Health experts offer tips on battling chronic cold-weather assaults on your body (Reading Eagle)

Click on picture to enlarge. The Cox brothers, from left, Andrew T.,12; Guy Alexander, 6; and twin Zachary R. work together recently shoveling snow in front of their house in Laureldale. Diet and outdoor exercise can help prevent a vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D Deficiency Epidemic (The Ellsworth American)

WINTER HARBOR — Many millennia ago, when we lived near the equator and walked around naked, no one worried about getting enough vitamin D from the sun.

Vitamin D Deficiency In Infants And Nursing Mothers Carries Long-term Disease Risks (Science Daily)

Once believed to be important only for bone health, vitamin D is now seen as having a critical function in maintaining the immune system throughout life. The newly recognized disease risks associated with vitamin D deficiency are clearly documented in a report in Breastfeeding Medicine.

American Public Health Association Adopted 12 New Policies At 2008 Annual Meeting (Medical News Today)

The American Public Health Association (APHA) recently adopted 12 policies at its 136th Annual Meeting in San Diego. The newly adopted policies address a broad range of public health issues from Vitamin D deficiency and smoking in films to reproductive health and removal of wisdom teeth.