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Show Volume XIV Issue XVII The Ogden Valley news Page 15 June 15, 2007 Sunlight as a Nutrient It’s summer! The cold of winter is passing and we are all eager to be outside in the sun again. What many people do not realize is that sunlight plays an important role in our health. Yes, we have to be cautions not to overindulge, and to use sunscreen and cover up when outside. However, it is vital that we spend time outdoors, in the sun, everyday. There are several physiological reasons why our bodies need sunlight. Sunlight helps with serotonin production. Serotonin is a brain chemical that helps us feel calm and serene. Low serotonin levels can result in depression, mood swings, aggression, and increased appetite and food cravings. There are many natural ways to boost your serotonin level, including sunlight (1 hour a day is recommended), exercise, laughter, an attitude of gratitude, and spending time with people or pets you love and who love you. Sunlight will help you be calm and happy, so get outside! Sunlight helps you sleep better. Our bodies operate on a sleep-wake cycle that is regulated partly by the brightness of our days and the darkness of our nights. The body chemical that is the primary player in our sleep cycle is melatonin. The presence and levels of melatonin in our body triggers other chemicals that together contribute to a restful, healing nights sleep. In our body, the highest amount of melatonin is present at the darkest point of night. Melatonin is shut off at the brightest point of the day and is present in small amounts during the transition times of dusk and dawn. Unfortunately, many of us spend most of our day indoors. Indoor light levels are closer in intensity to the light of dusk or dawn (low light) than the bright light of being outside in the sun. This steady low light is confusing to our brain. It interprets the low level of indoor light as dusk or dawn and so it keeps a small amount of melatonin active in our brain all the time. The ongoing presence of melatonin alters many of the other chemical functions in our body, resulting in poor sleep and other detrimental side effects. Exposing your body to bright sunlight creates an obvious distinction in our brain between night and day. This distinction has the body shutting off melatonin production during the day, thus allowing it to peak at night when it needs to, resulting in a good nights sleep. Sunlight helps with vitamin D production. A recent study of middle-aged women revealed that 50% of them suffered from vitamin D deficiency. Our bodies make vitamin D using sunlight to convert precursor chemicals into usable vitamin D. Vitamin D is necessary for bone health, tissue healing, and many other vital biological functions in the body. The recommended dosage for vitamin D is 200-400 IU per day. For the average Caucasian, living in the U.S., exposing the hands, face and arms for 15-20 minutes, 3 times per week, provides sufficient vitamin D during the months March through October. UV rays are less intense the rest of the year so be sure to go outdoors every day for at least 15 minutes, and you many need to take supplemental vitamin D or get vitamin D in food sources such as fish, eggs, and fortified milk. In conclusion, sunlight is necessary for our brain and body to function in a healthy and balanced way. Besides, being out in the sun is good therapy for the soul. So play in the sunlight everyday and be healthy, happy, and fit! Snowbasin Resort Fights Back— Watch out invasive weeds! Recognizing the rapid rate at which invasive weed species are spreading and the impact of global warming as two major threats to wild land ecosystems, Snowbasin Resort is committed to managing invasive weed species introduced from adjacent private, county, and/or federal lands. Snowbasin Resort has developed a resort Weed Management Plan to approach this critical problem. The plan utilizes several techniques in an integrated manner. Prevention of future introductions of invasive weed species will be controlled through promoting public awareness of invasive weeds; the washing of vehicles (including mountain bikes); and the management of horses and the accompanying hay their owners bring along when visiting the area. Detection and rapid response will be accomplished by training the public and resort employees in weed identification, and then initiating effective and appropriate responses once invasive weed species are recognized and reported. Control treatments will include mechanical, cultural, chemical and/or biological. Where large areas are treated, restoration will be implemented through re-vegetation of affected sites with Forest Service approved wild land seed mixes. An ongoing monitoring program will also be vital to successfully determining the efficacy of treatments, and potential future introductions of present or new invasive weed species. Snowbasin is also cooperating with the Weber River Cooperative Weed Management Area to ensure our program is integrated with other private, federal, state, county, and local efforts. Join us in our efforts to fight back against noxious weeds. Let’s all do our part to control the spread of invasive weeds species. Resort. These events include free Sunday afternoon concerts, full-moon star parties with gondola rides, and hiking and mounSchedule: Note: Submitted by Lorrie Harper MSPT 9:00 a.m. Start at Snowbasin Plaza for tain biking galore. This summer there will also be fine dinC. Lorrie teaches Pilates classes in Eden. 5K and 10K ing available at the Needles Lodge. This For more information call 644-8731. 10:30 a.m. Start at Wildflower dining experience, known as Needles at Meadows Obstacle Course Night, will include a gondola ride, fine 8:00 a.m. to dinning at the top of Snowbasin Resort, 11:30 a.m. Pancake breakfast at Earl’s as well as two 9-hole disc golf courses for Lodge your enjoyment. 11:30 a.m. Awards Ceremony For more information about events at Snowbasin Resort visit their website at The Flying Moose launches an enticing <www.snowbasin.com> array of summer activities at Snowbasin Horse property in Liberty. 1.15 acres w/barn & shed. Upgraded kitchen & living room. $279,900 View online- NatalieLarsen.com. Market Edge Real Estate 458-7215 FLYING MOOSE cont. from page 5 |