Health News__
More Vitamin D Could Mean
A Lower Cancer Risk

.....Thousands of cases of breast and colon cancers might be averted each year if people in colder climates raised their vitamin D levels, researchers estimate in a new report. A number of studies have suggested that vitamin D may be important in cancer risk. Much of this research is based on cancer rates at different latitudes of the globe; rates of breast, colon and ovarian cancer, for example, are lower in sunnier regions of the world than in Northern climates where cold winters limit people's sun exposure. Sunlight triggers the synthesis of vitamin D in the skin, and people who get little sun exposure tend to have lower stores of the vitamin.
.....Complementing these studies are lab experiments showing that vitamin D helps prevent cancer cells from growing and spreading, as well as some clinical trials in which people given high doses of vitamin D showed lower cancer risks. For the new study, researchers at the University of California used data on average wintertime blood levels of vitamin D and rates of breast and colon cancers in 15 countries.
They found that rates of the diseases tended to fall as average vitamin D levels climbed, according to their report in the journal Nutrition Reviews.
.....No one is recommending that people bake in the sun to reach high vitamin D blood levels. According to the study, spending a matter of minutes in the midday sun, with 40 percent of the skin exposed, is enough. For fair-skinned people, the researchers estimate that just 3 minutes in the sun can be adequate, while darker-skinned people may need about 15 minutes.
.....The study recommends that, in addition to modest sun exposure, adults get 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day, which is the tolerable upper intake level. The limit exists because of the risk of vitamin D toxicity, which causes elevated calcium levels in the blood and problems such as nausea, weight loss, fatigue and kidney dysfunction.

Cranberries...For Year Round Urinary Health
....In the mid-1800’s, German chemists discovered that the urine of those who ate cranberries contained a bacteriostatic compound (literally translated, “stopping bacteria”). Today, cranberry juice is a common home remedy used to maintain a healthy urinary tract by helping prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs).
....UTI bacteria produce adhesins, a chemical substance that facilitates their adherence to the bladder wall and urinary tract, thus allowing multiplication of their numbers and colonies to occur resulting in progressive and local infection. Cranberries provide anti-adhesins, thus UTI bacteria are unable to adhere and are flushed out of the urinary tract with urine flow.
....Cranberry extract supplements provide UTI sufferers the option of avoiding large fluid quantities of cranberry juice. Talk to your Peoples Pharmacist about Cranberry supplements to see if they can help you.

Antibiotics and Bugs
....You've caught a bug! Call it a cold bug, call it an infection, or call it feeling really, really sick. Think antibiotics will make you feel better? Maybe - maybe not, and you should know why.
• Bugs come in many forms, most often as bacteria or viruses.
• Antibiotics kill bacteria, but do not treat viruses.
• 90% of colds and flus, and the accompanying coughs, sore throats, aches and pains are caused by viruses. And antibiotics won’t help.
....On average, adults will develop 2 - 3 colds and flus in a year, and children as many as 6-12. Knowing when to visit the doctor can be tricky. here are some criteria to help you make an informed decision.
Consult your physician if:
• Illness lasts longer than a week. • High fever occurs.
• Symptoms get worse instead of better.
• Sinus pain, earache or toothache develop.
• A cough gets worse instead of better.
.....If you visit a doctor and aren’t prescribed an antibiotic, there are good reasons. Your illness has been diagnosed as a virus, and you’ll most likely get better without an antibiotic. An ordinary cold or flu virus will run its course in a week or so.
.....If your doctor diagnoses a bacterial infection and prescribes an antibiotic, read and follow all the instructions provided with it. Finish all of the medication even though you may feel better after a couple of days.