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<br /><ul><li><strong>Farmers in <keyword id="6355588" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="rajasthan">Rajasthan</keyword> are beefing up their revenues by almost 30% by selling <keyword id="127636" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="cow-urine">cow urine</keyword>.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>Urine of some cow breeds, such as Gir and Tharparkar, can fetch up to ₹15 and ₹30 per litre whereas cow milk fetches anything from ₹22 and ₹25. </strong></li><li><strong>Some of the urine sold is used for holy rituals and scientifically-backed purposes like plant pesticides in organic farming.</strong></li><li><strong>Some buy cow urine because they believe it can cure ailments and diseases like cancer. </strong></li></ul>Indians are nothing if not enterprising. While the government has tightened its noose around one revenue stream of livestock farmers in Rajasthan - yes, we mean the all too famous <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/india/states-where-cow-slaughter-is-banned-so-far-and-states-where-it-isnt-1413425.html">ban</a> on cow slaughter - the unrelenting farmers have found a new way to milk the humble cow. <br /><br />According to a report in the <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/cow-urine-new-revenue-stream-for-dairy-farmers/articleshow/65111454.cms">Times of India</a>, farmers in Rajasthan are beefing up their revenues by almost 30% by selling cow urine. Urine of some cow breeds, such as Gir and Tharparkar, can fetch up to ₹15 and ₹30 per litre whereas cow milk fetches anything from ₹22 and ₹25. <br /><br />Add sale of <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/india/rajasthan-dairy-farmers-sell-cow-dung-cakes-on-amazon-3428576.html">cow dung</a> to the mix, which is now available on <a href="https://www.amazon.in/Srirangam-Pure-Organic-Central-Pieces/dp/B071CHQH13?tag=googinhydr18418-21&amp;tag=googinkenshoo-21&amp;ascsubtag=70e04577-08ff-4c35-9406-034e96f1e05a">Amazon</a> for around ₹215 for half a dozen dung cakes, and we are looking at the reason the word ‘cash cow’ was coined. <br /><br />However, ensuring that cow urine is collected without spillage is no mean feat. Kailesh Gujjar, a farmer from Jaipur told TOI that he has to stay up all night to keep a watch on the cows and to collect the urine when the animal starts to tinkle. <br /><br />While some of the ‘liquid gold’ sold is used for holy rituals and scientifically-backed purposes like plant pesticides in organic farming, they are also sold for not-so-scientific reasons like curing ailments and diseases like cancer, a theory that has been rubbished by many oncologists and researchers. <br /><br />In July 2018, the TOI <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/cow-urine-can-cure-cancer-gujarat-team/articleshow/64833781.cms">reported</a> biotechnology scientists in <keyword id="6354766" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gujarat">Gujarat</keyword>’s Junagadh Agriculture University claiming that they had successfully managed to kill cancer cells using cow urine and that too in their first attempt. <br /><br />This claim ignited a heated debate on whether cow urine can actually cure cancer. <br /><br />Senior oncologist Dr Anitha Ramesh told the <a href="https://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/health-and-wellbeing/100718/can-cow-urine-treat-cancer.html">Deccan Chronicle</a> that the theory of cow urine curing cancer is “based on weak or no scientific data”. In fact, Dr Ramesh stressed on the fact that urine has toxins that can be harmful. <br /><br />This opinion was <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/can-cow-urine-really-cure-cancer-this-is-what-oncologists-told-us-1799607.html">echoed</a> by Venkatraman Radhakrishnan, Associate Professor Medical and Pediatric Oncology, who responded to a question on Quora on whether <keyword id="3316084" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="gaumutra">gaumutra</keyword> (cow urine) can cure or at least prevent cancer with a sharp “No”. He also added that “My fellow oncologists and I are yet to see a patient who exclusively consumed cow urine to be cured of cancer.” <br /><br />However, there were other doctors who believed that there may be some truth to the theory. <br /><br />Apart from cancer, some doctors also believe that gaumutra helps <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bareilly/well-promote-cow-urine-as-a-health-giving-drink-say-doctors-at-up-govts-ayurvedic-pharmacy/articleshow/62795369.cms">cure</a> several ailments, including fever, jaundice, piles, stomach and liver-related diseases. And that’s not all, Dr Prakash Chandra Saxena, principal and superintendent of Government Ayurveda College and Hospital in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh told the <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bareilly/well-promote-cow-urine-as-a-health-giving-drink-say-doctors-at-up-govts-ayurvedic-pharmacy/articleshow/62795369.cms">Times of India</a> that he recommends cow urine as a health drink to boost immunity. <br /><br />And while the verdict is still out on whether or not cow urine has any medicinal value, should you be interested in giving it a go, it is easily available on <a href="https://www.amazon.in/CERO-Desi-Gomutra-Months-200ml/dp/B074YFPDDG/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1532430926&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=cow+urine">Amazon</a> for a meagre ₹189 for 200ml. <br />

Cattle farmers in Rajasthan cashing in on the rising demand for cow urine

<br /><ul><li><strong>The overall facilities at India’s primary schools has improved overtime but children at government schools continue to witness alarmingly low levels in learning, says a report by the Annual Status of Education Report 2018<br /></strong></li><li><strong>In 2018, one in every four children left grade eight without having basic reading skills.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>The gender gap in enrollment, however, has improved in the past few years. <br /></strong></li><li><strong>School kids who could do basic math has fallen to 28% in 2018 from 37% in 2008. <br /></strong></li></ul>“Cow is giving kerosene, kids can't read at 17” are the lyrics from the famous 80s song “Touch of Grey” by the Grateful Dead. But these words seem apt in 2019 for India with its leaders busy selling the <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/cow-urine-can-cure-cancer-bjp-member-in-rs/article7012010.ece">idea</a> of cow urine as a cancer cure while the country’s school kids cannot even do basic <keyword id="6371069" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="maths">maths</keyword>.<br /><br />A recent survey,<a href="http://www.asercentre.org/Keywords/p/337.html"> the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2018</a> by NGO Pratham, <br />threw out some basic maths and reading questions at Grade V primary students and the responses were alarming.<br /><br />The number of class V students who were able to perform on basic maths has dropped dramatically to 28% from 37% a decade ago. Nearly 72% students in grade V had no clue about the concept of division in mathematics, and the vast majority could not even manage a simple division of a three-digit number. The situation was equally worrying for class III students as only a third knew how to subtract. <br /><br />The struggle is not limited to just one subject. School kids in India are facing difficulties in reading as well. In 2018, one in every four children left grade eight without having basic reading skills. In 2008 most of the students (84.8%) studying in grade VIII were able to read grade II but the number has fallen to 72.8% in 2018. <br /><br />This is despite extensive efforts by the government to improve facilities, and the country’s <keyword id="53504" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Right-to-Education">Right To Education</keyword> Act, which makes access to education a fundamental right. <br /><br />The survey studied 596 rural areas across 28 states in India and covered 350,000 households and 550,000 children<br /><br /><strong>Shrinking gender gap a silver lining<br /></strong><br /><br />India has long been a poster child for discrimination against women, but it appears that the situation at least at the primary school level may be improving slightly. The percentage of girls leaving school between the age of 11-14 has <a href="http://img.asercentre.org/docs/ASER%202018/Release%20Material/aser2018nationalfindingsppt.pdf">fallen </a>to nearly 4% in 2018 from 10.3% in 2006 . In fact, girls between the ages of 15 and 18 are also staying at school. <br /><br />Gender gap in enrollment has also reportedly narrowed down. Presently, 4.1% girls between 11-14 age group drops the school after getting enrolled against 3.3% boys of same age. In 2008, nearly 7% girls left school in comparison to 5.5% boys. <br /><br />Most of the state governments in India has been focusing on improving the facilities provided at government schools, especially provision of toilets, said the survey. <br /><br />See more:<br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/yourmoney/career/a-whopping-40-of-indias-women-engineers-dont-have-jobs-because-of-rampant-sexism-at-workplace/articleshow/67486684.cms">A whopping 40% of India's women engineers don't have jobs because of rampant sexism at workplace</a><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/military-defense/women-officers-steal-the-show-at-indias-71st-army-day-here-are-all-the-moments-when-they-proudly-led-the-forces/articleshow/67538917.cms">Women officers steal the show at India's 71st Army Day. Here are all the moments when they proudly led the forces</a><br />

School kids can't count in a country that claims to have invented zero

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Episode three of the new Netflix series "(Un)well" features people using breast milk in unconventional and unproven ways, like to build muscle and beat <keyword id="6355291" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cancer">cancer</keyword>. </li><li>Anecdotal reports suggest the substance may benefit athletes, and some research has shown components of it may kill cancer — in the lab. </li><li>But experts say donor milk can contain harmful bacteria, is high in sugar and saturated fat, is meant only for babies, and is unethical to drink when there's a shortage.</li></ul><p>Jameson "JJ" Ritenour doesn't just want to get back in shape — he wants to be ripped.</p><p>"I wanna be like, 'Give him a Band-Aid 'cause he's cut," the amateur body builder in Goose Creek, South Carolina, said on episode three of <a href="https://www.insider.com/netflix-unwell-looks-at-trends-like-fasting-tantric-sex-ayahuasca-2020-8">the Netflix series "(Un)well."</a></p><p>To get there, Ritenour isn't just cleaning up his <keyword id="6358230" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="diet">diet</keyword> and spending more time in the gym. He's not taking steroids. His supplement of choice? <a href="https://www.insider.com/breast-milk-may-help-identify-treatments-coronavirus-2020-5">Human breast milk</a>.</p><p>"If I wanna grow and be the best that I can, I'm going to eat like a baby, I'm going to sleep like a baby, and if drinking breast milk is a part of that, than it's definitely an edge I'm going to take advantage of," Ritenour said. </p><p>He's one of several adults featured in the episode who swear by human breast milk as a miracle supplement for building muscle, defeating cancer, and more. </p><p>While their anecdotal reports suggest breast milk may have benefits to adults, experts say the substance is intended for infants. It's also likely ineffective or counterproductive in athletes, they say, and that some black market products are as densely packed with bacteria as sewer water. </p><h2>There's no evidence <keyword id="164520" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="breastmilk">breastmilk</keyword> is good for athletes </h2><p>There's not solid research on how human breastmilk affects adults, but Ritenour, who pays a donor he met through Facebook, says it's helped him cut down on body fat while maintaining muscle mass.</p><p>After measuring progress before and after Ritenour started supplementing, his trainer agreed. "I would say the vitamins from the breastmilk have really helped him," the trainer said on "(Un)Well."</p><p>Some professional wrestlers in Mongolia, where breastfeeding is encouraged until the child loses interest, also support the theory that breast milk's nutrients give them an edge in training. </p><p><div type="image" title="Body builder Netflix weights gym" height="1186" width="2116" msid="77514433" hostid="261"></div></p><p>But experts on the show say there's no evidence, or even rationale, as to why it would do so.</p><p>The substance adapts to a baby's needs as he or she develops, taking on some of the flavors of the mom's diet and boosting immunity , but "it's not particularly valuable for athletes," <a href="https://foodscience.ucdavis.edu/people/bruce-german#/">Bruce German</a>, a professor of food and chemistry at the University of California-Davis, said on the show. </p><p>In fact, he said, the nutritional profile of human milk is "rather poor" for athletes: low in protein, high in saturated fat, and very high in lactose, a sugar many people can't digest. </p><p>Plus, the anabolic factors in breast milk, which athletes may seek to build muscle, are quickly digested and eliminated in mature digestive systems, he said.</p><h2>Some studies show components of breastmilk kills cancer cells — in the lab</h2><p>Howard Cohen, a <keyword id="23151" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="prostate-cancer">prostate cancer</keyword> survivor featured on the episode, says he's been drinking breast milk for about 20 years. He began after <a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/got-cancer-killers">reading an article in 1999</a> on a study showing that a component of breast milk known as HAMLET killed cancer cells in the lab. </p><p>"The only problem [with drinking breastmilk] is it's a protein, and usually proteins are digested in the gastrointestinal tract," <a href="https://portal.research.lu.se/portal/en/persons/anders-p-haakansson(23110043-7454-4326-9890-754477b41e02).html">Anders Hakansson</a>, a professor of experimental infection medicine at Lund University in Sweden, who conducted the study, said. "So whether it would actually reach the tumor out in the body somewhere ... we don't know." </p><p>But Cohen found drinking the substance decreased his PSA levels, a measure of prostate cancer risk. Stopping the regimen when his original source, a neighbor, weaned her baby, elevated it again. After convincing doctors to give him a prescription to acquire it from a local milk bank, his PSA dropped again. His cancer has been undetectable for years, he said. </p><p>While Cohen is a case study of one, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauline-sakamoto/">Pauline Sakamoto</a>, the executive director of Mother's Milk bank, where Cohen gets the milk, is intrigued. He's "definitely convinced me there is something there," she said. </p><p>Since the 1999 article, <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100419132403.htm">other research</a> has shown patients with bladder cancer who were treated with HAMLET excreted dead cancer cells in their urine afterwards. </p><p><div type="image" title="Howard Cohen makes a smoothie with human breastmilk" height="1242" width="2246" msid="77514434" hostid="261"></div></p><h2>There are ethical and <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="health">health</keyword> reasons not to drink human breastmilk </h2><p>But Sakamoto said Cohen is near the bottom of the list of those who need breast milk. NICUs in the US need 8 million ounces; last year, milk banks sent 5.7 million ounces, Sakamoto said.  </p><p>"There is not enough donor breast milk for babies in intensive care unites that desperately need it, so it's not an ethically grounded nutritional source for an adult," Katie Hinde, a professor at Arizona State University's Center for Evolution and Medicine, said on the show. </p><p>It's also potentially quite dangerous. <a href="https://fic.osu.edu/news/news-archive/keim-breast-milk-cows-milk.html">In work evaluating over 100 samples of breast milk sold online</a> (rather than through banks, which carefully screen and package donations), scientists found most had disease-causing bacteria, some so much it resembled sewer water. </p><p>"That was really alarming," <a href="https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/find-a-doctor/profiles/sarah-a-keim">Sarah Keim</a>, an epidemiologist at Nationwide Children's hospital in Columbus who conducted the research, said during the episode. </p><p>Some breast milk also had infectious disease and environmental contaminants, and the products varied widely — from pristinely-packaged and chilled to leaky bags that had been diluted with cow's milk or infant formula. </p><p>"I don't think there's really any circumstance where one can recommend breast milk sharing," Keim said. </p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/netflix-unwell-bee-venom-therapy-lyme-aging-does-it-work-2020-8">People are undergoing 'bee sting therapy' to treat everything from Lyme disease to wrinkles, even though it could be deadly</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/netflix-unwell-looks-at-trends-like-fasting-tantric-sex-ayahuasca-2020-8"> Netflix's '(Un)Well' delves into the dark side of fasting, essential oils, tantric sex, and other popular 'wellness' trends</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/woman-hospitalized-after-eating-essential-oils-had-swelling-rashes-2020-8">A woman had to seek medical attention after eating essential oils for weeks on end, triggering full-body swelling and rashes</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/breast-milk-may-help-identify-treatments-coronavirus-2020-5">New moms who've recovered from the coronavirus appear to have a 'strong immune response' to the disease in their breast milk</a></li></ul>

Men are drinking human breast milk to grow muscle and beat cancer. It's unproven, and it could have dangerous downsides.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="53654" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Benefits">benefits</keyword> of <keyword id="15532" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Vitamin-D">vitamin D</keyword> include helping the body absorb calcium and phosphorous to maintain healthy bones and a strong immune system.</li><li>Low vitamin D levels have been associated with a greater risk of depression, cancer, and COVID-19.</li><li>Sunlight, food, and supplements are the three main ways you can get enough vitamin D in your <keyword id="6358230" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="diet">diet</keyword>.</li><li>This article <strong>was <a href="https://www.insider.com/insider-medical-review-board" target="_blank" rel="noopener">medically reviewed</a></strong> by <a href="https://www.samanthacassetty.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Samantha Cassetty</a>, MS, RD, <keyword id="52652" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="nutrition">nutrition</keyword> and wellness expert with a private practice based in New York City.</li></ul><p>When most people think vitamin D they think of bone <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="health">health</keyword>, but this vitamin does a lot more and it may even help the body fight off upper respiratory infections, like COVID-19. </p><h2><strong>Why vitamin D helps build strong bones</strong></h2><p><a href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/#h7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vitamin D</a> is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning it's stored in fat tissue in the body. One of its main functions is that it enables the digestive tract to absorb calcium and phosphorus from food, which helps keep bones strong. </p><p>In fact, without vitamin D, experts estimate that you'd only absorb about <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1756-185X.2008.00398.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">10-15% of calcium and 60% of phosphorus</a> from the foods you eat. Without enough calcium, your body produces what are called osteoclasts, which are cells that literally <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/veterinary-science-and-veterinary-medicine/osteoclast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dissolve the minerals</a> in your bones, making them weak and brittle.</p><p>This helps explain why people who are <a href="https://www.insider.com/what-is-vitamin-d-deficiency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vitamin D deficient</a> are at greater risk for osteoporosis, a condition that leads to weak bones.</p><h2><strong>How vitamin D and depression are linked</strong></h2><p>Vitamin D deficiency is associated with an <a href="http://www.jneuropsychiatry.org/peer-review/depression-and-vitamin-d-deficiency-causality-assessment-and-clinical-practice-implications-12051.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased risk of depression</a>. Moreover, people with <a href="https://www.insider.com/what-is-seasonal-depression" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seasonal affective disorder</a> may not produce <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/seasonal-affective-disorder/index.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enough vitamin D</a>, which could explain their symptoms. </p><p>However, these associations and links do not mean that enough <a href="https://www.insider.com/vitamin-d-depression" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vitamin D can help treat depression</a>. More research is needed to understand if vitamin D deficiency is the cause or if there's another reason for the association between it and depression.</p><h2><strong>How vitamin D may reduce cancer deaths</strong></h2><p>In the last 20 years, observational studies have linked a number of diseases to low vitamin D levels, like <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2748789?resultClick=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">type 2 diabetes</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21986389" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cardiovascular disease</a>, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17721433" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cancer</a>. But so far clinical trials have not revealed significant relationships between low levels of the vitamin and these conditions. </p><p>The most convincing evidence for vitamin D benefits beyond bone health came from a massive <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1809944" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> published in 2019 that examined the impact of vitamin D supplementation on cancer and cardiovascular disease through a randomized trial of over 25,000 people. It's the largest randomized clinical trial on this topic to date. </p><p><a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/joann-manson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JoAnn Manson</a>, the study's lead investigator who is a professor at Harvard and chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, says that she and her colleagues found no significant reduction in the incidence of cancer or cardiovascular disease. </p><p>However, they "did see vitamin D supplementation was associated with a signal for a reduction in cancer deaths," Manson says. Meaning that people with cancer who took vitamin D supplements for two years, or more, had a 25% reduced risk of dying from cancer than a control group who took a placebo, instead.</p><h2><strong>How vitamin D and COVID-19 are linked</strong></h2><p>"Avoiding vitamin D deficiency is important for countless reasons, and now it is even more important for its potential role in improving immune function during this COVID pandemic," says Manson. </p><p>Preliminary<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.08.20058578v3" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> observational research</a> recently found a link between vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19. Researchers compared severe COVID-19 cases in the US, UK, Germany, Italy, and other heavy-hit countries against vitamin D deficiency. </p><p>They report that "the risk of severe COVID-19 cases among patients with severe Vit D deficiency is 17.3% while the equivalent figure for patients with normal Vit D levels is 14.6%."</p><p>The paper has not been published yet. However, it suggests that, "Vitamin D may actually have a favorable effect on the immune system to fend off the virus and also to tamp down the inflammatory response to it," Manson says, which could protect against severe infection. </p><p>This isn't the first study to find a link between vitamin D and the immune system. A <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/356/bmj.i6583" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meta-analysis</a> — published in 2017 — of 10,933 participants in 25 randomized trials found that vitamin D supplementation was associated with a lower risk of acute respiratory infection. The protective benefits were greatest when patients took vitamin D supplements daily or weekly, instead of in one large dose. And that those who were vitamin D deficient benefited most.</p><h2><strong>How to get enough vitamin D </strong></h2><p>People get some of their vitamin D from sunlight because the body synthesizes the vitamin when UV light hits the skin. Manson says that while UV exposure is important to get vitamin D, she discourages people from going in the sun for a long period with unprotected skin because it can lead to sunburn and an increased risk of skin cancer. </p><p>There are not many foods that are naturally rich in vitamin D. Fatty fish like salmon and tuna are some of the best naturally occurring sources of vitamin D. One serving of cod liver oil provides 170% of the daily value of the vitamin. In the US, cow milk, plant milk, cereals, and some other foods are typically fortified with vitamin D. It has been added to <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJM199204303261801?url_ver=Z39.88-2003𝔯id=ori:rid:crossref.org𝔯dat=cr_pub%3dwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.nih.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">milk since the 1930s</a> to prevent rickets, a bone disease in children caused by vitamin D deficiency. </p><div type="image" title="vitamin d table" height="1722" width="1668" msid="76186388" hostid="261"></div><p>Studies have shown older adults are more at risk of vitamin D deficiency because the ability to synthesize vitamin D <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2776629/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decreases with age</a>. It also doesn't help that the elderly also spend more time indoors. </p> <p>Most people do not have a true vitamin D deficiency, but could still have less than the <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-much-vitamin-d-do-you-need" target="_blank" rel="noopener">optimal amount in their blood</a>. If your sun exposure is limited and you are worried you aren't getting enough vitamin D, you can consider a supplement to be sure you are getting the recommended daily allowance.</p><p>But be sure to address your symptoms with your doctor and be careful not to go above 4,000 IUs, which is considered the upper limit, without speaking to a doctor. Too much vitamin D can trigger <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/vitamin-d-toxicity/faq-20058108" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nausea, vomiting, and frequent urination.</a></p><h2>Related articles from our <a href="https://www.insider.com/health-reference" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Health Reference</a> library:</h2><ul><li><strong><a href="https://www.insider.com/what-is-vitamin-d-deficiency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What is vitamin D deficiency? How less sun can make you vulnerable to infection</a></strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.insider.com/vitamin-d-depression" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vitamin D and depression: How Vitamin D may affect your mood</a></strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.insider.com/how-to-get-protein-as-a-vegan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to get protein as a vegan from fresh, whole foods</a></strong></li></ul>

The science-backed benefits of vitamin D and how to get enough of it

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stopdown/3789200908/in/photolist-6LQDq9-9eCVwP-6NKE7g-bjuALp-sm1Fn7-6Tiyec-3ckmW5-rwJ6LG-72dTLo-egAAng-aokPqV-7atXqw-k34kDy-C4YtE-7RWe3R-7VK4ZE-8VWbd7-rhrB5w-4Xi7yy-7T7QyJ-kQZwx-b5JU9i-g4Cxb-nGSjMK-p5cHhM-rg16ez-aman52-djFVfR-aMbEHF-6staJv-9PDqZa-8Cdr68-8WKCot-cTfeV1-7PAnGs-aoozvu-dkLYnq-rhDcmV-aGezYH-7wToq-5LwLzR-dcA9k4-58SUAb-wMm6G-cTcN9W-aokPCP-aooA9o-aoozpd-aoozX5-aokPcz">Flickr/Jesse Millan</a></span></p><p class="caption">Even minor cuts and scrapes could cause life-threatening infections.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Antimicrobial resistance is one of the world's most serious public health threats. Infections from multi-drug resistant "superbugs" are already killing at least <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/threat-report-2013/">23,000 people</a> in the US per year.</p><p>By 2050, resistant bugs are projected to wipe out a staggering <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-common-will-antibiotic-resistant-infections-be-in-the-future-2015-6">10 million people annually worldwide</a>. This will outpace the number of deaths from cancer.</p><p>Quite shockingly, many of these fatal cases will result from common and previously trivial injuries and diseases we now hardly think twice about. Here are just a few examples of minor infections that antibiotics will no longer be able to treat in the future:</p><h2><strong>Cuts and scrapes that become infected</strong></h2><p>Paper cuts and skinned knees seem innocent enough. But a scary strain of the most common bacteria that causes skin infection - Staphylococcus aureus - has developed resistance to a variety of antibiotics that used to kill it easily. The strain, called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is dangerously resistant to drugs and <a href="http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/46/Supplement_5/S344.long">has spread widely since its first appearance in 1960</a>.</p><p>You're most likely to pick up this bug through a break in your skin. Infections primarily occur in hospitals, but we're seeing them more and more in the general community. While life-threatening cases of invasive MRSA are still relatively rare, <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/tracking/index.html">studies show</a> that two people out of every 100 carry MRSA in their bodies.</p><p>Every year in the US, at least <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/ar-threats-2013-508.pdf">80,000 people become infected with MRSA and of those, 11,000 die</a>, though these numbers are probably a low estimate. While <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/tracking/index.html">a recent CDC study showed</a> that MRSA infections in hospitals have declined 54% between 2005 and 2011, the CDC still lists this drug-resistant bug as a major patient threat.</p><h2><strong>Urinary tract infections</strong></h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://phil.cdc.gov/Phil/details.asp">James Gathany/CDC</a></span></p><p class="caption">A CDC scientist holds a culture of bacteria showing resistance to carbapenems, a class of antibiotics that are considered "last resort" drugs. The distinctive clover-leaf shape indicates that this bacteria, which includes E. coli, is resistant to the drugs.</p></div><p></p></div></p><p>Urinary tract infections (UTIs), which account for about <a href="http://www.webmd.com/women/news/20150429/uti-antibiotic-resistance">10 million visits to hospitals or doctors offices per year</a>, are one of the most common bacterial infections in the US. About a third of women will get a urinary tract infection by age 24, and half of all women will have at least one UTI in their lifetime.</p><p>UTIs commonly occur when bacteria from the digestive tract migrate into the urinary tract. Left untreated, the <a href="http://www.medicinenet.com/urinary_tract_infection/article.htm">infection can spread </a>from the urethra and bladder upwards into the kidneys and ureters - the narrow tubes that connect the kidneys to the bladder. Infections that occur higher up in the body are more likely to be dangerous and can lead to a <a href="http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/sepsis-septicemia-blood-infection">blood infection</a> that can cause organ failure and even death.</p><p>Of course, most UTIs clear up themselves or are quickly <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/urinary-tract-infection/basics/treatment/con-20037892">treated with antibiotics</a>. But complications from persistant UTIs may become more common.</p><p>In recent years, UTIs have become increasingly harder to treat as the bacteria that cause UTIs - usually E. coli - have become more and more resistant to antibiotics. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3318377/">A 2012 study</a> that examined urine samples in patients from the US between 2000 and 2010 found a substantial increase in E. coli resistant to <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a688016.html">the</a> <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim-oral-route/description/drg-20071899">drugs</a> commonly used to treat UTIs.</p><h2><strong>Sexually transmitted infections</strong></h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Medical Illustrator</span></p><p class="caption">Drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria are responsible for 820,000 gonococcal infections in the US per year.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>As if the threat of an STI itself wasn't enough to startle anyone who is sexually active, transmitted infections that were once easily treatable with antibiotics are quickly becoming resistant. Gonorrhea - a sexually transmitted infection that is easily spread by the bacteria <em>Neisseria gonorrhoeae -</em> is going to be particularly nasty.</p><p><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/ar-threats-2013-508.pdf">About 30% of the 820,000 cases of gonorrhea in the US per year</a> are due to bacteria that have developed resistance to at least some of the key drugs used to treat it. The CDC is already considering it an urgent public health threat that requires immediate and aggressive action, especially since the disease causes pretty vile reproductive complications, <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gonorrhea/basics/complications/con-20020917">including infertility</a>.</p><p>If a particularly resistant strain of gonorrhea spreads, in just a 10 year period it would cause about 75,000 more incidences of pelvic inflammatory disease (a major cause of infertility), 15,000 cases of epididymitis (inflammation of the testicles), and 222 additional HIV infections, which is transmitted more easily in people infected with gonorrhea. <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/ar-threats-2013-508.pdf">The CDC estimates</a> that it would cost $235 million in medical care.</p><h2>Food poisoning</h2><p>Let this be a lesson to always wash your hands after handling raw chicken. Salmonella, the rod-shaped bacteria that gives about <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/ar-threats-2013-508.pdf">1.2 million people in the US</a> horrible cases of diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps every year, is now developing resistance to multiple drugs. It already sends about 23,000 people to the hospital and causes about 450 deaths in the US per year.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Flickr/Kristine Paulus</span></p><p class="caption">Poultry like chickens and ducks commonly carry the bacteria salmonella, which they shed in their feces. Salmonella can causes serious illness when spread to humans.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Salmonella mostly spreads from animals to humans through food. If a cow has been treated with antibiotics - <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/meat/safe/overview.html">a routine practice</a> in agriculture - and develops a resistance to them, that resistance can be transferred to you. If an infection is left untreated, it can spread to the blood and cause <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/salmonella/basics/complications/con-20029017">life-threatening complications</a>. Annual costs from drug-resistant salmonella poisoning are <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/ar-threats-2013-508.pdf">estimated at $365 million annually</a>.</p><p>Another increasingly resistant stomach bug, the bacteria campylobacter, which usually causes diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps and sometimes serious complications such as paralysis, is also showing increasing resistance to common antibiotics. <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/ar-threats-2013-508.pdf">The CDC reports</a> that it's already becoming resistant to ciprofloxacin, an extremely powerful antibiotic, in about 25% of those testing positive for the bug.</p><h2><strong>Yeast infections</strong></h2><p>While <a href="http://www.webmd.com/women/tc/vaginal-yeast-infections-topic-overview">this overgrowth of fungal microorganisms</a> is not treated with antibiotics, it's commonly caused by their overuse.</p><p><em>Candida</em> yeasts, which normally live on our skin and mucous membranes, are directly influenced by powerful antibiotics. Just one round of antibiotics can wipe out much of <span class="s1">the good bacteria that keep yeast levels low. I</span><span class="s1">f all of your good bacteria are gone, yeast can grow out of check.</span></p><p>This overgrowth of <em>Candida</em> - caused indirectly by antibiotic use - can cause a yeast infection. And antibiotics can indirectly create resistant strains of yeast as well. The more times you use an antibiotic, the more times you're likely to get a yeast infection, which increases the times you're likely to be treated with powerful antifungals. Those particularly strong yeast that survive each round of treatment end up reproducing strains that become more resistant to powerful first and second line antifungal medications over time.</p><p>Yeast resistance isn't only caused by antibiotic use, however. Some strains of yeast are <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/fungal/antifungal-resistance.html">naturally resistant to certain antifungal medications</a>.</p><p>Nevertheless, when an overgrowth of yeast occurs in the body, those who are already sick are particularly susceptible to the infection's ill effects. Patients who are hospitalized or have compromised immune systems are <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/ar-threats-2013-508.pdf">most at risk for developing life-threatening yeast infections</a>, which can infect the blood and other vital organs.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-debunk-myths-about-sugar-2015-6">Why everything you think you know about sugar is probably wrong</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="15YWpmcjrYyg5qLyzlsgod1cp9psz459" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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