Have you often wondered why you feel better in the summer when the sun is out?
Well the simple answer is Vitamin D. Virtually every organ system in your body is dependent on sunshine for optimal performance because it triggers Vitamin D production in your cells. Vitamin D is an ‘essential’ vitamin which means that your body cannot function properly without it. Your tissues, cells, organs and bones, and the chemical processes that sustain them, rely upon sunshine. Vitamin D reduces the risk of the 3 biggest killers of our generation, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. However, as in so many things the key is ‘moderation’.
According to Dr. Al Sears MD, lecturer and published author from Florida, and Jon Herring, journalist in health, fitness and nutrition, it helps to prevent and treat:
- Cancer, especially melanoma
- Autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis
- Lowers the risk of Type 1 and 2 diabetes
- Reduces the risk of heart disease
- Lowers cholesterol, blood pressure and inflammation
- Boosts your immune system
- Increases the strength of your bones and prevents osteoporosis
- Prevents depression and regulates mood
- Important for healthy teeth
- Prevents bone and muscle pain
- Prevents inflammatory bowel disease and other digestive disorders
- Increases fertility and boosts sex hormones in men and women
And those are just some of the things that it can help!
For many years we have been told that skin cancer is caused by the sun. Why is it then that the rates of skin cancer have increased dramatically in the last 30 years? Has the sun changed? No. There have been studies to show that the people that get the least melanoma are those that spend the most time in the sun! Office workers have a much higher incidence of melanoma.
For more than 30 years the sun lotion industry has been supporting the view that the sun is deadly and that we must protect ourselves by smothering ourselves with chemical compounds. These sunscreens contain as many as 5 known carcinogens, 2 of which are activated by the sun! Anything above an SPF of 8 blocks your vitamin D production by more than 95%! If you know you are going to be in the sun for a long time and cannot avoid it then use the more natural sunscreens such as Dr Hauschka.
Your body needs sunlight like it needs nutrients. What it doesn’t need, is sunburn! Moderation is the key, but remember that sunlight is as natural to your body as breathing! Like oxygen, if you go without sunlight for long enough your body suffers. So go and enjoy the sun with care, and stop starving your body of one of the most important vitamin it needs.