Colorado has the best UV (and thus best health) in the US

First I noticed that Colorado has the lowest obesity rate in the US

Note:

Notes:
People with high levels of Vitamin D have been proven to gain less weight
30% of the women given enough vitamin D supplements actually lost weight without calorie restriction, exercise.etc

Then I noticed that Colorado has a high level of UV – due to high elevation

UV increases with altitude (Colorado avg= 32% more): UVB increases even more

Colorado 6,800 ft; Wyoming 6,700 ft; Utah 6,100 ft; New Mexico 5,700 ft; Nevada 5,500 ft

Colorado altitude map

“Best UV” = high UV without being so hot as to need air conditioning to stay away from the sun

50 years ago, people closer to the equator had far less MS (they got more UV and thus more vitamin D)

Recently we can see that the difference in disease with latitude has gone away
MS association with latitude has virtually been eliminated- Lancet chart June 2010

Notice how much less cooling (air conditioning) is needed in Colorado

States closer to the equator have as much or more UV, but people often stay out of the hot sun by using air conditioning

Due to their high altitude Colorado, gets the most UV/vitamin D with the least amount of heat of all of the states.

---

The following health problems have has strong associations with low vitamin D (low UV)

There is a decreased death rate at higher elevations (More UV)

Low rates of Breast Cancer

Lowest rate of Diabetes

Colorado has a low rate of Mental illness

People in Colorado are not told that they are depressed as much

Colorado (6,800') has low rate of Hip Fracture

Utah (6,100') has even lower hip fracture rates than Colorado
(Mormons don't drink, and smoke very little)

---

Outside of the US

Lima, Peru: high altitude, near the equator, not so hot as to need air conditioning

Lima has sunshine/UV 6 months of the year

Lima = 5080 feet, 12 deg S latitude.
25 degrees C = 77 degrees F
Cusco has twice the altitude of Lima
High-altitude Cusco, Peru has far lower rate of COVID-19 than others (high UVB and Vitamin D) - June 2020

---

Not have to move to Colorado or Peru to increase your health: other options include

1. If living in a hot climate, you can make a heat shield which blocks all of the heat and light of the sun, but does not block the UVB
2. Buy and use a UVB light
3. Wear a tan-thru shirt to get more vitamin D from your time in the sun
4. Take a suncation (Vacation in a sunny climate)
5. Take Vitamin D supplements - which is the lowest cost option

---

Florida likes to think of itself as the sunshine state

Vitamin D deficiency in the sunshine state
Nephrol Nurs J. 2013 Jul-Aug;40(4):305-10, 327; quiz 311.
Pasupala U, Hain D, Paixao R, Barrera Nŕ, Kernan W.
Cleveland Clinic Florida, Department of Hypertension/Nephrology, Weston, FL, USA.

Vitamin D is well known for its skeletal and extraskeletal benefits. Chronic kidney disease (CKD), even in the early stages, may predispose patients to vitamin D deficiency, which may result in deleterious effects. Understanding the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the CKD population living in southern areas of the United States may help in early identification and implementation of preventative strategies.

PMID: 24175439 Details not available - probably behind a paywall

---

See also VitaminDWiki

• 4th highest county in the US has a very low COVID-19 rate (high UV, high vitamin D)
• Melanoma not as thick if recently had a sunny vacation – Nov 2013
• Some cancer rates are reduced when live at high altitude, but other cancers increase after a few generations – March 2021
• Does less sun mean more disease? video by VitaminDWiki - 5 minutes (2014)
• Other places with high UVB due to high altitude high up in the Andes, for example

See from the web (attached at bottom of this page)

• Cancer Mortality in Six Lowest Versus Six Highest Elevation Jurisdictions in the U.S. Hart 2011
  Authors were expecting more deaths due to radiation with increased altitude. No mention of UV or Ultraviolet

• Land Elevation and Cancer Mortality in U.S. Cities and Counties Using Median Elevations Derived from Geographic Information Systems Hart 2013
  later study by Hart of cities rather than states had the same conclusion - higher altitude - healthier
• Revisiting the association between altitude and mortality in dialysis patients Jan 2014
  those residing in the highest altitude strata (≥6000 ft) had a lower all-cause mortality risk in fully adjusted analyses: death hazard ratio: 0.92
  That is: 8% less likely to die
• Vitamin D, the Sun and sporting success - Sir Alex Ferguson's view Dr. Grimes blog post Sept 2013
  Notes that Ethiopia, with many sports stars has a very high altitude ( 4,200 - 9,800 feet) = lots of UV and thus vitamin D
• [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/26/science/unraveling-the-ties-of-altitude-oxygen-and-lung-cancer.html?_r=0|Unraveling the Ties of Altitude, Oxygen and Lung Cancer| NYT Jan 2016
  Does not notice the UV connection nor other iproved health categories.

Title change made Sept 2021 caused the visitor count to reset.
There have actually been 30458 visitors to this page since it was originally made

Short url = http://is.gd/coloradouv