How many times have you been told to stay out of the sun or wear your sunscreen? In reality, this may be bad for you, especially for women. I’m not saying that you should go lay out in the sun all day, but you should get out for short periods of time every day. Is it vitamin D I am talking about. It takes direct sunlight for your skin to absorb the recommended daily amount of this vitamin.

Many studies have already shown that vitamin D deficiency can result in weak bones. New studies are now showing that the deficiency can be connected to cardiovascular risk. According to Dr. Thomas J. Wang, of Harvard Medical School, “Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, above and beyond established cardiovascular risk factors,” said Wang. “The higher risk associated with vitamin D deficiency was particularly evident among individuals with high blood pressure.” More on his report can be found in an article at Science Daily.

More disturbing is a recent study showing 70% of U.S. children are deficient in vitamin D. “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. The blame lies in poor diet and lack of being outdoors. When children are outdoors, they use sunscreen which, blocks UV-B rays and compounds the problem. The body uses UV-B sunlight to convert a form of cholesterol in the skin into vitamin D.

According to Kumar, “Just 15 to 20 minutes a day should be enough. And unless they burn easily, don’t put sunscreen on them until they’ve been out in the sun for 10 minutes, so they get the good stuff but not sun damage.” This will create 3,000 IU’s of D. Recommended you get at least 2,000 IU’s per day. To read more about this study, check out Live Science.

Some facts about vitamin D:

1. Vitamin D prevents osteoporosis, depression, prostate cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, schizophrenia and even effects diabetes and obesity.
2. It is pretty much impossible to get enough vitamin D from your diet or supplements.
3. Vitamin D is crucial for calcium absorption. Without it, your supplements are useless.
4. Rickets is a bone deteriorating disease caused by vitamin D deficiency.
5. Seasonal affective disorder is attributed to a lack of sunlight exposure.
6. Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency are muscle weakness, aches and pains which causes doctors to misdiagnose it as fibromyalgia.
7. The risk of diabetes and cancer is reduced by as much as 80% with limited exposure to sunlight 2-3 times per week.

The basics behind hypnotherapy are that if you are in a very relaxed state, your mind is susceptible to suggestion. During your therapy session, while you are in this relaxed state, your therapist will tell you things like you hate cigarettes or you have self confidence. Your mind will absorb these thoughts and take them as true.

Also during this state, you may be asked to remember past experiences in the hopes of discovering what thoughts you have buried that are blocking you today from moving forward. These thoughts are buried in your sub conscience. You do not realize they are even there until the therapy session reveals them. At this point, the therapist will help you get rid of the negative thoughts.

I went to visit Lexi Parrott in Portland, Oregon. First we talked about what I wanted to accomplish. She asked a lot of questions, then explained a little about what hypnotherapy was all about. She explained that I would be awake during the entire session and totally aware, just in a relaxed state. I had my choice of lying back on a chaise lounge or on a bed. I took her suggestion of the bed. She put headphones on me with meditation type music playing softly in the background. The headphones helped block out any outside noise. She also had me put on a sleeping mask, once again to block out any light.

She then started talking in a soothing voice about relaxing and breathing deeply. She had me visualize a nice place. She had me going down paths and then she did a countdown. She started with 25 and counted backwards. Now I was kinda in a “this is not going to work” state of mind. But when she got to that countdown, I visualized going down this swirling black hole. When I got to the bottom there was a pair of feet in ballet slippers up on her toes, spinning. We talked about what this represented. I decided it was about my mother who was a perfectionist. And to my astonishment, there I was at about age 5.

Lexi had me talk to the little girl. The little girl agreed to guide me. At this point, I had been under for nearly an hour. It was time to come back to reality. It was at this point that I realized how relaxed I had become. I couldn’t really feel any of my body parts, I was so focused on my visions. Lexi explained that it was while in this relaxed state that I finally was able to get into my subconscious. I had not been able to remember anything about my childhood beyond 6th grade before this point. Needless to say I went back. I needed to discover what this little girl (me) had to say.

The next couple of sessions were very emotional. I discovered my fear of my mother, of wanting so badly to be perfect for her. I also discovered that, though I knew deep down that she loved me, she never verbally expressed it. I never realized how much I needed that reassurance. I went away from these sessions feeling depressed for several days. This is normal as you are dredging up painful memories. But the depression would not last long, then I would feel much better as though something had been lifted off my shoulders.

I did a few more sessions to get me moving in the right direction for finding more self confidence and clarity. She had me find a “power animal” at one session. I have a very vivid imagination, so often came up with wild visions as distractions. The first animal that came up for me was a cow! I laughed. I did not want the cow as my power animal. But the cow flew away and I was guided by a dragonfly down my black hole before revealing my power animal as an elephant. As you are moving through your own meditations, you use your power animal as a guide, asking it to show you where to go. By focusing on a power animal, you are able to stay clear of distractions.

Since starting to see Lexi, I have added some of her therapy techniques on my own. With my vivid imagination, I often use visions to help me sleep, relax or get me out of a bad mood. Lexi taped a couple of my sessions. I play them when I’m feeling down and it picks me right up. I had tried going to some group therapy sessions with other women going through the whole empty nest issues, but had trouble telling my problems to others. With hypnotherapy, I did not have to face anybody except myself. It makes you find the negative thoughts you have been harboring, then you get rid of them. Best of all, no side effects.

Allergies, simply put, are your bodies way of telling you something foreign has entered your body. This foreign substance can be from the environment such as pollen, from food or from chemicals. Your body, in turn, will react in a variety of ways including runny nose, headache, sneezing, rapid heart beat, skin reactions, intestinal issues or more.

Rather than reaching for drugs, many are seeking natural remedies. But listen to Dr. Bassett when he says, “natural” does not necessarily mean safe or effective, and people may have unintended side effects. Check with your doctor before trying any natural remedy, especially if you are pregnant or nursing”.

Some suggestion from Gayle Povis Alleman, M.S., R.D., who holds degrees in both alternative and conventional nutrition include:

1. Omega-3 Fatty Acids: A German study found that people who ate foods high in Omega-3 fatty acid had the least allergies. You can get this important supplement by eating fish like salmon or tuna or in nuts like walnuts or you can get the supplement at any health food store.

2. Vitamin C is a natural antihistamine. This helps to reduce nasal secretions and inflammation.

3. Flavonoids also have antihistamine properties and work well with vitamin C. Flavonoids and vitamin C can be found in berries, plums, citrus fruits, peppers, spinach, and broccoli.

4. CoQ10 is an immune booster and counters histamine.

5. Magnesium (Citrate) is known as the anti-stress mineral. Stress contributes to allergy symptoms.

6. Calcium (Citrate) helps to reduce histamine production.