents in those areas need to stay at home unless it is for essential work, providing healthcare for a vulnerable person, or essential shopping and exercise in your neighbourhood.
If you do go outside, masks in those areas will be mandatory, however children under the age of 12 are exempt.
I know quite a few who would normally not have the flu vaccine but have done so this year. Plus social distancing has reduced spread. I’d normally have had a chesty cold bug by now. It’s a regular feature after the usual tipsy hugging and mingling with friends and family at Christmas or just commuting on crowded trains. On the other hand I think many of us have reduced immunity because we are not coming into contact with so many bugs. Many people I know are getting sick with other things. A friend’s cancer has resurfaced, two people I have known for years have died in the last week (not Covid-related).
I’ve seen a big improvement in my fitness, energy levels and health since I started taking cod liver oil and Vit D a couple of weeks ago. So there is definitely something in the theory that Vit D will help reduce the Covid severity because the healthier you are to start with has to contribute to a better chance. All this sitting at home is debilitating. It seems so appealing when you are working in a regular job outside, but I now realise that’s an illusion.
Skin cancer rates in Australia are among the highest in the world. Apparently nothing to do with the hole in the Ozone layer.
I read somewhere that due to the tilt of the Earth and its elliptical orbit round the sun the southern hemisphere gets 7% more intense sunlight in summer than the northern hemisphere gets during its summer.
Unfortunately I cannot re-find the article which said this. I think it was a science paper I came across when I was looking up information about solar panels and solar noon but it has eluded me.
Not that skin cancer has anything to do with covid
The link is the extra sunlight that falls on Australia compared to that of the UK. So indirectly, the rates of skin cancer indicate more exposure to the sun and less incidence of covid. And the high rates of covid in the UK in the winter can be directly associated to lack of exposure to the sun. After thinking about it, the temperature can also be factored in. People going outside on a cold winter’s day in the UK will be well wrapped up and exposing less than a square inch to the sun. However, you said yourself Bruce that you are in shorts most of the year, even in winter.
