Developing an intimate relationship with the sun
Life Extension Foundation, a leading advocate of anti-aging medicine in the United States, has called for the declaration of national emergency to address the appalling vitamin D deficiency prevalent in the US population. Twenty percent of children and adults up to the age of 50 don’t get enough vitamin D every day. After 50, deficiencies affect as much as 95 percent of population.
Over years we have learned that vitamin D is responsible for regulation of calcium metabolism and bone health. But that’s not all there is to vitamin D.
Dr Michael Holick, the world’s foremost authority on vitamin D, proclaims: “If you had to choose a single nutrient that would help you ward off heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, dementia, influenza, bacterial infection, depression, insomnia, muscle weakness, fibromyalgia, osteomalacia, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, and hypertension, it would be vitamin D.”
There is natural way our body creates the vitamin D. When the sun’s ray strikes our skin, an amazing hormonal reaction is set in motion. Our skin absorbs the light and uses it to make vitamin D. It can be described as the human version of photosynthesis.
Next, our liver and kidneys metabolize the vitamin D into active hormone that interact receptors in all our body tissue to create a multitude of important physiological effects. That is why, when we think about it, our health and well-being depend upon developing an intimate relationship with the sun without accumulating long-term damage that can lead to skin cancer and premature aging.
One aspect of the study made by functional medical practitioners and reputable medical institutions such as Hopkins University was to evaluate the affect of restrictions of the sun’s energy – the way sunscreens do, on the structure and integrity of skin cells.
The results of these studies established the following:
- An increase in vitamin B, which is responsible for reducing inflammation and strengthening the integrity of blood vessels and the capillary bed, reduced the inflammatory response to the sun.
- The effects of triggering cells to produce naturally occurring protective antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and the enzymes involved in glutathione synthesis and metabolism, were not only more efficient at neutralizing free radicals, but had the capability to recycle free radical waste, and did not convert to free radicals after neutralization.
- Diffusing the energy of the sun instead of confining it proved less destructive, and allowed the body to process vitamin D.
Further, scientists at Johns Hopkins University reported that we could achieve a healthy relationship with the sun with the help of botanicals instead of man made synthetic ingredients. Their study demonstrated that the protective chemical agent in extracts from broccoli sprouts works inside the cells by boosting the production of a network of protective enzymes that defend cells against many aspects of UV damage. These studies confirm that by boosting nutrition and using common sense during exposure to the sun, the future of sun care is bright!
Let the evidence shine: boost your vitamin D!
Anne C. Willis, an accredited skin care instructor and the director of Oncology Skin Therapeutics, summed up five basic steps for safe sun exposure as following:
- Depending on your pigmentation, go out in the sun for at least 10 to 20 minutes, two or three times a week—but no more than 20 minutes. If you are fair-skinned, your body can make enough vitamin D in just minutes. If you have darker skin or a deep tan, it will take longer for you to get the vitamin D you need.
- Expose as much of your skin as possible. A swimsuit is perfect attire, and skip the sunglasses.
- Do not allow skin to burn. This is very important. Sunburns damage your skin, contributing to all three types of skin cancer and causing aging affects. You want to get your vitamin D safely, which means getting out of the sun or putting on protective clothing before you burn.
- Increase nutritional levels, particularly focusing on vitamin B.
- Apply pure botanicals that boost the production of the network of protective enzymes that defend cells.
Supplementing the skin with additional antioxidant like vitamins C and E, glutathione, green tea, coffee Arabica extract and silybin (Milk Thistle Extract), can help to booster this protection and minimize potential UV-induced damage.
So go ahead and enjoy the sun, avoid burning and eat lots of broccoli and other vegetables and fruit for your health and beauty.