Gratitude And Sunshine

Now that I have returned from my brief sojourn to the south coast of England, I would like to thank OldRightie, Edward, TediousTantrums, John Souter and Apogee for providing excellent posts during my absence. Gentlemen, I am extremely grateful.

It was quite sunny in the deepest south for the past week. Windy too.  However I've no wish to bore you about the contrasts in weather between south and north Britain, but to examine the effect of sunshine on our wellbeing and ask why our health providers aren't doing more to ensure everyone receives the correct intake of vitamin D.

While I was away I met with two of my oldest friends and both said their GP had contacted them when they became 60 and suggested a yearly 'flu inoculation and a vitamin D test. Neither have yet taken up the offer of the 'flu vaccine but both accepted the vitamin D test. Because they live where sunshine is (usually) more common than it is here 500 miles further north, they thought their vitamin D levels would be fine but one was informed hers was too low for her age and a couple of years ago started taking the vitamin - which I understand is actually a hormone, so why it's referred to as a vitamin is bewildering.

If GPs in the south of England are spending money on the vitamin in a preventative care package, why isn't Scotland considering this?  We have the highest number of MS cases in Europe and it's been proven that a lack of vitamin D, owing to the lack of sunshine, is a major cause of this debilitating disease.  I'm not suggesting anyone should rush to the chemist a buy bottles of the supplement as it has to be carefully monitored and monitoring is expensive, but surely in the long term it would be money well spent.  I intend to see what my new GP has to say about it.

Even if we lack sunshine in this lovely part of the world, certain foods can provide us with around half our needs.  I didn't realise mushrooms were a rich source did you?

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MS and Vitamin D

A few months ago I wrote about Ryan McLaughlin who single handedly petitioned the Scottish Government to produce guidelines on vitamin D supplements for children and pregnant women, launch an awareness campaign and investigate the link between multiple sclerosis and the vitamin.

The result of his efforts have paid off handsomely and now an international conference is to be held in Scotland on 27 April to discuss the health effect of the vitamin.  Leading researchers into links between vitamin D deficiency and MS are expected to attend.

Last week, as the Public Petitions Committee agreed to close Ryan's petition, members congratulated him for his achievement.  I do too.

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Ryan McLaughlin - The One Man 'Halt MS' Campaigner

Ryan and his Mum

Fourteen year old Ryan McLaughlin from Drumchapel, Glasgow, was interviewed by Victoria Derbyshire on Radio5Live yesterday morning. It was his Scots voice which first attracted my attention and then the subject. His aims are to ensure pregnant women and children are given vitamin D (the 'sunshine' vitamin) to prevent the disease, to raise awareness of the benefits of taking vitamin D and to have the RDA altered to a suitable dose.

Ryan's Mum suffers from multiple sclerosis and he admitted he'd missed quite a bit of school because he had to take his fair share, along with his Dad, of caring for her. "There's nothing that can be done for Mum now but something can be done to prevent anyone else getting MS. I'm back at school now because Mum's not too bad if she sticks to her routine," he told Ms Derbyshire.

This young lad's latest achievement is that he's been granted a Government summit to discuss his pleas. Nicola Sturgeon also agreed to the summit to raise awareness of the impact of vitamin D on MS. Many scientists believe this could prevent up to 80% of cases of MS, which currently has no cure and affects 12,500 Scots, more per head than anywhere in the world.

When asked on radio if he had considered how the vitamin would be administered, quick as a flash he said, "In milk for school children or in bread."

I'm sure all of us would like to see this debilitating disease conquered in Scotland. It does say quite a bit about the effectiveness of the MS lobby on governments though, when it takes a 14 old to break the deadlock between pro-campaigners and the Scientific Committee on Nutrition.

Well done Ryan and may I wish your campaign every success. You'll never be short of work when you leave school - the lobbying firms will be queueing at your door.

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