Vitamins and Water Quality

The other day Mike came home and said that a co-worker of his brought to our attention something that answered a lot of questions for us.

For a while our whole family has been breaking out in acne. I haven't felt so young in years! Seriously though we just couldn't figure out why. There's definitely more humidity in the air here and we've been really stressed out and in need of a good nights sleep but, after a few months one would think he would adapt right? Well here is another piece of the puzzle. In the States, most major cities use chlorine during the treatment process, while Germany often does not. Why does Germany not? They believe adding chlorine is unnecessary. Why does America chlorinate their drinking water? Because chlorine is an inexpensive disinfectant that generally carries well at low levels throughout the drinking water system. So, that little toxin we've been adding to our bodies and washing with for years actually was helping us not break out! I guess the next question of mine is how the heck do I get rid of my pizza face?

The next little tidbit is vitamins. Before I left the States, the grandmother of one of Joshua's classmates came up to me and warned me about the lack of sunshine here. When she and her husband were stationed in Britain years ago, she actually had to seek medical treatment because of the bad weather. I scoffed at her thinking that it couldn't be that bad... after all, I was an ignorant Californian! She wasn't kidding. There truly is about 3 hours of sunshine a day during the winter if we are lucky! Most days though, it's raining or snowing. This, I think, has caused a serious downer for me. Emotionally for sure.

A playgroup instructor at one of Sam's playgroups said that she was tested and seriously lacking in Vitamin D. She took supplements and really couldn't figure out why women in general are so lacking in the important nutrient. Another puzzle piece I was given here... just about all women's makeup comes with sunblock mixed into the foundation nowadays, blocking what little sunshine we can receive during the winter here (usually the rest of our body is bundled up too. NARS brand is sold here and doesn't have SPF). I would have liked to talk to her more about this but our time was lacking. She's working through a doctor to receive "sunshine" treatments. Lack of Vitamin D can be a nasty thing. From what I understand, African Americans are incredibly susceptible to Vitamin D deficiency. It is a causing factor in depression and makes it more difficult for human bones to absorb calcium. Again, I really want to look more into this and possibly get a blood test to determine what nutrients I'm lacking but it's something to think about when one moves here. Take your Vitamin D! They sell supplements at the commissary and I've been taking those along with my multivitamin daily. Again, this is just the info I've gotten from others and online. The supplements seem to be helping my overall mood; along with switching around my diet and getting to the gym.