Abstract
SCOTLAND'S HEALTH DEFICIT: AN EXPLANATION AND A PLAN OLIVER GILLIE Health Research Forum Occasional reports: No 3, 2008 £12.50, 9780955320026 ![Graphic][1] On the first morning of the hopeful new world after Obama's victory, I went for a walk in the wet autumnal woods, breathed in the colours, and gave thanks. Then, I went home and reached for the cod liver oil. A strange way, you may think, to celebrate. No; I had just read Oliver Gillie's book about the role of vitamin D and cod liver oil in keeping us healthy and had resolved to adopt evidence-based personal practice. A daily dose of cod liver oil was something that my grandfather, having survived the trenches, passed on to my father and the smelly ritual was a strong childhood memory which I had decided never to emulate. I have regularly advised patients to consume oily fish and to … [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif
Highlights
On the first morning of the hopeful new world after Obama’s victory, I went for a walk in the wet autumnal woods, breathed in the colours, and gave thanks
Oliver Gillie, previously the medical correspondent for The Sunday Times and medical editor of The Independent, originally a geneticist and for many years a passionate good food campaigner, has pulled together the evidence for insufficient vitamin D being an important factor increasing the risk of several chronic diseases including cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, and arthritis, as well as bone disease and fractures
Since healthy people get more than 90% of their vitamin D from exposure to the sun and since Scotland receives less sunlight and has a shorter summer season than England, Scots have lower levels of vitamin D than English people
Summary
On the first morning of the hopeful new world after Obama’s victory, I went for a walk in the wet autumnal woods, breathed in the colours, and gave thanks. I went home and reached for the cod liver oil.
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