I was once in a relationship like this. We adored and practically worshipped each other. The problem? I was far too immature to carry on a meaningful relationship. It was a long time ago and I haven’t really been with anyone like that since.

They don’t take into account the months of dieting, starvation, and idiotic juice cleanses that women endure so that they will not have one ounce of back fat on their wedding day.

Source: Gawker

“Women wearing fewer clothes tend to be more independent, intelligent, free-thinkers who invariably take better care of themselves in all other aspects of their lives.”

Source: Huffington Post (written by a self-proclaimed “humorist”)

So, ladies, what are you all waiting for? You’ll also get more vitamin D through sun exposure!

But of course there is a rush. That’s why the bill is on the table. While you’re eating your burger or sticking a fork into your scrambled eggs or enjoying that lamb gyro with seasoned fries and Oreo milkshake, the check sits just a foot or two away. Waiting.

Hurry up.

You might also tell yourself that because the check is there, you can take all the time you need. It’s right there and you don’t have to wait for it, you can pay for it whenever you want–but maybe sooner is better. It is just sitting there, after all.

What is taking you so long?

Perhaps the nature of the server’s job forces her to set the check down right away. She can’t come and check on you every few minutes and remember to give you the check, even if she can come and fill your coffee cup every single time you’ve taken just two sips out of it to “warm it up.”

Once your check is plunked down, the onus is on you to finish your meal in a timely manner and either leave cash on the table, or visit the register to take care of business. There is no “can I get you anything else” that will come from your server.

Unless it’s your birthday and you’re expecting a slice of cake on the house, the check is the last thing you should receive from the restaurant. When I give it a little more thought, giving me my farewell ticket and telling me I can stay a little longer is sorta mean.

This is another reason I won’t ever switch to an Android device. The photo apps for iOS just can’t be beat. [Photo]

While most vitamin D studies are observational, there is one thing that it certainly does for our bodies–it helps the absorption of calcium for bone health and density. Whether you get vitamin D from foods like fish or fortified milk, or from unprotected exposure to the sun, it will give your bones what they need to stay healthy.

Wikipedia says:

Vitamin D deficiency can result in lower bone mineral density and an increased risk of bone loss (osteoporosis) or bone fracture because a lack of vitamin D alters mineral metabolism in the body.

This made me think of the fall and winter of 2005 heading into 2006. I was involved in a motorcycle accident and found myself crippled with a fractured cervical vertebra and navicular bone. For months, I was confined to my bedroom, unable to walk. Luckily, my neck healed just fine, but my foot, where the navicular bone is located, was giving me serious problems.

My orthopedic surgeon put a cast on my foot just a few days after my accident and told me it should take six weeks to heal. This would have been just in time for Thanksgiving. When I came back to have the cast removed, X-Rays showed that the bone hadn’t healed yet, and so I’d have to wear a cast for another six weeks. Not bad, I thought, it will be off by New Year’s Eve.

Six weeks later, there was no sign of progress, so the doctor changed me into a fresh, new cast and said that we’d start some sort of therapy involving ultrasound. I was skeptical, but it was worth a shot. Doc said he’d order some sort of apparatus that would envelope my foot and help the healing process. Fast forward another six weeks and there was no machine: when the doctor gave the verbal order to his minions, it was lost in memory and no one ordered the device. But by then, my foot was in terrible shape.

After a few months of wearing a cast, my foot was undergoing osteoporosis–it was losing bone density. In order for bones to keep their density, they need calcium and, I didn’t know this at the time, to bear weight. I hadn’t been walking on my foot at all, so the doctor gave me a walking cast and told me to start walking slowly and to stomp my foot every now and then.

What irks me now is that the outcome of my recovery could have been dramatically affected by the miracle-bone-healing-machine that was ordered too late, and if I’d known the role that vitamin D plays in bone health. How much vitamin D did I get during that time? I rarely drank fortified milk, I wasn’t eating any vitamin D-rich foods and we can forget about sunlight, too. My daily routine involved waking up, staying in my room and staying in my room some more.

Today, I can walk just fine. If I’m careful, I can even play some sports. However, my navicular bone is still broken – right in half. It’s a little unbelievable, but it’s only painful on days when I take very long walks – I’m talking several hours – or days after I’ve played a few hours of tennis. I never regained full range of motion in that foot, and I probably never will.

Would things have been different if I’d been more careful about ingesting enough vitamin D and soaking up plenty of sunlight? Maybe. It couldn’t have hurt. If you’ve broken any bones, are nursing a broken bone or suffering from osteoporosis, be sure to get enough calcium and vitamin D in your diet and through natural sunlight! Just be careful about getting burned in the sun – you don’t want to have healthy bones and end up with skin cancer.

Further reading:

Vitamin D for bone health – Wikipedia
Vitamin D – National Institutes of Health
Mayo Clinic on Vitamin D

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