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I guess the funniest thing I ever saw was a person driving down the highway in a Toyota Prius smoking a cigarette with the windows closed. It was like they were telling me, “I respect your atmosphere but not mine.” That got me thinking, does human generated, gaseous, atmospheric pollution actually make up a significant part of the total atmosphere, and can it possibly affect it?
this piece was a commission from a friend of mine whose daughter i taught a few years back. a bot more about their story here.
it's always a cherished moment when someone calls upon me for a custom painting. it's an even bigger treasure when it's a friend. this piece was truly a pleasure to create.
i am offering a LIMITED amount of prints which can be found here.
onto another commission...:)
0 Comments on all you need is love.... as of 10/22/2015 9:59:00 PM
Within a year, we have been able to see our solar system as never before. In November 2014, the Philae Probe of the Rosetta spacecraft landed on the halter-shaped Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. In April 2015, the Dawn spacecraft entered orbit around the largest of the asteroids, Ceres (590 miles in diameter), orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. And in July, the New Horizons mission made the first flyby of the dwarf planet Pluto, making it the most distant solar-system object to be visited. Other spacecraft continue to investigate other planets.
Galileo and some of his contemporaries left careful records of their telescopic observations of sunspots – dark patches on the surface of the sun, the largest of which can be larger than the whole earth. Then in 1844 a German apothecary reported the unexpected discovery that the number of sunspots seen on the sun waxes and wanes with a period of about 11 years.
Initially nobody considered sunspots as anything more than an odd curiosity. However, by the end of the nineteenth century, scientists started gathering more and more data that sunspots affect us in strange ways that seemed to defy all known laws of physics. In 1859 Richard Carrington, while watching a sunspot, accidentally saw a powerful explosion above it, which was followed a few hours later by a geomagnetic storm – a sudden change in the earth’s magnetic field. Such explosions – known as solar flares – occur more often around the peak of the sunspot cycle when there are many sunspots. One of the benign effects of a large flare is the beautiful aurora seen around the earth’s poles. However, flares can have other disastrous consequences. A large flare in 1989 caused a major electrical blackout in Quebec affecting six million people.
Interestingly, Carrington’s flare of 1859, the first flare observed by any human being, has remained the most powerful flare so far observed by anybody. It is estimated that this flare was three times as powerful as the 1989 flare that caused the Quebec blackout. The world was technologically a much less developed place in 1859. If a flare of the same strength as Carrington’s 1859 flare unleashes its full fury on the earth today, it will simply cause havoc – disrupting electrical networks, radio transmission, high-altitude air flights and satellites, various communication channels – with damages running into many billions of dollars.
There are two natural cycles – the day-night cycle and the cycle of seasons – around which many human activities are organized. As our society becomes technologically more advanced, the 11-year cycle of sunspots is emerging as the third most important cycle affecting our lives, although we have been aware of its existence for less than two centuries. We have more solar disturbances when this cycle is at its peak. For about a century after its discovery, the 11-year sunspot cycle was a complete mystery to scientists. Nobody had any clue as to why the sun has spots and why spots have this cycle of 11 years.
A first breakthrough came in 1908 when Hale found that sunspots are regions of strong magnetic field – about 5000 times stronger than the magnetic field around the earth’s magnetic poles. Incidentally, this was the first discovery of a magnetic field in an astronomical object and was eventually to revolutionize astronomy, with subsequent discoveries that nearly all astronomical objects have magnetic fields. Hale’s discovery also made it clear that the 11-year sunspot cycle is the sun’s magnetic cycle.
Sunspot 1-20-11, by Jason Major. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 via Flickr.
Matter inside the sun exists in the plasma state – often called the fourth state of matter – in which electrons break out of atoms. Major developments in plasma physics within the last few decades at last enabled us to systematically address the questions of why sunspots exist and what causes their 11-year cycle. In 1955 Eugene Parker theoretically proposed a plasma process known as the dynamo process capable of generating magnetic fields within astronomical objects. Parker also came up with the first theoretical model of the 11-year cycle. It is only within the last 10 years or so that it has been possible to build sufficiently realistic and detailed theoretical dynamo models of the 11-year sunspot cycle.
Until about half a century ago, scientists believed that our solar system basically consisted of empty space around the sun through which planets were moving. The sun is surrounded by a million-degree hot corona – much hotter than the sun’s surface with a temperature of ‘only’ about 6000 K. Eugene Parker, in another of his seminal papers in 1958, showed that this corona will drive a wind of hot plasma from the sun – the solar wind – to blow through the entire solar system. Since the earth is immersed in this solar wind – and not surrounded by empty space as suspected earlier – the sun can affect the earth in complicated ways. Magnetic fields created by the dynamo process inside the sun can float up above the sun’s surface, producing beautiful magnetic arcades. By applying the basic principles of plasma physics, scientists have figured out that violent explosions can occur within these arcades, hurling huge chunks of plasma from the sun that can be carried to the earth by the solar wind.
The 11-year sunspot cycle is only approximately cyclic. Some cycles are stronger and some are weaker. Some are slightly longer than 11 years and some are shorter. During the seventeenth century, several sunspot cycles went missing and sunspots were not seen for about 70 years. There is evidence that Europe went through an unusually cold spell during this epoch. Was this a coincidence or did the missing sunspots have something to do with the cold climate? There is increasing evidence that sunspots affect the earth’s climate, though we do not yet understand how this happens.
Can we predict the strength of a sunspot cycle before its onset? The sunspot minimum around 2006–2009 was the first sunspot minimum when sufficiently sophisticated theoretical dynamo models of the sunspot cycle existed and whether these models could predict the upcoming cycle correctly became a challenge for these young theoretical models. We are now at the peak of the present sunspot cycle and its strength agrees remarkably with what my students and I predicted in 2007 from our dynamo model. This is the first such successful prediction from a theoretical model in the history of our subject. But is it merely a lucky accident that our prediction has been successful this time? If our methodology is used to predict more sunspot cycles in the future, will this success be repeated?
Headline image credit: A spectacular coronal mass ejection, by Steve Jurvetson. CC-BY-2.0 via Flickr.
The winter solstice settles on 21 December this year, which means it’s the day with the least amount of sunlight. It’s the official first day of winter, although people have been braving the cold for weeks, huddled in coats and scarves and probably wool socks. It’s easy to pass over the winter solstice because of the holidays; however, many traditions center around the solstices and equinoxes, and even Christmas has borrowed some ideas from the midwinter celebration. Below are a few facts about the winter solstice and the influence it has had on religion.
1. The winter solstice occurs when the sun at noon is in its lowest position in the sky, which puts it over the Tropic of Capricorn (22-23 December).
2. The astronomical solstice is 21 December, but midwinter or Yule covers a few weeks during the time of the solstice. During medieval times, this period would stretch from the feast of St. Nicholas (6 December) and Christmas Day, then from Christmas to Epiphany or Candlemas.
3. It is most likely untrue that Christmas is the birth-date of Christ. However, it was likely set on 25 December to coincide with the already well-established Pagan holidays. In ancient times, the winter solstice was celebrated as the birthday of the two gods Sol Invictus (the invincible sun) and Mithras.
4. In contemporary Paganism, Yule celebrates the rebirth of the sun with the winter solstice, as it is the darkest time of the year with the days get longer after the solstice.
5. The Christmas traditions of gift-giving, candles, mistletoe, evergreens, holly, yule logs, Old Father Time, red and white colors, and others all come from Latin and Germanic yuletide celebrations. The word “yule” is thought to have originated from the Anglo-Saxon word for “yoke,” although it is possible it is connected to the words for sun in Cornish and Breton.
The wife of a friend of ours from high school recently lost her courageous battle with cancer. In her honor I post this piece that I was commissioned to create for a client who’s friend also died from cancer. Thank you, Mary E. for permission to share on my site. RIP Margo McCabe.
Dragonfly Pond, commissioned in the memory of Shawn Oligmeuller 2009.
Germination: is the process of a seed bursting open and sprouting into a plant. Most seeds take warmth as a sign to begin germinating. When you feel warm sun on your skin, think of your seeds. Whether they are in pots on windowsills or in the ground outside, they will be feeling the warmth too. Here’s Rudi Radishes tips on germinating indoors and outdoors…
Paper pots ready to plant the broad beans
Germinating indoors:
1. Use a propagator will keep the soil warm and moist, the perfect conditions for germinating seeds into seedlings.
2. Homemade propagator, from upcycled packaging.
3. Paperpots are cheap and easy to make.
Home-made cloche's
Germinating outdoors:
1. Before you plant your seeds, warm the soil by laying black polythene over the area you are planning to plant.
2. When you plant your seeds, keep them warm and protected from hungry bugs by making a cloche or a mini-greenhouse. Here’s how to upcycle a plastic bottle into a mini-greenhouse.
Radishes take 8-10 weeks bo grow ready to eat
Hello Seed Agents! Have you read my storybook, Bong, Bong, Bongity, Bong? It’s perfect for Spring, because I really know what it means to have a spring in my step, because I’ve got rhythm. My storybook comes with secret seeds to grow radishes! So you could be pulling bright pink radishes like these out of your veg patch this year.
5 Stars Desert Baths Darcy Pattison Kathleen Rietz Syvan Dell Publishing 32 Pages Ages 4 to 8 ………………….. Inside Jacket: As the sun and the moon travel across the sky, learn how twelve different desert animals face the difficulty of stay clean in a dray and parched land. Explore the desert habitat through its animals [...]
Un delicato scorcio su un mondo fantastico, ma che si lascia generosamente immaginare. Sto cominciando ad esaurire aggettivi, per le tue opere, sai? Ma lasciami pure a secco. ;-) Buona... notte.
Cara Aris, gli equilibri personali transitano a volte su una ruota sola. E, magari, sul nostro equilibrio precario tentiamo, più o meno con successo, di tenere in piedi altri fragili fili sospesi. Grazie. Brava, come sempre.
Carissima Mari, le tue parole sono molto belle e azzeccatissime direi! E c'è di più... questa è solo una parte dell'illustrazione...domani metterò l'altra metà, il "rovescio" della medaglia :) Grazie del commento :)
There are very important factors when it comes to being any kind of writer. It covers a whole range of books. As everyone know putting together a children's book has many people involved. It is a team effort that takes many years to master and complete. For the next three days I will take you all on a journey into this event. It is a huge gathering of people in the children book industry and covers a very important idea that every author has to do. This is called networking and creating a platform. The post will be updated daily from 1-27-2012 to 1-29-2012. Each day I will give you guys an inside into this business. So get ready for a wild ride. I blog my experience on this journey enjoy.
Day 1 Writer's Intensive
Today started just like an ordinary gray day, the rain tapped the roads and my journey had began. Strong winds and heavy rains very strange weather for New York State especially in the middle of winter. Only two snow storms so far and that it. I took the train in from my home town. New York was wonderful like usual. The rains were strong at first but as the day went on it all changed. I started the day psyched to finally have the SCBWI conference, I could not believe it came so fast. Where does this path called time really go? Does it just vanish in a puff of smoke or where does it end up? So back to business the day started with registration and breakfast not much of a filling one but it was good enough Coffee and Bagels the real New York local food. My nerves shaking and my hands gasping the 500 hundred words we were supposed to bring here. Hundreds of questions inside my hands? Who will I meet? What will the professional say? Is my manuscript good enough? At registration our tables were given to us? I got Table 17 and 18. When I was getting my food a strange thing happened the hot water was gone. I am usually a tea drinker, but I needed that jolt, I needed that caffeine. I wanted something hot but it was the bitter black stuff we call coffee. I guess many tea drinkers came here? Oh well I guess I had no choice. I found my table, my mind moving and my body shaking, it was it, the moment I have been waiting for, another year had passed. The session started by a panel on voice. Three editors spoke. What is voice? Each of them had there own view. What I can tell you guys is it needs to be fresh. It needs to be authentic. It has to stand out from the crowd. The editor panel spoke about the kind of books they buy. Here is just a very quick summary: Characters have to have personality, you have to get into your character's mind, and the story has to stand out for the individual editor and always make sure to do you research. You have to be in the moment and write the best story you can. Then the time began my table had eight writers at it and one professional. We each were given 12 minutes for our 500 words. The critique process is very important and it is great to have a group of your own. The setting here was much more family like. Every manuscript was discussed by everyone. I have to say I got a lot out of it and had many wonderful suggestions and commends from both critiques. There is no need for
1 Comments on SCBWI Winter Conference 2012 ( The Heart Children Books), last added: 1/28/2012
Thank you for sharing your inner thoughts. I think writers and illustrators walk through the emotional insecurity path at some point at an overwhelming, large conference.
Last summer, I felt the layer of intense fog the minute I entered the hotel. I brushed off the nerves because my excuse was that it was my first conference.
The fun part was meeting all the new strangers and learning more about your career.
On a recent summer evening, my husband and I headed up to the beach to watch the full moon rise. Moonrise was scheduled for 9:05pm, and we were a few minutes late. As a beautiful strawberry moon emerged from the clouds in the darkening horizon over the Atlantic Ocean, we stood gazing from the boardwalk. The moon had not yet fully appeared, and the sky around it was tinged with red.
A young adult man and his female companion were walking by and stopped to see the reason for our eastward attention. With a puzzled, slightly worried expression, he asked, "Excuse me, but you can you please tell me what all that red stuff in the sky is?"
Several minutes later, at about 9:20pm, the moon had risen in all it's rosy glory, and three young men on bicycles rode by, and I overheard: "Hey, dude! Check out the sun!" "So what. That's no big deal. I see that all the time." "C'mon, let's go."
Photo by David Saddler Creative Commons license 2.0
I understand that not everyone lives near the ocean and has seen the moon rise up over the horizon, and I don't mention these conversations to ridicule people enjoying the beach at night. Many people do not get to see the moon until it rises high and white in the sky. However, it is my wish that all children (and adults!) know that the sun sets in the west, that it is the moon that rises at night, and that a full moon rising in any location is a beautiful thing. Thankfully, commonplace, awesome, and terrible things that we are not fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to experience for ourselves, may be experienced through books.
"Common knowledge" exists only between people with common experiences. In working with children, we cannot assume that anything is "common" knowledge.
If we share nonfiction books and make the natural world a source of interest and wonder, then we will have done a great deal in educating children and making the world a better place.
That was a beautiful commentary. I hope that what you have heard has not diminished the lovely reds you see in the skies. I could just imagine it. Must have been breathtaking. Thank you for sharing that.
Excellent post! We so need to build knowledge about the world around us. Plus, there are things in this world that are truly stranger than anything you can create in your imagination.
Yeah, right, I also sighed. I often don't like the weekwords so much but in the course of the week something will usually crop up. The trouble with the words is, they're too small. I mean they often give too little guidance so everyone just interprets away.. like I did this week.. you get a lot of nice drawings but it's not really the way illustrators have to work most of the time.
Getting up so early didn't take away your inspiration at all, lolo...I love your rooster. He's absolutely perfect for the word Early...his favourite time of day, when he struts around for the benefit of his flock. I'll have to check on how to do digital collages.
Sorry you hate early. I have always been an early-to-bed-early-to-rise kind of person. I'm usually up around 4:30-5:00AM without an alarm clock. Your painting is very fitting for "early".
Beaudor thinks Emma look smart..... Love the colors and the rooster my Ruud is a rooster,so I love roosters. The weather is wonderful here,and in the USA? Big Hug, marja
this is serenely beautiful. i quite love it. you amaze me so often. everything here is in perfect balance, and you've managed to capture the feeling of early dawn, that quiet magical time when there is peace.
I slept till 7 (went to bed at 2 :() So not much sleep..... But I had a lot of energy today. I finished the whole terrace! Usually takes me 2 days. Now I am enjoying a glass of red.
I love the rooster with the butterfly mandala sunrise! Good take on early!
How are you, Lolo? (^_^) I hope your dog doesn't make it a habit to wake you up so early every morning, heheh. I like the silhouette look of the rooster and the colors, of course, are beautiful! :)
I actually managed to sleep in til a little after 7 a.m. Quelle SHOCK!
I sure like your little collage, especially the outline around the rooster.
Regarding Picnik - the spot of color is found through the premium purchase ($25.00/year I think). I just found it when someone else (Kaye) clued me in. I haven't looked back. The premium membership has no downside and is worth every penny.
Love this picture. good choice for Early. I think our dogs are on the same alarm clock. arrgh. Annie gets me up early too. I never get to sleep in during the summer with it light out early. lol If the dog fails to do the job the cat takes its place. :/
OHH how beautiful. Reminds me of a sunrise that is so amazing. Sorry about the time though. I think that is why I am hesitant to get another dog, although I miss mine. At 60 I think I like my sleep. LOL
Yesterday, the sun actually felt warm. This means the soil in your pots and garden will be getting some energy from the sun to get warm. It is important for the soil to be warm before you plant your seeds as seeds are a little like us in that they need warmth and care to grow well.
If you want to help the soil gather the sun’s energy more quickly you can do a couple of things. Firstly if you have some black polythene you can lay this on the soil and it will gather more of the sun’s energy and put it into the soil. Secondly if you have some clear polythene or a clear squash bottle you can make a little tent or cloche. This acts like a mini-greenhouse and captures the heat of the sun and prevents the soil losing heat at night.
A smart way to start is with a few seeds on the windowsill so that they are ready to plant out later in the month. A very good and easy seed to grow like this is Broad Beans. We roll up little tubes of newspaper and fill them with warm compost and put one bean in each tube. As the bean grows the newspaper disintegrates and we can plant the whole thing into the ground without disturbing the roots.
Another good thing to get growing now is radish. In the picture above you can see some of our finest from last year! And don’t forget if you want to become friendly with radish you might want to start by reading the story of Rudi Radish in Seed City! The pack comes with organic seeds, growing instructions and kit.
On Tuesday I gave my Starstuff & Supergiants talk at Science Oxford, as part of the Oxfordshire Science Festival. In a way it was a bit of the science behind the Johnny Mackintosh stories. I spoke about how the speed of light is a universal speed limit and time travel is (perhaps) a one-way street, and how the large hadron collider is a time machine (as well as everything else). I explained how stars are the atom factories of the universe and talked about the way stars die, sometimes in a supernova (what readers will realize the alien races of the galaxy call Star Blaze). Thanks to everyone at Science Oxford for giving me the opportunity, and to all those who came out on a Tuesday night to listen. If anyone missed it, there is no escape. The whole thing is available as a webcast from the Science Oxford site.
The talk was very much a tribute to Carl Sagan and I was pleased to give Chandra a namecheck as well. I enjoyed it – hope you all do too.
Sunny Side Up - a piece from a few eons ago. But it fits. Its been raining a lot, but things are sunny today. I feel like life has been like that too - lots of rain, and now maybe its clearing up a bit. I'm hoping the sun keeps shining for a while - literally and figuratively. And I'm going to try - try - to adopt a slightly sunnier outlook. (Oh, who am I fooling - I'm a crab, and will always be a crab!). But I digress.
Here are some "Spring is springing up in my yard" pictures ~
new rose leaves (I like how they're red at first, then turn green later)
Dear P. Love your signs of Spring... particularly the Phyllo bud and his "bud" Charlie. Stuff is beginning to happen here too. Some real work from a couple of favorite clients and a guy I last saw over 40 years ago when he was an exchange student from Brazil sent me a message on Face Book. Now I am putting Illustrator on hold until I finish all the work. Keep the faith. I feel a little like we are sort of in this together...on left and right coasts. ;-)
A few eons ago? Humm...your Sunny Side Up image reminds me of a 70's record jacket! :-) Very cool and funky!! Great garden photos - I especially love the red phase of the rose leaves. Good luck with all of your projects!!!
Sure, the title is an oxymoron, but it can’t be helped. The children’s stories inside the book, however, are composed entirely of words that have just one word sound. Hey, there we go! It should be called “The Book of One Sound Words”.
Published in 1842, the author Esther Bakewell writes: Though in words of one syllable, “The Book of One Syllable” is not meant for a child when first he learns to read; it is meant for him when he knows such words at sight. The tales are told in these small words, that a child need not have to stop to spell, but that he may be led on and on till he comes to the end. May he feel when he does come to the end, that the read has not been a task.
Despite its implication that only little boys should read this book, it is a very nice sentiment. Here is a book designed for kids to enjoy and succeed in.
I particularly enjoyed the “scientifically accurate” entries about the Sun and Moon, such as this one: “No one knows of what the sun is made, nor how it is that it gives so much heat and light; but most wise men think that it is a world like our own, where men can live, and not be burnt more than we are burnt by the heat of the earth.” ummmmm…
Let’s read on!
THE SUN
The sun is a large world of much more size and weight than the earth and all the stars that move round it. It is by its great weight that it draws them all to it, and if they did not move fast and far in a course that takes them from the sun, all those stars that move round it with our world would be drawn to it in a short time. No one knows of what the sun is made, nor how it is that it gives so much heat and light; but most wise men think that it is a world like our own, where men can live, and not be burnt more than we are burnt by the heat of the earth. What makes the light and heat is a thing that seems strange to all. Some think that the clouds round it give out the light; that the black spots which are seen on the sun are large holes in the clouds round it, through which the sun is seen, and that the black spots are parts of the real sun. The sun shines and gives out heat to all the stars, which could not move in their orbs if the sun did not draw them to it; for they would else fly off through space.
THE MOON
What is the bright moon, that shines so in the sky?
It is a world like ours, but not so large; and boys and girls may live there, and go to school and play, as they do on this earth. To boys or girls who live in the moon this earth of ours shines like a large moon, and must give a great deal more light to them than their moon does to us. They could see to read and write by the light of the earth quite well.
The moon gives light from the sun, and does not shine with its own light; and so the earth would give back the sun’s light to the men in the moon.
There are land and sea, and hills and dales, in the moon; and the marks we see on it, like a face, are the lights and shades of the land, the hills, and the sea. There are hills too which are on fire, and they can be seen through a large spy-glass. Some men have thought they could make a spy-glass so large as would let them see the boys and girls in the moon, but they have not yet done it.
What a strange sight would it be if we could see them all at work!
Susan J. Epstein, MS, MEd, is the Program Coordinator at the Jacobs Neurological Institute. In her new book The Life Program For MS: Lifestyle, Independence, Fitness, and Energy, she addresses the limitations imposed by Multiple Sclerosis which results in patients becoming sedentary, gaining excess weight and developing poor eating and exercise habits. Epstein provides a user-friendly teaching tool that helps sufferers to incorporate new behaviors into their daily routines. In the original article below Epstein looks at the role of vitamin D in MS.
A deficiency in vitamin D is currently one of the most studied environmental risk factors for MS and is potentially the most promising in terms of new clinical implications. In particular, this vitamin could alter the immune response taking a positive role in the central nervous system. There are two main types of risk factors for MS: genetic and environmental. In today’s world many genetic predispositions for various conditions have been discovered, and the various environmental triggers identified; making this an exciting time for learning specific ways to change behavior to improve or protect health.
The following environmental factors influence the risk of MS:
1. latitude
2. past exposure to sun
3. serum level of vitamin D
Worldwide, latitude has an undeniable effect on the prevalence of MS which occurs with much greater frequency in areas further away from the equator. Lower incidence of the disease is found in tropical regions where the high degree of sunlight is recognized as the correlate. Latitude has an overall influence on the amount of sunlight in a given region making geographical location advantageous. So if we know that the level of exposure to sunlight directly affects the level of vitamin D in our bodies and this vitamin is known as the “sunshine vitamin” where does that leave those of us who live in the northern hemisphere? Does this suggest people even without disease are deficient in vitamin D? Also, the western diet lacks this crucial vitamin providing less than 100 IU a day, falling far below the daily requirement of 2,000 IU/d. It is thought that vitamin D is most likely involved in a number of regulatory activities besides just bone health, and could have a dramatic effect on immune function. Such low average levels of vitamin D raise serious public health issues and there is an urgent need for national health institutes to take preventative measures. With this knowledge should come behavior change, not only for the MS patient but also the general population.
Clinically most MS patients have low levels of vitamin D in their blood and are in a state of deficiency compared to the international norm. A recent study found a direct link between the level of vitamin D circulating in the blood and the disease, without factoring in the effect of latitude or sun exposure. Further research trials are necessary before any firm recommendations can be made but in the meantime, physicians can no longer ignore that many MS patients have a lack of vitamin D, which could be detected through systematic blood tests. Vitamin D supplements are appropriate to restore their levels to within normal range. This should be considered a general medical recommendation simply to increase levels in the blood to the current recommended amount of at least 2,000 IU/d. This would mean taking between 1,000 and 3,000 IU of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) on average per day. There are two types of vitamin D: D2 and D3. Vitamin D3 is the healthy kind your body makes when exposed to sunshine. D2 is the synthetic form used in prescriptions and is considered inferior to D3.
Having this knowledge regarding the benefits of vitamin D as well as the current published research indicating the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency; behavioral strategies seem appropriate and can be very safe when discussed with your physician. Since moving to a tropical region is unlikely, the options available are:
safe sun exposure, vitamin supplementation, and a diet with foods rich in vitamin D.
Optimizing sun exposure is a topic in itself and comes with some risk along with conflicting opinions and recommendations from experts in the field though it seems reasonable to get a dose of fresh air and sunshine on days when the weather is in your favor. Some experts recommend exposing your body to sunlight for 15-minutes before applying sunscreen in order to get the benefits from the UV rays which naturally provide the vitamin D needed for good health. Luckily a vitamin D3 supplement can provide the same benefits when given in the appropriate dose to bring blood levels to within normal range.
Before purchasing a supplement you should have a blood test to determine your baseline levels of vitamin D. Your neurologist can then take the results and prescribe the amount of vitamin D3 to bring your levels up to within normal range. MS patients are seen regularly to monitor their disease status and can systematically have blood levels measured. You also may want to search for MS Centers that are running clinical trials to study the effects of Vitamin D on MS and inquire about being a subject.
Vitamin D3 supplements are available in both liquid and capsule form. They can be purchased at any pharmacy for as little as $4.49 for 100 capsules containing 1000.0 IU. Check the label to make sure the primary ingredient is Vitamin D (as cholecalciferol). As mentioned earlier the Western diet is commonly very low in vitamin D but there are good food choices to increase the amount in your diet. Excellent food sources include: oily fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines; vitamin D-fortified milk and cereals; whole eggs, liver, and beef. A combination of the three available sources of vitamin D is optimal, and purely from a medical point of view, supplementation is unavoidable in order to improve the general health of the MS patient. And with clinical research trials underway all over the globe, supplementation may soon be proven to be neurologically beneficial.
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By: Paula Pertile,
on 3/4/2010
© Paula Pertile
new rose leaves (I like how they're red at first, then turn green later)
lilac buds
hydrangea blossoms
fig blossoms
a "Phyllo bud"
By: jeff,
on 7/31/2009
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© Paula Pertile
new rose leaves (I like how they're red at first, then turn green later)
lilac buds
hydrangea blossoms
fig blossoms
a "Phyllo bud"
4 Comments on Sun and stuff, last added: 3/5/2010
frequency in areas further away from the equator. Lower incidence of the disease is found in tropical regions where the high degree of sunlight is recognized as the correlate. Latitude has an overall influence on the amount of sunlight in a given region making geographical location advantageous. So if we know that the level of exposure to sunlight directly affects the level of vitamin D in our bodies and this vitamin is known as the “sunshine vitamin” where does that leave those of us who live in the northern hemisphere? Does this suggest people even without disease are deficient in vitamin D? Also, the western diet lacks this crucial vitamin providing less than 100 IU a day, falling far below the daily requirement of 2,000 IU/d. It is thought that vitamin D is most likely involved in a number of regulatory activities besides just bone health, and could have a dramatic effect on immune function. Such low average levels of vitamin D raise serious public health issues and there is an urgent need for national health institutes to take preventative measures. With this knowledge should come behavior change, not only for the MS patient but also the general population.
Che illustrazione fantasiosa. Brava!!!
Ciaooo
Erika
Un delicato scorcio su un mondo fantastico, ma che si lascia generosamente immaginare. Sto cominciando ad esaurire aggettivi, per le tue opere, sai? Ma lasciami pure a secco. ;-) Buona... notte.
Вот это трюк!))))))))))))
Чудеса в облачках?
Замечательно!)))))
Grazie Erika!!
..Doc..non puoi esaurire gli aggettivi, come io non posso esaurire i colori...se c'è l'emozione, le parole verranno :)
Jatka dorogaja :) imenno chudesa...! :)
Cara Aris, gli equilibri personali transitano a volte su una ruota sola. E, magari, sul nostro equilibrio precario tentiamo, più o meno con successo, di tenere in piedi altri fragili fili sospesi.
Grazie. Brava, come sempre.
Carissima Mari, le tue parole sono molto belle e azzeccatissime direi! E c'è di più... questa è solo una parte dell'illustrazione...domani metterò l'altra metà, il "rovescio" della medaglia :)
Grazie del commento :)