Part 3 ----------> Handling the sun and sunburn naturally

 Part 3                                               The Vitamin D argument

The Vitamin D argument

 

Most people are aware that vitamins are essential for good health, and that there are many different types of vitamins which affect different bodily organs and functions. Whilst we are all familiar with the more common vitamins and where they come from such as the presence of vitamin C in citrus fruits, blueberries and vitamin A in dark green and yellow vegetables, many are less well aware of vitamin D for a few reasons.

The first reason is suggested by the fact that most know that you can get vitamin C from oranges and vitamin A comes from broccoli, but they have no idea what foods vitamin D comes from. Secondly, whilst many people could make a recently educated guess at what the more commonly recognized vitamins do, very few would have any idea about the purposes of vitamin D.

To a large extent therefore, vitamin D is the ‘forgotten vitamin’ in terms of public perception of health and wellness. However, it is in reality an extremely important nutrient that is responsible for many critical medical functions in your metabolism.

For example, because the primary function of this particular vitamin is to promote healthy calcium flow throughout your bloodstream, you are likely to suffer many calcium related problems if vitamin D is not present in sufficient amounts. Such conditions as brittle and misshapen bones are likely to be a result of vitamin D deficiency, whilst there are also indications that a deficiency may play a part in fibromyalgia, immune system weaknesses and so on.

On top of this, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that many people suffer psychological problems or depression as a result of vitamin D deficiency, with most cases of what is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (‘winter depression’ or the ‘winter blues’) being related to a lack of this particular vitamin.

All of this is relevant when considering the positives and negatives of exposure to sunlight (the ‘for’ and ‘against’ as it were) because sunlight is absolutely essential if your body is to be able to process vitamin D properly.

Unlike other vitamins, there are surprisingly few foods from which we can get vitamin D and in every case where we do absorb this vitamin from our foods, it is because the food source has not been able to synthesize the substance property. For instance, although the richest source of the basic building blocks of vitamin D is fish, these fish only contain these elemental nutrients because they were produced by the algae that they have eaten.

It is important to understand that the basic components of vitamin D are essentially inert, inactive until they are activated in your body. And the primary way that these inert vitamin components are converted into an active nutrient is through the action of sunlight on our skin.

The fact that a significant number of otherwise healthy, happy people suffer depression in the depths of winter when there is no sunlight is evidence of the fact that without sun, we go without vitamin D and perhaps suffer the adverse health effects caused by this deficiency as a result.

Indeed, one of the main forms of treatment for ‘winter blues’ sufferers is through the exposure to artificial (and extremely low powered) ultraviolet light as this is the only way they can make the necessary vitamin D to stave off these blues until the sun comes out again.

This counterargument to the one presented by the ‘skin cancer lobby’ has just as much validity as does the other side of the debate. It is undoubtedly a fact that without sunshine, we are not capable of processing vitamin D effectively and that without it, most people will suffer physical health problems, whilst many will also endure psychological difficulties as well. 

What conclusion should be drawn?

 

Having been presented with both sides of the ‘is sunshine good for you’ argument, I would suggest one thing should be abundantly clear.

Whilst too much exposure to the sun is clearly potentially dangerous, particularly for certain types of people, a lack of exposure to the sun can be equally harmful. Consequently, the only sensible conclusion that can be drawn from this is that a balance needs to be struck between exposing your body to sunlight and keeping covered up at other times.

Understanding that this balance is necessary is essential if you are going to handle the sun and the potential of suffering sunburn in a sensible but entirely natural way.

You must appreciate that whilst many hours out in the sun stripped to the waist will do wonders for your vitamin D levels, it is also likely to be the precursor to many hours of severe pain and it could possibly trigger a far more serious condition such as melanoma.

Thus, sunshine is something that you need, but not too much of it. 

Your first natural defense against sunburn

What you read of in the previous chapter represents your first natural line of defense against sunburn. If you want to keep your vitamin D up at a healthy level, you must go out in the sunshine sometimes, but when you do so, you should stay reasonably well covered up and should not stay outside for too long either.

Similarly, if you are enjoying the pleasures of playing with the family on the beach in the sunshine, caution should always be the watchword.

For example, in most places, the heat (i.e. the ultraviolet radiation because they are the same) is most intense between 11 AM and 4 PM, so if you want to enjoy the feeling of the sun on your back, it is best to do so earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon when radiation from the sun is less intense.

Even when you venture outdoors at times of the day when the sun is less likely to cause skin damage, you should take protective steps (which will be examined later) and you must always be on the lookout for signs of possible sun damage.

For instance, fair skinned people who are unused to exposure to the sun will often show a first ‘flush’ or red tinge indicating that exposure to sunlight is affecting them within less than half an hour even if the sun is not fully ‘up’ or the heat has already gone out of the day.

Remember, every one of us is different so that even when you have two people who might appear as if they should react to the sun in the same way – siblings for example – you can never assume that this is the reality of the situation. Even close blood relatives react to sunshine in completely different ways which is something that you must always factor into whatever you do to combat the possibility of sunburn occurring.

The bottom line is, your best defense against suffering physical problems caused by exposure to the sun is to limit this exposure by staying indoors.

And you must always err on the side of caution even if you are extremely confident that you and/or your family can deal with the sun without any difficulty, because the stories of sunburn (and sunstroke) victims who have ended up hospitalized after adopting this approach are legion... part 4 next