Middle-class kids in England suffering from rickets

Many children in England have been found to be suffering from rickets due, apparently, to a lack of exposure to sunlight. Kids are spending more time indoors playing with electronic contraptions, and, when they do go out, their parents have made sure that all of their exposed skin is covered in sunscreen. Hence, a vitamin D deficiency (yes, this has long been a bugaboo of mine, for which I make no apologies.) From the UK Telegraph:

Middle class children in the south of England are suffering from the ’17th century disease’ rickets as parents cover them in sunscreen and limit time outside in the sunshine, a leading doctor has warned.

[…]

Professor Clarke says he and colleague Dr Justin Davies, a consultant pediatric endocrinologist, have checked over 200 children for bone problems and more than 20 per cent of them have significant deficiencies.

“A lot of the children we’ve seen have got low vitamin D and require treatment,” he said.

“This is almost certainly a combination of the modern lifestyle, which involves a lack of exposure to sunlight, but also covering up in sunshine, and we’re seeing cases that are very reminiscent of 17th century England.”

Low levels of vitamin D have been increasingly linked by studies in recent years not only to rickets (which has long been known) but to a greatly enhanced risk of developing a range of lethal cancers. There have also been correlations found with Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and other ailments. So eat some nice oily fish, and get what sun exposure you can get — without burning, of-course.

(As always The Cinch Review is meant for entertainment purposes only. Consult your local veterinarian before adopting any new health regimen.)

Study: Vitamin D Crucial to Fighting All Kinds of Infection


Why does vitamin D interest me so? I swear, I’m not one of those supplement-popping freaks. I’ve never been a vitamin C zealot, nor a loud advocate of ginseng, royal jelly or even wheat germ. Yet, the continuing story of how vitamin D levels have been massively overlooked by the scientific and medical communities as a vital factor in human health fascinates and compels me because it is a singular example which illuminates a much bigger picture.

Science is wonderful. Medical science has saved so many lives and every day works what would have been considered miracles not very long ago. It is to be greatly valued and scientists and doctors are to be admired and encouraged to continue in the same vein. All of that is true, and yet, it is even more important not to forget one underlying fact: Everything that scientists and doctors think they know could actually be wrong. Everything. Continue reading “Study: Vitamin D Crucial to Fighting All Kinds of Infection”

Vitamin D: Told Ya So


The story today is: Lack of Vitamin D in Children ‘Shocking’.

About 70 percent of U.S. children have low levels of vitamin D, which puts them at higher risk for bone and heart disease, researchers said today.

“We expected the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency would be high, but the magnitude of the problem nationwide was shocking,” said Dr. Juhi Kumar of Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center.

Cases of rickets, a bone disease in infants caused by low vitamin D levels, have also been increasing, other research shows.

[…]

The cause? Poor diet and lack of sunshine, the researchers conclude today in the online version of the journal Pediatrics.


And this doesn’t even get into the mounting evidence that Continue reading “Vitamin D: Told Ya So”

Sun, Vitamin D, Cancer, and the Vindication of Common Sense


It used to be that mothers would tell their children, “Go out and play in the sunshine, it’s good for you.” In more recent years, saying something like that too loudly might have gotten a poor mom arrested and her children taken away from her. “The sun, good for you? Are you crazy? Are you trying to kill your kids with skin cancer?” At least, make sure the urchins are slathered all over in 45 SPF sunscreen, and preferably wearing hats and long sleeves. You might call this the Gospel of St. John the Dermatologist, and it has now been extremely well learned and internalized by a couple of generations of people in the United States and to varying degrees across what we call the developed world. And this much is now clear: it has been killing people. Continue reading “Sun, Vitamin D, Cancer, and the Vindication of Common Sense”