Remember how the sun makes you feel? There’s a reason being outside lifts your spirits — and it goes much deeper than mood.
Most people assume cholesterol is the primary villain when it comes to artery damage. But there’s a lesser-known culprit that shows up on blood tests far more often — and it’s one far fewer people have heard of.
Homocysteine is an amino acid produced as your body breaks down protein. When levels run high, it directly damages the lining of your arteries — contributing to blockages and cardiovascular disease.
In our office, elevated homocysteine appears elevated on blood panels far more frequently than oxidized LDL cholesterol.
Vitamin D lowers homocysteine. And sunlight is your body’s most natural, most efficient way to produce it. That feeling you get sitting outside on a warm afternoon — that calm, that ease — your body is working hard in the background, doing exactly what it was designed to do.
This weekend get outside:
* Go to the beach
* Play golf
* Ride a bike
* Take a walk
Doctors orders.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11239-021-02391-w
Association between vitamin D deficiency and serum Homocysteine levels and its relationship with coronary artery disease Published: Volume 52, pages 523-531 (2021)