I have been reading, both online and in print, about all the possible problems that can develop from a low level of Vitamin D. As a nurse, I am interested because I believe that we need to do everything we can to maintain and keep good health instead of relying on the health care system. As a proponent of natural and holistic medicine myself, I firmly believe that additional vitamins are a necessity if you are to have a strong body and mind.

The problem I find myself having is this--there is so much hype in the mainstream news today about Vitamin D and all the myriad diseases it can prevent and even I become skeptical. First of all, vitamin D is not really a vitamin at all but rather a precursor hormone. Hormones are involved in every process of the human body, so I am sure that a deficiency in a specific substance could lead to many and different sources of ill health due to the breakdown of the natural processes of the body. Beyond that, I still need convincing. Although I have been taking Vitamin D supplements for some time, I am not quite convinced that Vitamin D is the "magic bullet" for good health and long life.

Below I have included just one of the many articles I find daily about this subject. Feel free to read the article and comment. Why not read it and come back here to comment?

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Health Buzz: 1 in 5 Youngsters Lacking in Vitamin D and Other Health News

By Megan Johnson

Posted October 26, 2009

Study Finds 1 in 5 Youngsters Lacking in Vitamin D

A new study finds that about 20 percent of U.S. children between ages 1 and 11 aren't getting enough vitamin D, the Associated Press reports. Researchers looked at vitamin D blood levels in almost 3,000 children recorded between 2001 and 2006. The researchers also applied a higher cutoff for deficiency that showed close to 90 percent of black children and 80 percent of Hispanic children may be vitamin D deficient, according to the AP. Earlier research has suggested a link between vitamin D deficiency in kids and health problems such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol and has also shown that many U.S. teens are lacking enough of the nutrient. Health professionals do not have a single set of guidelines to determine the level at which a child is considered deficient, the AP reports. The latest study appears in the journal Pediatrics.