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:
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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



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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
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Colorado altitude map

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“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
Shows decrease of association of MS with latitude during 2oth century wars - probably due to people in the South being able to be indoors due to air conditioning

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

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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)



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Low rates of Breast Cancer

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Lowest rate of Diabetes

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Colorado has a low rate of Mental illness

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

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

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



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Outside of the US

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

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Lima has sunshine/UV 6 months of the year

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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

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

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