I mention in one of my last blogs about how running gets you outside and helps you get your needed Vitamin D.  Dr. John Whitcomb, Aurora Sinai Medical Center stated ‘I believe [vitamin D] is the number one public health advance in medicine in the last twenty years.’ 

People throughout the past generations made their livings outside on farms and on boats getting ample doses of Sun light (Unless you live in a region above latitude 40, between Sept-May, at this latitude the sun can’t trigger the creation of Vitamin D).   Sadly, today the large majority of the people today don’t get enough of Vitamin D and don’t know it. 

A deficiency causes include; heart disease, chronic pain, Fibromyalgia, hypertension, arthritis, obesity, cancer, MS and other autoimmune diseases.  While men can experance problems with Vitamin D deficiency – woman are more prone with problems.  Also mood related problem of depression, PMS mood changes, parathyroid problems, fatigue, and sleep problems.  Vitamin D levels are inversely related to those of melatonin, a mood-regulating hormone. Melatonin helps modulate your circadian rhythms, with darkness triggering melatonin secretion by the pineal gland within your brain, bringing you down gently at night for sleep. Insomnia, mood swings and food cravings are influenced by melatonin. 

According to the Vitamin D Council (vitamindcouncil.org), if you are someone who completely avoids the sun you will need to take approximately 4,000 units of Vitamin D per day. You would have to drink 40 glasses of milk a day or take 10 multivitamins a day to get the required amount of Vitamin D.  That is a lot of milk or multi vitamins!   On the other hand most people typically make about 20,000 units of Vitamin D after only 20-25 minutes of sun exposure.  This is about 100 times more than the daily amount of Vitamin D the FDA says we need. 

The most accure way to find out if your Vitamin D deficient is to take  a ‘VITAMIN D,1,25-DIHYDROXY – (16493E)’ test which will tell you the amount of Vitamin D in the blood stream.   This test can be done through Quest Diagnostics (questdiagnostics.com) for less then $200. 

In short – there is a crisis in modern societies with getting the needed dose of vitamin D.   I would look into subliments or tanning parlors if you need to – but the most natural way to get you vitamin is to get outside under the Sun.   A walking or running exercise routine would best keep you outside and God willing, healthier.

My Weekly Update

I give blood when ever we have a blood drive at work.  I do so because I believe it’s part of my Christian duty to love others, and thus have not missed a blood drive in years.    However at the last blood drive, I was informed that they will not be taking my blood – because my blood pressure is lower then their guidelines (86/60). I asked if I should be concerned or see a doctor and he indicated that it wasn’t anything to worry about.   I was surprised to say the least, because I knew my blood pressure is on the low side – but why did it drop this low.   In reading about this I found that blood pressure can change from day to day and there is a number of things which can effect it.  One of those factors is running. 

When running our bodies change and the process is called adaptation.   This is where your body gets stronger to better deal with your excercise regiment.  But it’s not just you’re legs – but also your heart gets stronger.  The heart is a muscle.  Running strengthens muscles and makes them larger. The left ventricle, a lower heart chamber, becomes larger, developing thicker walls, with regular running.  Therefore with your heart stronger – it does not have to work as hard and distributes blood with less beats per minute.   Therefore people who run/exercise regularly tend to have lower blood pressure and a slower heart rate than do people who aren’t as fit. 

What does all this mean?  It shows exactly what the research shows that people which excercise/run have stronger hearts and stronger hearts mean you have less of a chance of stroke.  Stroke is the third leading killer in the United States and running is one way for which to defend against it.  You don’t have to run a marathon to get the benefits  – merely 20-30 minutes a day of running. God did not design us to sit for 12 hours a day – we need to get up and get healthy. 

My Weekly Update

38 DAYS, 14 HOURS, 14 MIN, 26 SEC till the marathon!

Check List
☑ Register for Race
☑ Get Friday off from work, to travel down to D.C.
 ☐ Book a hotel in D.C. for Friday Night
 

My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. (Psalm 73:26)

When I run – I normally feel this high on my second mile of my run.  A unstoppable smile comes to my face and I’m just so enjoying being outside, hitting the pavement, and being alive.  I want to throw up my hands as I run as I feel the wind in my face.   When I have alot of stress in my life – I go to God and seek a calm mind and heart - knowing that He is sovereign and cares for His children.  However some stress remains, but is often melted away when I go running.  One place I love to run in near the water – when the sun is out and the air is cool.   Don’t get much better then that.  After my fourth mile – my mind gets less active and almost goes into a meditation of calm, which continues to the end of the run.  When I am done running, I am tired – but I am also very relaxed and ready for what ever life throws at me. 

This morning, I was talking to my wife about the benefits of running and thought that I would share a few blogs on the subject.  This blog is about how beneficial running is for depression and anxiety.   Many people suffer depression, stress and anxiety today and running can help relieve these problem. 

One of the ways is what they call the ‘Runners High’, which can be experienced during a run and can last for hours afterwards.  When you are running the body sees your physical exertion as a type of pain, and responds with the release of Endorphins.  The word Endorphins can be broken down into it’s parts “endo” and “morphine”.  From the Greek: word endo “ενδο” meaning “within” and then ”morphone”.  These are natural pain killers, created by the pituitary gland.  These chemicals when released in the brain sends the runner into a relaxed state of mind.  Some people which run – may not at first experience this high.  The trick is to set the right pace in your running to experience this release. 

Other benifits with depression and anxiety are: 

1) Running get you away from the house or work related stresses and allows you to be alone (with God).  Everyone feels as if they are defined by their work.   They are Mom or Dad or Student or an Employee.   They need to get away from that from time to time and just be themselves.   Sadly people use drinking or drugs to get away – but running is a wonderful and beneficial ways of having some alone time.

2) Getting outside especially in the winter when the days are short, reduces the effects of Seasonal affective disorder, which is called SAD.   I think everyone to a degree suffers from SAD – and people try to buy special lights and stuff to reduced the symptoms, but running or even walking when the sun is shining is the best medicine for SAD. 

3) Losing weight and feeling fit, makes you feel more relaxed.  Not that you can lose weight from running alone – you still need to watch your calories.  If you watch your calories and run – you will see weight lose, and who doesn’t feel better when their fit?

4) Running gets you outside so you can get your needed vitamin D.  Many people especially during the winter have vitamin D deficiency.  Sunlight is one of the most abundant sources of vitamin D which our bodies make the nutrient by absorbing UVB rays. 

5) Running reverses the directions of you thoughts – depression is inward thinking – running pushes your thoughts outward.  A hundred years ago when most of the world were farmers and fishermen – people had to leave their houses to work.   Fresh air and work was good for people, but today people can go weeks without really being outside.  The wrong kind of internal thinking can be damaging to ones mental health.  Depression is often a downward spiral which feeds on it self until all is black and one feels alone.  Often such thinking makes hermits of people, where they don’t want to leave the house.  You need to fight this feeling and put on those walking/running shoes and get outside.  

My purpose of writing this is to encourage people which suffer from depression, stress and anxiety to consider giving running a serious try.  It may make a difference in your life.

Note: The last several days, black-ice has been a problem and I wasn’t able to keep up with my schedule.  I hope to do better this week.

45 DAYS, 12 HOURS, 40 MIN, 7 SEC, To the Marathon

He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. (Psalm 107:29)