Since then I’ve read a fair amount about the importance of Vitamin D in cancer prevention, depression, athletic performance, osteoporosis, and a host of other health issues, and I decided that this is something that I wish one of my doctors had brought up earlier.  Realistically, I’ve probably been low my entire life and certainly for at least the last 10 years that I’ve been studying and working in the northern parts of the U.S.  When in my adult life have I ever gotten that much sun? And between November and February the sun that hits the northern U.S. isn’t potent enough to create enough Vitamin D!

The wikipedia entry on Vitamin D is pretty thorough, as was the Mayo Clinic’s information, and the NYTimes’ excellent Well Blog had a post in late September which featured many helpful comments from doctors who treat low vitamin D levels (and a variety of other vitamin D enthusiasts). My chief concern in supplementation was overdoing it, since fat soluble vitamins like vitamin D can be toxic if levels are too high.  I found a fair amount of evidence that it would be hard to make myself toxic.  Most toxicities occur when people ingest >40,000 IU/day and the human body naturally makes up to a maximum of 10,000 IU/day.  While the current maximum RDI is 2,000 IU, that guideline is apparently up for revision in 2010 and expected to be lifted to 10,000 IU.

Long story short, after reading everything I could get my hands on, I’ve started taking ~3000 IU/day and an additional 10,000 IU once/week.   One point of advice that I found particularly helpful is that once you’ve supplemented for 8 weeks you should be retested and adjust as needed – pretty logical.  I expect I’ll probably have to increase further to get to a target level of 50-80 ng/mL, but if I’ve been low for 10 years or more I figure I can wait and see.

If you live anywhere except New York state (figures!) you can order a home-testing kit for $65 if your doctor won’t test or your insurance won’t cover it.  Remember, you want to be tested for 25-hydroxyvitamin D, also called 25(OH)D, not 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D, which is calcitriol.

I want to see this movie.

Got this new FORLIFE brew-in-mug teaware last week in Austin and I’ve been using it every night with some herbal tea. Loose tea is sexier than bagged tea. Even when all you do is cut open the bag…

Then in 2005, along came Greek yogurt – specifically the Fage Total 0%. I was thrilled. It’s higher in protein, lower in carbohydrates, fat free, thick, creamy and wonderful. With a dollop of pumpkin butter or honey on top you’re still coming in lower in sugar and now without all those scary artificial additives and sweeteners. I started using agave nectar on my Fage earlier this year – supposedly it has a lower glycemic index than honey, but really it just tastes better with the yogurt. Trader Joe’s and Stoneyfield farms started releasing their own versions of Greek yogurt.

Recently, I’ve discovered the next yogurt revolution… Siggi’s Skyr. It is nothing short of the best yogurt of all time. From the label: “All natural. Milk from grass fed cows. No aspartame. No sucralose. No gelatin. No artificial colorings. No preservatives. No high fructose corn syrup.” Nutritionally it’s similar to the Fage and it comes in delectable flavors: Orange and Ginger, Pear and Mint, Blueberry, Pomegranate and Passion Fruit, and Plain. The ingredients reveal that it is just skim milk, agave nectar, live active cultures, vegetable rennet and whichever fruit. Oh, and it’s a Scandinavian food, but locally produced – even better!

The salad was actually the best salad I’ve ever had and quite possibly one of my favorite meals ever. The butternut squash was roasted to perfection, the pomegranate dressing and ricotta salata (similar to feta in texture) were distributed perfectly, and the hidden gem of the salad: toasted hazelnuts. Amazing.

Last night my friend Lila and I attempted to recreate this masterpiece, however, some of the ingredients proved to be a challenge. Hazelnuts? Impossible to find. Suitable substitute: cashews. Ricotta salata? Not even really sure what that is. Suitable substitute: Fresh crumbled feta. Pomegranate vinaigrette? Not a chance. Suitable substitute: Raspberry balsamic dressing. While we couldn’t match the ingredients, the end result was just as delicious. The squash gives the salad depth, while the sweet fruitiness of the dressing is balanced perfectly by the richness of the nuts and feta. Yum yum yum. And it only took about 2 minutes to assemble once the squash was roasted. Try it for your next dinner party.

The hardest part of the whole thing was the limited beverage choice. I realize now that I should have brewed a big batch of unsweetened herbal iced tea to drink, but instead I was left with basically the choices of water or herbal tea. No diet sodas, no black teas, no fruit drinks, etc. So by the end of the second week I was probably not consuming enough liquid simply because I was completely bored by limited options.

Do I feel any better? Detoxified?? Well, there were certainly very few highs and lows. Much more even keel about my hunger/sugar cravings/etc. I think the best thing that detox did for me was it broke the seal on not cooking. I’ve made homemade black bean soup, turnip and acorn squash soup, butternut squash puree, cauliflower mash, etc… Yummy things that I like that I was just too lazy to make. Now I’m on a roll though and expect it to continue. Getting to have my tea and hot cocoa now also makes continuing to avoid junk food much easier.

Milk cancels health benefit of drinking tea: study

The study is Addition of milk prevents vascular protective effects of tea. by M. Lorenz, N. Jochmann, A. von Krosigk, P. Martus, G. Baumann, K. Stangl, V. Stangl from European Heart Journal. 2007 Jan 9. Abstract here.

Of course, right now I’m not drinking any black tea, but the idea of doing so without milk? Atrocious.

Update!!
From Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism. 2005 May-Jun;49(3):189-95.
Addition of milk does not alter the antioxidant activity of black tea. by V.C. Reddy, GV Vidya Sagar, D. Sreeramulu, L. Venu, M. Raghunath. Abstract here.

The dull ache in my head started around noon and grew progressively worse throughout the day. I thought that since I’d made it through the first two days without any caffeine headaches I’d be fine but apparently I was wrong. When I complained that I felt like my brain was bouncing around inside my skull, the neurologist at work said something about cerebral vascular spasming in response to caffeine withdrawl. I decided that since my liver is being fortified nightly with milk thistle I could handle a dose of Advil. It’s better now, but there’s still a little dullness.

I’m enjoying some (caffeine free) herbal tea. My mommy gave me a sampler of the Tea Forte silken pyramid tea infusers for Christmas. The flora is nice.

I came up with the following plan:

No

• Caffeine
• Alcohol
• Sugar
• Artificial sweeteners
• Full fat dairy (cream, cheese, ice cream, etc)
• Simple carbohydrates (white bread, plain pasta, rice, potatoes)
• Red meat
• Trans fat
• Junk food
• Fried foods

Yes

• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Lean proteins
• Fish
• Eggs
• Nuts and legumes
• Nonfat dairy (unsweetened)
• Whole grain carbohydrates
• Herbal tea
• Water
• Juice (small amounts)

I mean, really it’s not that creative – it’s what you know you should eat and what you know you shouldn’t. What’s different is that now there are six or seven of us doing it together – and enforcing each other.

I’ll let you know how it goes. I was missing my tea this morning.

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

First, the ingredients:

Filling:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1 and 1/3 cups mashed cooked pumpkin (canned)
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp gelatin
1/4 cup water

Meringue:
3 large egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
6 tbsp sugar

Crust:
1 and 1/4 cups fine gingersnap crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter

I think it’s best to start with the gingersnap crust. I used my food processor to crush the gingersnaps into crumbs and then pressed the butter/crumb combination into my 9.5″ pie plate. Bake the crust in your oven at 325 degrees for 10 mins.

Next, the filling. Blend 1 tbsp Gelatin and 1/4 cup water and let stand. I used a little ramekin.

Separate your egg yolks and egg whites. Whites in a dry bowl. Yolks in a saucepan.

Add the brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, pumpkin, and milk to your egg yolks in the saucepan.

Cook the mixture over low heat, stirring until it boils. Boil one minute. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin. Cool. (I cooled in the freezer and it took ~20 mins).

While you’re waiting, make your meringue. Combine 3 large egg whites and 1/4 tsp cream of tartar in a large dry mixing bowl. Beat until softly stiff, then add sugar one tablespoon at a time (6 tbsp total) and beat until stiff.

It takes a while, but eventually you will get sexy stiff peaks like these:

Once your pumpkin mixture is cool and partially set, beat until smooth. Carefully fold into the meringue.
Pile the meringue/pumpkin mixture into the gingersnap crust and chill until set. Garnish with whipped cream.

The intern orphan dinner isn’t till 7:30pm. I’ll let you know how the pie is received this evening.