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Can high doses of vitamin D prevent, treat or delay a wide variety of conditions and diseases affecting virtually every part of the body? This question gets to the heart of the vitamin D debate.

On one side of the debate are researchers who for years have been advocating higher intakes and blood levels of vitamin D and who feel that the latest IOM recommendations fell short. On the other side are those who fear that the vitamin D bandwagon has gotten far ahead of the research and who worry that it may crash, as did the bandwagons for antioxidant supplements when long-awaited clinical trials failed to find benefit and sometimes even suggested harm.

In this key chapter, the The Benefits of Vitamin D: Bone Health & Beyond Report provides an in-depth look at current research and scientific evidence on vitamin D. The editors sift through hundreds of studies and articles in leading scientific journals to bring you cutting-edge insights on the relationship between vitamin D and many of the diseases that affect older adults. We encourage you to read this section carefully and share this is valuable information with friends and family affected by these conditions:

Arthritis

Falls

Breast cancer

Heart disease

Colorectal cancer

Hypertension

Prostate cancer

Immune function

Skin cancer

Multiple sclerosis

COPD

Obesity

Cognitive function and dementia

Osteoporosis and fractures

COPD

Obesity

Dental health

Parkinson’s disease

Depression

Psoriasis

Diabetes

Drawing on analysis and guidance from the landmark Institute of Medicine report, as well as leading vitamin D researchers and health organizations — the Endocrine Society, the Canadian Cancer Society, the National Osteoporosis Society and others — The Benefits of Vitamin D: Bone Health & Beyond consolidates the research, providing page after page of provocative argument and debate.

Source: Berkely Wellness

 

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JANUARY GARDENING CHORES  by ZONE

Compliments of Saint Rose Garden

January Gardening Chores

 

What’s My Zone?

Zone 1

• Check dahlia and canna roots for plumpness, freedom from mold
• Check house plants for mites, mealybugs, and scale
• Cut back on feeding house plants
• Protect bases of fruit tree trunks against rodent damage with wire mesh
• Plant living Christmas trees if ground is workable
• Clean and oil garden tools
• Plan flower and vegetable beds

Zone 2

• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
• Water cymbidiums weekly until they bloom

Zone 3

• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
• Water cymbidiums weekly until they bloom

Zone 4

• Sow seeds indoors for hardy spring-blooming plants
• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)

Zone 5

• Sow seeds for hardy spring-blooming plants
• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
• Sow frost-tolerant perennials indoors

Zone 6

• Sow seeds of warm-season annuals
• Sow seeds for hardy spring-blooming plants
• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
• Sow seeds for cool-weather vegetables
• Sow frost-tolerant perennials indoors

Zone 7

• Sow seeds of warm-season annuals
• Set out summer-flowering bulbs
• Plant fall-blooming bulbs
• Plant balled-and-burlapped, container, and bare-root fruit trees
• Apply dormant spray to fruit trees before buds swell
• Spray apples, peaches, and pears that have been affected with canker problems
• Plant bare-root perennial vegetables
• Plant seedlings of cool-weather vegetables
• Sow fast-growing warm-season vegetables
• Sow seeds for frost-tolerant perennials
• Sow seeds for tender perennials
• Plant container and bare-root roses
• Plant balled-and-burlapped, container, and bare-root trees, shrubs, and vines
• Plant summer-blooming shrubs and vines
• Plant frost-tolerant trees
• Plant conifers and broad-leaf evergreens

Zone 8

• Sow seeds of warm-season annuals indoors
• Sow seeds for hardy spring-blooming annuals
• Plant fruit trees
• Apply dormant spray to fruit trees
• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
• Move living Christmas trees outdoors
• Plant or transplant frost-tolerant perennials
• Plant bare-root roses
• Apply dormant spray to bare-root roses
• Plant bare-root trees, shrubs, and vines
• Prune winter-blooming shrubs and vines just after bloom
• Apply dormant spray to trees, shrubs, and vines
• Plant bare-root perennial vegetables
• Sow seeds for cool-season vegetables
• Protect tender plants from frost

Zone 9

• Sow seeds for hardy spring-blooming annuals
• Sow seeds of warm-season annuals indoors
• Plant summer-flowering bulbs
• Repot cacti and succulents, if essential, once they have finished blooming
• Plant bare-root fruit trees
• Apply dormant spray to fruit trees
• Plant citrus
• Move living Christmas tree outdoors
• Sow frost-tolerant perennial seeds indoors
• Plant or transplant frost-tolerant perennial seedlings outdoors
• Plant bare-root roses
• Apply dormant spray to roses
• Plant bare-root trees, shrubs, and vines
• Apply dormant spray to trees, shrubs, and vines
• Prune winter-flowering shrubs and vines just after bloom
• Plant bare-root perennial vegetables
• Plant seedlings of cool-season and winter vegetables
• Sow seeds for cool-season and winter vegetables
• Protect tender plants from frost

Zone 10

• Set out cool-season annuals
• Sow seeds for hardy spring-blooming annuals
• Plant winter-, spring-, and summer-blooming bulbs
• Repot cacti and succulents, if essential, once they have finished blooming
• Plant bare-root fruit trees
• Prune flowering fruit trees while in bloom
• Spray for peach leaf curl, peach leaf blight, and canker
• Plant citrus
• Protect citrus from frost damage
• Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants)
• Move living Christmas trees outdoors
• Plant bare-root roses
• Apply dormant spray to roses
• Plant bare-root shrubs and vines
• Apply dormant sprays to trees, shrubs and vines
• Prune evergreen shrubs
• Prune winter-flowering shrubs and vines
• Plant bare-root trees
• Sow cool-season vegetable seeds
• Plant or transplant cool-season vegetable seedlings
• Sow warm-season vegetable seeds

Zone 11

• Sow seeds of hardy annuals outdoors (larkspur, bachelor’s button, poppy)
• Set out plants of early-spring blooming perennials (primrose, calendula, viola, pansy)
• Plant bare-root trees, shrubs, vegetables
• Check house plants for mites, mealybugs
• Prune fruit trees if you have not previously done so
• Apply dormant spray to fruit trees, roses

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A review:

The biochemistry of vitamin D is complex — even the terminology can be mind numbing. That’s why Dr. Swartzberg begins The Benefits of Vitamin D with a concise look at vitamin D basics — its role in bone health, regulation of cell growth, immune function and reduction of inflammation.

In easy-to-understand layman’s language, the Report explores key issues, including: the impact of skin color, age, season and time of day in your skin’s production of vitamin D… how your genetic makeup influences blood levels of vitamin D… calciferol, ergocalciferol and other terms related to vitamin D. You’ll learn about:

Dietary sources of vitamin D, including new D-enhanced mushrooms

The benefits and dangers of high loading doses of vitamin D supplements

A comparison of vitamin D3 and vitamin D2 found in supplements

Should you be tested for your vitamin D blood level — and if you are, what’s the cut off for vitamin D deficiency

What you should know before you are tested — for example, how does seasonal variability affect results?

Symptoms and treatment of vitamin D deficiency

Pregnancy, breastfeeding and vitamin D — what new moms should know

 

Source: Berkely Wellness

 

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A review:

The biochemistry of vitamin D is complex — even the terminology can be mind numbing. That’s why Dr. Swartzberg begins The Benefits of Vitamin D with a concise look at vitamin D basics — its role in bone health, regulation of cell growth, immune function and reduction of inflammation.

In easy-to-understand layman’s language, the Report explores key issues, including: the impact of skin color, age, season and time of day in your skin’s production of vitamin D… how your genetic makeup influences blood levels of vitamin D… calciferol, ergocalciferol and other terms related to vitamin D. You’ll learn about:

Dietary sources of vitamin D, including new D-enhanced mushrooms

The benefits and dangers of high loading doses of vitamin D supplements

A comparison of vitamin D3 and vitamin D2 found in supplements

Should you be tested for your vitamin D blood level — and if you are, what’s the cut off for vitamin D deficiency

What you should know before you are tested — for example, how does seasonal variability affect results?

Symptoms and treatment of vitamin D deficiency

Pregnancy, breastfeeding and vitamin D — what new moms should know

 

Source: Berkely Wellness

 

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What’s my gardening zone?

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Excepted from New York Times article

The world is physically capable of feeding, sheltering and enriching many more people in the short term. Between 1820, at the dawn of the industrial age, and 2008, when the world economy entered recession, economic output per person increased elevenfold…

Where is this taking us? The coming half century will see huge shifts in the geopolitical balance of numbers, further declines in the number of children per woman, smaller but more numerous households, an increasingly elderly population, and growing and more numerous cities.

The United Nations Population Division anticipates 8 billion people by 2025, 9 billion by 2043 and 10 billion by 2083. India will have more people than China shortly after 2020, and sub-Saharan Africa will have more people than India before 2040.

To read the entire article please click the link below

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/opinion/seven-billion.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

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by Avigail Berg-Panitz, MA

I invite you to explore and experience inner body massage of organs, tissues and cells, by treating yourself and/or your clients with Vibroacoustic therapy to reduce pain and stress and enhance life quality.

Vibroacoustic therapy – VAT is a therapy in which, low sound frequencies in the range of 30 Hz- 120 Hz, are transmitted into the whole body systems (nervous, skeleton muscular, blood) through transducers that are embedded in a furniture unit (bed, mattress, lounge, chair). The transducers convert the frequencies into vibrations and in fact, create inner body massage of organs, tissues, muscles and cells.

Olav Skille – (A therapist, education and musician from Norway), is one of the pioneers and innovator of applying the frequencies as a therapy for whole inner body massage – VAT. Over 30 years of applied research, collaboration with academic research and feedback from patients and therapists – have led him to find the correlation between certain frequencies and positive effect of reducing pain, stress and various illnesses symptoms.
The invitation:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0ByfSfYOMMG5XNzRiYzcyMmYtN2E2Ny00OWQ1LWFiMTgtYzYwODMzODgyOTdi&hl=en_US

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Remember that both children and elders can be a big help during autumn gardening season. Kids can plant bulbs ( my daughter loves to do this) and elders can sit comfortably and trim roots, divide plants (that someone younger dug up), and prune shrubs and smaller trees…     Dahlia roots should be cared for in autumn.   Zone 1 Finish planting container-grown trees and shrubs Plant needle-bearing evergreens early in the month If the month is dry, repeat the September soaking Check ties on trees, and loosen any that look tight Finish bulb planting early in the month Cover compost to keep it warm and working Observe trees for fall color; jot names of the best in your notebook Dig dahlia roots after tops are frosted Zone 2 Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants) Protect roses for winter Zone 3 Start fall compost pile Cover perennial, vegetable, bulb, and strawberry beds for winter Plant winter- and spring-flowering bulbs Divide and replant crowded fall-blooming bulbs after leaves yellow Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants) Protect roses for winter   Get those spring bulbs in the ground now!   Zone 4 Start fall compost pile Cover perennial, vegetable, bulb, and strawberry beds for winter Plant winter- and spring-flowering bulbs Divide and replant crowded fall-blooming bulbs after leaves yellow Buy spring-blooming bulbs Plant container and balled-and-burlapped fruit trees Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants) Plant, feed, and aerate cool-season lawns and loosen thatch Sow seeds for frost-tolerant perennials Divide and replant summer- and fall-blooming perennials after bloom Protect roses for winter Plant summer-blooming shrubs and vines Plant balled-and-burlapped trees Plant trees in containers Plant frost-tolerant trees Zone 5 Start fall compost pile Plant winter- and spring-flowering bulbs Divide and replant crowded fall-blooming bulbs after leaves yellow Buy winter- and spring-blooming bulbs Plant container and balled-and-burlapped trees fruit trees Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants) Plant cool- and warm-season lawns Aerate cool-season lawns and loosen thatch Sow seeds for frost-tolerant perennials Divide and replant summer- and fall-blooming perennials after bloom Plant container roses Protect roses for winter Plant container and balled-and-burlapped trees, shrubs, and vines Plant summer-blooming shrubs and vines Plant frost-tolerant trees Zone 6 Start fall compost pile Plant winter- and spring-flowering bulbs Divide and replant crowded fall-blooming bulbs after leaves yellow Buy winter- and spring-blooming bulbs Plant container and balled-and-burlapped fruit trees Plant permanent ground covers Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants) Plant and aerate lawns and loosen thatch Sow seeds for frost-tolerant perennials Divide and replant summer- and fall-blooming perennials after bloom Plant container roses Protect roses for winter Plant container and balled-and-burlapped trees, shrubs, and vines Plant summer-blooming shrubs and vines Plant frost-tolerant trees Plant needle-leafed evergreens   Ornamental grasses put out good roots now.   Zone 7 Plant or repair lawns Plant ornamental grasses Cover perennial, vegetable, bulb, and strawberry beds for winter Plant winter- and spring-blooming bulbs Pre-chill tulips and hyacinths for indoor forcing Plant balled-and-burlapped or container fruit trees Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants) Rake lawn to remove debris Sow seeds for frost-tolerant perennials Plant container roses Plant balled-and-burlapped or container trees, shrubs, and vines Prune fall-flowering shrubs just after bloom Protect tender plants from frost Zone 8 Plant for fall and winter color Plant winter- and spring-blooming bulbs Plant balled-and-burlapped and container fruit trees Prune frost-sensitive fruit trees Cut back on feeding houseplants (do not feed dormant houseplants) Plant or repair lawns Plant ornamental grasses Sow seeds for frost-tolerant perennials Plant fall- and winter-blooming perennials Prune fall-blooming shrubs and vines just after bloom Plant seedlings of cool-season or winter vegetables Sow seeds for cool-season or winter vegetables Zone 9 Plant for fall color with annuals Plant winter- and spring-blooming bulbs Feed and water cacti or succulents that are growing or blooming Feed houseplants that are growing or blooming Repair or plant lawns Rake lawns to remove debris Sow frost-tolerant perennials indoors Plant fall- and winter-blooming perennials Prune fall-flowering shrubs and vines just after bloom Plant or transplant seedlings of cool-season or winter vegetables Sow seeds for cool-season or winter vegetables   Keep contrasting colors around for interest in cooler weather.   Zone 10 Plant annuals for fall color Set out fall and winter-blooming plants Plant winter- and spring-blooming bulbs Feed and water cacti and succulents that are growing or blooming Feed houseplants that are growing or blooming Plant winter-blooming perennials Prune fall-flowering shrubs and vines after bloom Sow cool-season vegetable seeds Start seeds for cool-season or winter vegetables Zone 11 Finish planting spring-blooming bulbs Plant container-grown trees and shrubs Feed and water lawn to encourage overseeded grass Prune back summer- and fall-blooming shrubs Allow rose hips to form; it will encourage early dormancy in bushes Don’t forget that many elders need an extra hand tending their property year around.  Do the right thing and pitch in! Respectfully, Certified Care .org

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You really do gain a full season’s growth by planting in the fall, rather than waiting until spring. Plants get the benefit of cooler temperatures, warm soil, more rain, and less stress while they are starting to develop their root systems. When they come out of dormancy next year, they are much more vigorous and ready to take on the summer heat.

Many of us feel uncomfortable planting, knowing that winter is just ahead. But, once you’ve gardened in the fall, and seen the results the following spring and summer, you’ll wonder why you hadn’t done this before!

General Fall Maintenance:
Remove grass and weeds from beds
Re-mulch all beds in September – October depending on your winter hardiness zone

Planting beds: try to achieve a minimum 1″ depth and preferably 1 1/2″

When to divide perennials
· Does the plant look crowded?
· Does the center of the perennial seem woody or dry?
· Were flowers smaller or less prolific this past season?

If the answers to these questions are yes, it’s probably a good idea to divide. Divide or thin spring and summer blooming perennials, after they’ve finished blooming (those that are established three years or more) in October – November (Coreopsis, Salvia, Leucanthemum, etc.) Ornamental grasses are generally divided in the spring.

Monitor watering, and water manually as necessary.

Plant Bulbs In Fall For Spring Color

Examples of German Iris

Flower bulbs are “…easy to plant and live for years,” says Dr. J. Robert Nuss, professor of ornamental horticulture in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. “Best of all, they start brightening the landscape while it’s still late winter.”

For a steady procession of blooms from late January to late July, Nuss offers several planting suggestions:

Late winter blooms:

Galanthus, or snow drops, bloom the earliest.  If you’ve wondered what those little white, bell-shaped flowers are blooming in people’s yards starting in late January, they’re probably snowdrops.

Species crocuses start blooming in late January or early February, followed by large-flowered Dutch crocuses in February and March.

Also blooming at this time are winter aconite, which resemble low-growing buttercups; chionodoxa, which have pink, white or blue star-shaped flowers; and squill, which have deep-blue flowers.

Early spring blooms:

Anemone blanda bloom in March and April and have purple, pink or white flowers that look like asters. Also blooming at this time are grape hyacinths,with grape-like clusters of purple or white flowers, and iris reticulata, which looks like other irises but grows only five inches tall.

Some more familiar flowers also bloom during these months, such ashyacinths; double-early, Kaufmanniana and Fosteriana tulips; and miniature and trumpet daffodil.

Spring blooms:

Darwin hybrid tulips bloom in April and May, along with Triumph, Gregii, single-late, double-late, lily-flowered, Rembrandt and parrot tulips. They come in an array of heights, colors and markings.  Some interesting smaller bulbs, such as checkered lilies and Spanish bluebells, also bloom in late spring.

Early summer blooms:

For flowers in June, plant Dutch irises, which look like slender bearded irises, and allium, a colorful and sweeter-scented relative of the onion. Alliums vary greatly in size and color — from four-inch stems with clusters of yellow flowers, to giant allium, which can reach three feet tall and is topped with a sphere of purple flowers five inches in diameter.

You also can plant German irises in the fall.  These are the familiar irises with the fruity scent and large, bearded flowers. They grow from rhizomes planted about three inches deep, and they extend the blooming season to the end of July.

Bulb planting requirements:

Flowering bulbs can be planted in formal or informal beds, rock gardens and in established ground covers. Most prefer partial shade, so avoid planting them where they will receive direct midday sun. Heated basement walls can damage bulbs, so plant them at least five feet away from foundations.

Keep in mind that you can fit a lot of bulbs in one space by planting large bulbs, covering them with two inches of soil and planting small bulbs on top of them.  You also can plant shallow-rooted annuals on top of bulbs.

Bulbs need good drainage and a high amount of organic matter, so if your soil is mostly sand or clay, mix in peat moss or compost until organic matter is about 25 percent of volume.

When planting tulips, daffodils and other large bulbs, dig out the entire bed to a depth of about 8 inches. Arrange the bulbs six inches apart with the pointed ends up. Smaller bulbs such as crocuses and grape hyacinths can be planted three inches apart and five inches deep.

Before covering the bulbs, add one rounded tablespoon per square foot of either a sulfur-coated, slow-release fertilizer, or one handful per square foot of  bone meal plus one tablespoon per square foot of 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 fertilizer.

You then can replace half the soil and water the area thoroughly, add the remaining soil, and water again. “A three-inch layer of wood chips, peat moss or bark will retain moisture and keep mud from splashing on the flowers next spring,” says Nuss.

Fertilizing and dealing with pests:

Squirrels and chipmunks dig up bulbs, especially crocuses. “If you anticipate a problem, spread fine-mesh chicken wire over the soil and then apply mulch,” says Nuss.

When shoots start breaking through the soil in the spring, sprinkle a second application of fertilizer around them.  As flowers fade, cut them off so they don’t go to seed and rob nourishment from the bulbs.

“The foliage gathers nutrients for the next season’s growth, so allow it to completely die before removing it,” says Nuss. “Other than these few steps, spring-flowering bulbs don’t need much attention. They’ll come back year after year, just when winter seems as though it never will end.”