Thinking about winter sun : Craving sunshine and a Vitamin D boost!

By Luci McQuitty Hindmarsh, on December 18th, 2012

Beautiful Camber Sands, but where’s my vitamin D?!

I love the British seaside in winter, a bracing walk along the beach always leaves my head feeling clear. We’re off to Camber Sands tomorrow, it is one of the most beautiful beaches in the UK and a beach we visit often, come rain or shine.

But here’s the thing; apart from a week’s trip to France earlier this year, we haven’t been on holiday abroad since before Ma Puce was born and I am starting to crave a proper holiday in the sunsheine (Sic – to be read in style of Liam Gallagher singing circa 1994).

The recent ice cold spell, part of which we spent in the depths of Northumberland, a place that seems to know no limits when it comes to plunging temperatures, has really got to me. And now, the subzero temperatures have lifted, we are left with more than generous amounts of rain and the kind of grey, lifeless skies that drain your energy like a toddler on Haribo.

And so my thoughts are turning once more to a deliciously sunny holiday abroad. And according to recent news stories about the rubbish British summer potentially leading to an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency, which can cause rickets and is linked to various other horrible diseases including the Big C, it would seem that booking a lil holiday in the sun would also be very good for our health!

I’ve started having a little browse to see what’s out there, checking to see if there are any cheap flights or bargain packages to be had – and do you know what, I think I might have to commission a mother.wife.me study into the benefits of staring endlessly at pictures of sunny beaches online, because I am sure it must give a teeny tiny little vitamin D boost.

Disclosure: This is a featured post for Cheap Flights. My little winter sun fantasy is all my own.

Luci McQuitty Hindmarsh

mother.wife.me AKA Luci McQuitty Hindmarsh. I'm a London based blogger, writer and social media maven. This is a personal blog about my life as a MOTHER to a little girl, WIFE to a businessman husband and all the other general stuff that happens to ME.

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Few points here – first, it’s feckin’ freezin in the upper half of the US at this time of year and we are prepareing for a blizz that’s blowing from the Pacific to the East coast. Don’t come unless you are going to Miami. I have actually been to Key Largo and Key West at Xmas before and it’s been in the 60′s (F) – so there are no guarantees.
I don’t think you need Vitamin D in the UK. Thousands of people just get outside and into the (lack of) sun and don’t need a booster. You may see that not many people have rickets. Even here in Chicago (where it’s usually too cold to stay out for long) I don’t know many people who take Vitamin D.
“Depths of Northumberland”? – that’s my homeland and I didn’t know the meaning of the word “cold” till I came to Chicago.
http://www.motherwifeme.com mother.wife.me

Oh my, I think I’ll steer well clear of Chigago in the winter! I was actually musing on a trip to the States for a summer trip rather than for winter sunshine.

On the Rickets front, there’s a lot in the serious media (as in not The Daily Mail etc) about the resurgence of Rickets in this country. A study done by Doctors at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health say that widespread vitamin D deficiency is fuelling the return of the disease, which has become four times more common in the past 15 years. The reports also say that Tuberculosis, diabetes and multiple sclerosis are also being caused by a lack of the vitamin.

So, I for one am ensuring I have enough Vit D and my daughter is getting a good dose of vits through the winter months too. I’m not a huge fan of supplements. But given I have a child who is still eating haphazardly, I’d rather ensure she is getting everything she needs with a supplement than not at all.