New research: Somali immigrants in Sweden suffering from severe vitamin D deficiency

[Waxwaalan]

Oh my god is it that bad. I began having pain in my legs when i was like 11 almost 12 i ignored it and went on with my life then suddenly i couldn't even walk cuz the pain was too much they said i had rickets so they gave me vitamin d and even offered me to do the surgery because it felt like my knees were deforming but it wasn't that bad so they said to leave it, it is not that bad and a little surgery wouldn't do anything anyways. And now when ever i don't feel good my father calls the doctor immediately cuz he thinks i hid it from him for months and because he knows i hate the hospitals

if u saw me u would not see it. its possible to live with, but its the little things that bother me. they're weak & rising up from the floor i look like an old person LOL, but i can walk & run normally, thats why it was easy to overlook it. i think i will suffer when i get older if i don't fix it. doctors say u have to build some muscles before they can do any surgery, but its not easy as a somali LOL it really takes extra effort. i watch my west african friends & they're literally born with muscles, they fly up off the ground when rising. i pay attention to stuff like that. i like people with strong bones lmfao so i notice people's legs & how they move.

anyways, good that you recovered

 

[Bernie Madoff]

Well alot of swedish somalis from what i noticed look malnourished

 

[Waxwaalan]

Well alot of swedish somalis from what i noticed look malnourished

 

[Bernie Madoff]

Just spitting out the facts b. You guys need start eating instead of looking like those masakeen kids off of world vision hunger.

 

[Generalissimo]

Well alot of swedish somalis from what i noticed look malnourished

Where you from then

 

[Bernie Madoff]

Where you from then

I live in south america sxb

 

[Xooshdheere]

why is everyone slandering reer IKEA

 

[Generalissimo]

why is everyone slandering reer IKEA

They hate us cause they ain't us

 

[Waxwaalan]

Just spitting out the facts b. You guys need start eating instead of looking like those masakeen kids off of world vision hunger.

Sweden is very particular about the food chains that come in. there's nothing to eat.

 

[Bernie Madoff]

Sweden is very particular about the food chains that come in. there's nothing to eat.

As long as you guys have your strawberry jam with whatever you guys are eating you good right?

 

[Waxwaalan]

Where you from then

landet med ett löv som flagga

 

[Saar]

Aww bless, my mum always calls the doctors too when I’m ill only really because I have really bad asthma. Though not too many Somalis have that.

Aww i don't see see that many somalis with asthma hope you get well

if u saw me u would not see it. its possible to live with, but its the little things that bother me. they're weak & rising up from the floor i look like an old person LOL, but i can walk & run normally, thats why it was easy to overlook it. i think i will suffer when i get older if i don't fix it. doctors say u have to build some muscles before they can do any surgery, but its not easy as a somali LOL it really takes extra effort. i watch my west african friends & they're literally born with muscles, they fly up off the ground when rising. i pay attention to stuff like that. i like people with strong bones lmfao so i notice people's legs & how they move.

anyways, good that you recovered

That's exactly me too they said i might suffer when i get older that's why i try to eat healthy as much as i can now and try not to gain weight

 

[Waxwaalan]

The real solution is when the harsh winter of Europe hits, Somalis need a holiday home in Somalia, soak up as much Vitamin D as possible as long as possible. Supplementations like Cod Liver Oil, Vitamin D 10K IU > work but nothing beats the sun actually hitting your skin and activating Vitamin D. If it possible, this should be a MUST, the body soaks up vitamin D and has a backup storage when winter hits.

the swedes run to thailand every summer. its economically smart for somalis there to go back home in the summers cus the vacations are longer.

 

[Aden]

The “Western disease”: Autism and Somali parents' embodied health movements

Adar Hassan has two sons with severe autism – the younger can speak a little and the elder is non-verbal; both have severe behavioral disturbances and suffer from gastrointestinal problems, difficulty sleeping, and skin disorders. But she does not believe that autism is genetic, because no one in her family has ever seen such behaviors or symptoms before, and, unlike Americans, Somalis know their ancestors “like a hundred fathers back” (Interview, 6/12/14). In addition, Adar explained to me, the rates of autism prevalence have climbed steadily since the early 1990s. When her first son was diagnosed with autism in 2001, the rates were 1 in 150, and now they are 1 in 68 (CDC, 2014). As Adar explains, “that can’t be explained genetically. Genetics don’t explode … They know even if they don’t say it. There’s something environmental …” (Interview, 6/12/14).
Instead, Adar believes that the change of diet that accompanied her own forced migration from Somalia to Toronto changed her gut microbiota, which then affected her children during pregnancy and birth. There are several environmental and agricultural differences between life in Somalia and life in Canada which Adar believes influenced her children’s gut bacteria: Vitamin D deficiencies from changing exposure to sunlight, the lack of raw milk, the overly sanitized environments in North American schools and hospitals, and agricultural production that relies on genetic modification, fertilizers, and pesticides. In addition, Adar, like many Somali women in North America, gave birth through Caesarean section because Western doctors are unfamiliar with labor in women who have been circumcised. “Babies born by Caesarean … do not acquire their mother’s vaginal and intestinal microbes at birth,” which can lead to difficulties in the development of their immune systems (Pollan 2013). Both of Adar’s children were also given several courses of antibiotics during their infancies, which she believes destabilized their already fragile gut microbiome. As another member of the Toronto epistemic community explains, antibiotics are overprescribed: “We’re consuming a lot of antibiotics … some of the daycares, they are requesting if the child is sick, they will say you can’t bring him back unless he’s on medications … The parents … request the antibiotics so the child could go back to school so they can go to work or attend to another child or whatever … We have a culture of antibiotic abuse that’s going on” (Fatima Kediye, Interview, 6/10/15).


One hundred trillion bacteria live on our skin, in our mouths, and in our intestines. And we have a symbiotic relationship with the species that call us home – they protect us from infection, help us digest food, and keep our cells powered. But if something wipes out their diversity or stops it from developing in the first place, we are at greater risk for all kinds of illnesses. As Martin Blaser explains in his book, Missing Microbes (2014), the rise of “modern plagues” such as obesity, childhood diabetes, food allergies, cancer, celiac disease, colitis, and autism stems from “the disappearing microbiota.” He argues that the loss of diversity within the microbiome impacts our metabolism, immunity and cognition. Blaser worries “that with the overuse of antibiotics as well as some other now-common practices, such as Caesarean sections [and the widespread use of sanitizers and antiseptics], we have entered a danger zone, [a] no-man’s land between the world of our ancient microbiome and an unchartered modern world” (39).

Adar Hassan noticed that both of her autistic sons crave highly processed, carbohydrate-based foods, but when they are given low-carb diets, their behavior improves (ABC Four Corners 2012). She found the same to be true of dairy products. When she listened to Dr. Derrick MacFabe’s presentation on pathways from gut bacteria to brain inflammation, she finally heard a causal theory that made sense to her (Ibid). The “gut bugs,” MacFabe explains, crave carbohydrates. Children eating high-carbohydrate diets are feeding the bugs, which then negatively affect their brain development: “When we eat, we feed microbes. It is possible that these bacteria produce compounds that go back to the brain and alter behaviors, make us eat more of what it takes them to live, and produce behaviors that help spread them around” (MacFabe 2009). This is a distinct ontology of the body that suggests that colonies of bacteria living within us control our behavior, some of which negatively affect our health.

 

[Aden]

The Vitamin D-Hair Loss Connection
When it comes to the causes of hair loss, most people never suspect a vitamin D deficiency.

Here’s a story about why you should, and why vitamin D can sometimes make the difference between hair loss and hair recovery.

Jared’s Story

You might’ve seen Jared’s photos on the site. Jared and I started communicating in May of 2014. We exchanged emails to clarify the massage techniques and supporting evidence, then kept in touch for troubleshooting and research-sharing.

Anyway, here are photos of Jared’s hair regrowth over the full year:

His hair recovery is encouraging, but his photos don’t tell the full story. Because around the five-month mark, Jared actually lost most of the hair he’d recovered. The question was: why?

Jared’s Story Of Hair Recovery

Jared started the book’s protocol in the spring and saw signs of thickening relatively quickly. But around winter, his regrowth had stalled. Then came thinning at his hair line, and two months later, his hair was receding again.

This didn’t make sense. In the summer and fall months, Jared saw tremendous regrowth. He hadn’t changed his massage technique. He hadn’t changed his diet. And on top of his hair loss, Jared now also felt depressed.

Jared decided to find out why, so he ordered some blood work – including a 25-hydroxy vitamin D test.

25-hydroxy vitamin D is (debatably) the standard for measuring how much vitamin D is in our body. For anyone who’s done the test, a deficiency is labeled as anything below 30 ng/ml. Depending on your doctor, some even say readings below 40 ng/ml should be marked as a deficiency.

So what were Jared’s 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels? 8 ng/ml. He was severely vitamin D deficient.

Who Cares About Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is critical for hundreds of functions in the body – from wound healing to hormone production to immune functionality. And in winter time, a vitamin D deficiency is extremely common – a clear indicator being depression. There’s even a name for it: Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Jared was definitely symptomatic, and his hair was no longer progressing. Was a vitamin D deficiency contributing? He decided to address the deficiency and find out.

Was Jared’s Recent Hair Loss Caused By Low Vitamin D?

Jared changed his diet to include more foods rich in vitamin D. He also started supplementing with vitamin D3 (and its adjuncts – including, but not limited to, vitamins A and E).

Within a month, Jared felt better. By spring, he was experiencing hair gains beyond his initial progress. And by month eleven, Jared had made a near-complete pattern hair loss recovery.

So what can we glean from this story?

For Some People, Vitamin D Might Be Critical For Hair Regrowth

If Jared hadn’t tested his vitamin D levels, he might not have regrown any hair. He probably would’ve seen the thinning at month five and thought, “Well, I guess this protocol doesn’t work me.”

Instead, Jared analyzed his symptoms, tested his vitamin D, discovered a deficiency, then took action to increase his vitamin D intake. The end-result: a better mood and significant hair recovery.

So just how important is vitamin D? For Jared, vitamin D was the missing link for success. And for many others, the same could be true.


https://perfecthairhealth.com/vitamin-d-deficiency-does-it-cause-hair-loss/

 

[Aden]