Haiti needs
our help
Editor: I am appalled we are sending more military men with guns than facilitating the food, medical supplies and water.
Guns will never bring peace … compassion and service will, and that is needed in Haiti more than anything else.
Wake up, America!
Sophia Tiers
Santa Rosa,
Vitamin D,
a cure all?
Editor: Perhaps our school trustees are correct in deciding it’s not up to schools to inform parents about vitamin D, because, they say, prevention is a medical issue, not an educational one. That’s why we at goodschoolfood.org will be trying a variety of other approaches, such as this letter to the editor.
How can vitamin D help protect us from flu, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer? Is it true vitamin D reduces acne? How does vitamin D help athletes reach peak muscle strength? Why is vitamin D deficiency worse now than ever before? Why can’t we make vitamin D whenever the sun is shining? Why do some doctors wrongly believe that high levels of supplementation can be harmful? Where can you get a $40 test for checking your child’s vitamin D level?
We all should be concerned that, on average, 70 percent of American children have below optimum blood levels, even in sunny locales like Sonoma. In fact, the more melanin a person has, the lower their vitamin D levels, which is why 80 percent of Latino children and 90 percent of African American children are below optimum.
It’s not just kids; 77 percent of adult Americans need more vitamin D. Therefore, goodschoolfood.org is reaching out to parents directly, which might turn out to be more effective than sending letters home with students.
The answers to all the questions above are found at goodschoolfood.org in the upper left-hand corner.
Lauren Ayers
Sonoma