Vitamin D

An article caught my eye in one of the pharmacy journal. 
"Millions of dollars wasted on Vitamin D supplements"

In the study, the authors said that the high levels of spending on vitamin D supplements were "concerning" given that the vitamin could be obtained from alternative sources such as sunlight and food." 

My argument:

- Only a small amount gets absorbed from food, the form in food is Vitamin D2, not D3. Vitamin D2 is NOT an active form. 

- In summer, about 21% of Queenslanders are still Vitamin D deficient and they spent over 7 hours in the sun, according to a study. 

- Once the skin absorbs the vitamin D, it still needs to be transported into the liver and kidney before it becomes the active form. Have they considered the patients kidney and liver status?

- And what about the Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in Vitamin D? SNPs in layman's term is gene mutation. We all have certain SNPs. Sometimes it works to our advantage, but sometimes not. If patient has the particular SNPs, they're not efficient in converting the Vitamin D from the sun. I don't think the authors have taken that into consideration. 

Super Nutritious Bliss Balls

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp Psyllium husk
1 tsp organic Chia seeds
90mL of filtered water
1/2 cup raw Almonds
1/4 Sunflower seeds
1/4 Pumpkin seeds
1 vanilla pod
1/2 cup Cacao powder
1/4  cup dessicated Coconut 
2 tbsp plant based protein powder
1 tsp Camu or Kakadu plum powder
1 tsp green tea powder
1/2 tsp super Green or Spirulina powder
A good pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup Sultanas
3/4 cup dates
(Makes about 30 small size bliss balls)

Method:

1. Soak the psyllium husk and chia seeds in water for at least half an hour. 
2. In a food processor or a good quality blender (I use BioChef blender), grind the almonds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds until you get a meal. 
3. Transfer the nut/seed meal into a large mixing bowl. 
4. Scrape the contents of a vanilla pod, and together with dessicated coconut and all the powders, add to mixing bowl. Use a spatula and mix well. 
5. Blend the dates and sultanas, until it forms a lumpy paste. 
6. Transfer the paste into the mixing bowl.  
7. By now, the psyllium husk and chia seeds would have formed a gel-like mixture. Add the sea salt into the gel mixture and stir well. 
8. Transfer the gel mixture into the mixing bowl.
9. With clean hands, mix the ingredients well and roll them into balls.
10. Refrigerate for at least three hours before serving.

Comment:

• If possible, try to use organic. All the ingredients I used were from our pharmacy Blooms The Chemist Nowra Mall. We do not normally carry organic vanilla pods on the shelf, but if you have trouble getting them, we can always order them in. 
• See my previous recipe on sprouted seed spread about soaking nuts and seeds. 
• I use a variety of superfood/anti-oxidant powders because I really want to "inject" as many nutrients as possible into this snack/treat. You don't have to use all the powders if you don't want to. Simply use more Cacao powder. 
• You can easily turn this into a nut free bliss ball by substituting the almonds with  1/2 cup Sunflower and 1/2 cup Pumpkin seeds.