Struggling With A Severe Vitamin D Deficiency

Many of my family and friends who have spent time with me in the last two months know I’ve been suffering from bone and muscle pain but resisted going to a doctor. At times the pain has been so severe in my shoulders and arms it prevented my normal physical activities. At first I thought I had “over done it” with my fitness routine (even though the pain arrived on a morning after two days of rest).

Over the holidays I noticed my muscles growing even weaker. The overall sensation frightened me. After such a prolonged period of time and the new challenges on the horizon this year, I finally made a medical appointment. After mentioning some despairing possibilities, my doctor ordered a series of blood tests. He discovered a severe vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D helps the body control calcium and phosphate levels. If the blood levels of these minerals become too low, the body may produce hormones that cause calcium and phosphate to be released from the bones causing weak bones. Researchers estimate 50% of the world’s population may be at risk.

How could this happen to me?

I used to run 5 days a week outside in the sunshine but in the last year I decreased my running because of my deepening yoga practice. This meant I was out of the sun and in the studio on most days. Fifteen minutes a day in the sun is all you need to acquire enough vitamin D in your body.

A quick check of the soy milk, orange juice, and other products in my kitchen indicated I was only getting about half the vitamin D required. Although I worried about my family’s calcium intake because of my son’s dairy allergy, I hadn’t concentrated on vitamin D. Not all calcium products contain vitamin D. With the lack of daily sunlight and my meticulous use of suntan lotion, I had made myself very sick.

Vitamin D deficiency symptoms include:

Bone pain in the arms, legs, pelvis, or spine
Muscle pain and loss of muscle strength
Muscle cramps
Depression
Frequent infections

I’m sharing my story because taking a supplement is an easy fix and the complications from not treating the deficiency can be quite dire including high blood pressure, obesity, osteoporosis, and early mortality. In fact, many medical professionals are beginning to think that childhood obesity is being caused in part by a vitamin D deficiency.

Do yourself a favor and check your vitamin D intake. Are you getting enough? Make sure you are — especially in the winter when we aren’t outside as much and tend to stay warm under layers of clothing.

My doctor prescribed a supplement for the next 24 weeks. Hopefully I’ll be feeling better soon but I also intend on soaking up the sun as much as possible this winter.

January 8th, 2012 | Tags: , , | Category: All My Writing | 6 comments

Prejudice Against The Vegan Label

Vegan Chocolate Chocolate Chips

People don’t want to buy vegan baked goods. Last month the Long Island Press described how BabyCakes NYC opened a shop in downtown Disney World only to have to remove the word “vegan” from the signage:

The shop’s teal signs touting their dairy- and egg-free treats proved too much for the mostly middle American, indulgent vacationers passing by.

“It was more of a repellant,” said owner Erin McKenna. “People were just walking away.”

After the “v” word was removed, sales improved.

Since the food allergies in my family have led me to bake vegan for over 14 years, I wondered if the “vegan” name was bad for business in our Maryland hometown. With cookies needed for school fundraisers at both our elementary and high schools, I found the answer.

Everyone who has ever eaten one of my cookies raves about the taste and quality. My sons constantly tell me I should open a restaurant or bakery. People have complimented my cookies at parties for years without knowing I baked them. All these goodies have been completely vegan without eggs or dairy.

Since people love chocolate, I created Chocolate Chocolate Chip cookies from a few different recipes. Frankly, they tasted like thin brownies with chunks of rich chocolate scattered throughout. My other baking creations included Maple Cookies With Maple Frosting, traditional Chocolate Chips, and Sugar Cut Out Cookies.

For the high school event I provided a small sign which explained the Chocolate Chocolate Chips and Maple Cookies were vegan. One vegan friend told me she wandered over to the table thinking she wouldn’t find anything to eat and was delighted to find the cookies. However, most people didn’t agree. My cookies didn’t sell as well as all the other treats. At the same time, the Chocolate Chocolate Chips sold out at the elementary school event and people were coming to the table asking for them because of the recommendations of their friends.

The next week I removed the “vegan” sign at the high school and the Chocolate Chips disappeared. People love dairy-and-egg-free cakes and cookies when they don’t know about the missing ingredients.

At a party this week, a woman told me she had been on Lipitor since 2000 but went vegan this year and has lost a substantial amount of weight and gone off the medication. She stressed how healthy the move has been for her. My other vegan friend has met with harsh words for changing her diet and she believes people simply don’t want to understand the benefits.

With healthy ingredients and the knowledge of the science behind baking, vegan baked goods can taste much better and be much healthier for you. You might be eating a vegan baked good and not even know.

Shhhhhhh, don’t tell anyone, Oreos are vegan!

December 16th, 2011 | Tags: , | Category: All My Writing, Health and Wellness | 5 comments

I Did One Of Those Crazy Food Eliminations: 40 Days To Personal Revolution Week 4

I never thought elimination diets were a good idea. My motto has always been “everything in moderation”. When I lost my weight my goal was to make changes in my diet which could last a lifetime. But during a personal revolution, you must shed your perceptions of the world and try those things you never thought you would.

For three days I only ate fruit. I spent the time flip flopping. I was surprised when I wasn’t hungry then bouts of hunger would come over me. Fruit only goes so far. Blended organic juices high in fiber can actually be very filling. But I was cold, freezing most of the time. My solution was to cook the fresh pineapple and sauté the avocado-tomato medley (yes, they are fruits).

By the third day I didn’t go to my mixed martial arts class because I knew burning 1000 calories would leave me too hungry. I certainly wasn’t functioning with my full potential. The daily hour and a half of yoga was no problem but there was no strength for anything else. For this reason the cleanse was a bad idea.

However, my body did feel clean without any adverse effects. The day after the cleanse ended I simply had yogurt for breakfast. Being famished didn’t cause me to overeat.

Because I had been so hungry for so long and couldn’t appease the pangs, I have become much more conscious of eating. Even though I want to eat something, I now stop and think about it even more than usual. Eating somehow has become more of a choice and less of a necessity.

At a cocktail party I accidentally ate a chicken salad sandwich. After a month without meat, the taste seemed strange. I finished it even though I recognized my mistake after the first bite. I know I could live without meat. Unfortunately, I don’t think my kids could, partially because of the food allergies and partially because of their complete lament that we are only half-way done with this experiment.

As for the rest of my week of “restoration”, I learned to take it easy when necessary. The fruit cleanse forced me to skip my kickboxing so I did relax. Some of the yoga practices challenged my muscles and I realized I need to mix the difficulty of my practices. The 20 minutes of meditation seemed long at first, but it definitely forced me to learn to let go and begin again. Repeatedly pushing thoughts out of my head means I repeatedly feel the peace of the moment.

At one yoga practice we sent out our love and then felt the love in the room return to us. This probably seems pretty hokey to many people. This could even be held up as a reason never to try yoga but it was only for a moment. Consider how we exist in a state of never-ending emotions. Capitalizing on the best one can only make you feel better. I know the love from those I love in my life is the only way I am truly restored.

This post is part of a series on my 40 Days To Personal Revolution journey.

February 7th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: All My Writing, Yoga Online | Leave a comment