Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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SENIOR CORNER by SUSAN GUY & MARTHA OWEN SENIOR CORNER Vitamin D and Seniors Vitamin D has been referred to as “the sunshine vita- min” because your body produces it from casual exposure to the sun. Vitamin D is essential for the absorption and use of calcium in our bodies to build healthy bones and prevent bone mass loss. But, exposure to the sun leads to an in- creased risk of skin cancer. Fortunately, we can get our vita- min D requirements from fortified foods and dietary supple- ments which have been proven to be just as effective. A person’s need for vitamin D increases with age. From birth to age 50, the recommended daily amount is 200 IUs, age 51-70 is 400 IUs, and above age 70 is 600 IUs. Some individuals may require even higher daily levels. For ex- ample, homebound seniors, seniors with medical conditions like liver and kidney diseases, those on certain medications and even those dealing with obesity may require higher doses. It is worth noting that there are risks associated with taking too much vitamin D. That’s why it is important to consult you physician to determine your needs based on your health and lifestyle. duced the risk of falling 28 percent. Research has also con- cluded that a vitamin D deficiency can also lead to cogni- tive impairment, colorectal cancer, strokes, and disease in the blood vessels to the brain. In other research, Dr. Erin Michos, an assistant professor in Johns Hopkins School of Medicine’s Heart and Vascular Institute, reported that low levels of vitamin D increased the risk of death from heart disease. With an aging population and people living longer, experts say bone fractures will become a bigger and more costly problem unless more is done to prevent them. It’s been well documented that calcium and vitamin D build strong bones. But, vi- tamin D also enables muscles to repair and function properly. A study reported in the British Medical Journal showed that increasing vitamin D from 700 IUs to 1000 IUs daily reduced elderly women’s risk of falling by 19 percent. Other studies found that giving nursing home patients daily doses of vitamin D re- Vitamin D is an important part of healthy aging. Even though the critical importance of vitamin D for seniors and healthy aging are frequently published, nearly three out of every four adolescent and adult Americans suf- fer from vitamin D insufficiency. This may, in part, be the result of some misconceptions. For example, one belief is that you can get enough vitamin D in milk and cereal when in reality you’d need to drink eight glasses of milk daily to come close. Another is that you get enough from being in the sun. Some feel that they get enough by eating a lot of fish. Yes, fish are among the best sources of vitamin D. However, you would have to eat three oz. of salmon every day to meet your minimum needs. So, next time you visit your doctor, discuss your vitamin D requirements and make a commitment to meet those needs. Needless to say, your health and well being depends on it. MARTHA OWEN & SUSAN GUY Contributing Writers COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com Are Hybrid Wind Turbines the Wave of the Future? From the Editors of Environmental Magazine I heard that some wind farms use fossil fuels to power their gener- ators when the wind won’t. Doesn’t that defeat their whole renewable energy purpose? Why not let the wind power it or not? Also, I’ve heard that the low-frequency sounds generated by these turbines can harm people and animals. Is this true? — Ryan Lewis, Plainwell, MI Indeed, one of the major drawbacks to wind power is the fact that, even in windy locations, the wind doesn’t always blow. So the ability of turbines to generate power is intermittent at best. Many turbines can generate power only about 30 percent of the time, thanks to the inconsistency of their feedstock. In order to overcome this Achilles’ heel of intermittent produc- tion, some wind companies have developed back-up systems that can spin turbines even when the wind isn’t blowing, thus optimizing and keeping consistent the power output. For example, Colorado- based Hybrid Turbines Inc. is selling wind farms systems that marry a natural gas-based generator to a wind turbine. “Even if natural gas is used, the electricity produced …is twice as environmentally clean as burning coal,” reports the company. Better yet, if a user can power them with plant-derived biofuels, they can remain 100 per- cent renewable energy-based. While some wind energy companies may want to invest in such technolo- gies to wring the most production out of their big investments, utilities aren’t likely to suffer much from the intermittent output if they don’t. Even the utilities that are most bullish on wind power still generate most of their electricity from other more traditional sources at the present time. So, when wind energy output decreases, utilities simply draw more power from other sources — such as solar arrays, hydroelectric dams, nuclear reactors and coal-fired power plants — to maintain consistent electrical service. As such, reports the American Wind Energy Association, utilities act as “system operators” drawing power from where it’s 16 UCW JULY 28-AUGUST 3, 2010 available and dispatching it to where it is needed in tune with rising and falling power needs. “Some wind energy companies have developed back-up systems that can spin turbines even when the wind isn’t blowing, thus optimizing and keeping consistent the power output. Photo provided by Jorge Lascar, courtesy Flickr. But just because generating wind power all day long isn’t im- perative doesn’t mean that suppliers aren’t doing all they can to maximize output. To wit, turbine manufacturers are beginning to incorporate so-called Active Flow Control (AFC) technology, which delays the occurrence of partial or complete stalls when the wind dies down, and also enables start-up and power generation at lower wind speeds than conventional turbines. The non-profit Union of Concerned Scientists lauds AFC for these capabilities, which in turn can help system operators create a more reliable electric grid less dependent on fossil fuels. As to whether or not noise from wind farms can harm people and wildlife, the jury is still out. New York-based pediatrician Nina Pierpont argues in her book, Wind Turbine Syndrome, that turbines may produce sounds that can affect the mood of people nearby or cause physiological problems like insomnia, vertigo, headaches and nausea. On the flip side, Renewable UK, a British wind energy trade group, says that the noise measured 1,000 feet away from a wind farm is less than that of normal road traffic. Here in the U.S., a Texas jury denied a 2006 noise pollution suit against FPL Energy after FPL showed that noise readings from its wind farm maxed out at 44 decibels, roughly the same generated by a 10 mile-per-hour wind. CONTACTS: Hybrid Turbines, Inc., www.hybridturbines.com; American Wind Energy Association, www.awea.org; Union of Concerned Scientists, www. ucsusa.org; Nina Pierpont’s Wind Turbine Syndrome, www.windturbinesyn- drome.com. SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk®, c/o E – The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@ emagazine.com. E is a nonprofit publication. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM