When I was a young girl, sunbathers would lather up in baby oil and sit in direct noon-time sun. Sometimes these sun worshipers even bathed with three-sided aluminum foil covered reflectors surrounding their faces to get maximum color on their skin. That color often wound up being red. Strong skin color was equated with health. Well, we know now there is so much wrong in that picture. In response to the err of those ways, we now use high intensity sunblock, we avoid midday sun, and we even purchase clothes that are made to block UV rays of the sun. Our work worlds can keep us in the dark for some or maybe all of the hours of light in a day. Have we gone too far? Many scientists and spiritualists believe we have.
Sunlight is an important catalyst for life in the universe. Exposure to sunlight is needed to synthesize vitamin D in our bodies which is necessary for strong bones. And that is just the beginning, there are many benefits to digesting sunlight including regulating our hormones for physical and emotional health.We don’t want to sit with reflectors in noon-day sunlight; sunburn is not healthy. We do want to be informed and thoughtful about a healthy balance that offers a life in harmony with the catalytic energy of our sun.
Vitamin D
We call it a vitamin, but vitamin D is in a class by itself and is actually a hormone. In fact, vitamin D in the active form known as D3 or calcitriol, is now understood to be the most potent steroid hormone in the human body. For the past 80 years the common belief was that vitamin D was important for regulating calcium and building bones. That seems to be its first duty when there are low levels of vitamin D. However the natural health community is becoming very excited as a broader range of benefits is emerging when vitamin D levels are higher for us as reported by the Vitamin D Council:
- Vitamin D protects over 2000 genes (about 10% of the total) from expressing negative traits.
- Vitamin D defends the body against microbes (bacteria, viruses, etc.).
- Vitamin D acts as a hormone, which regulates the concentration of calcium & phosphate in the blood. This helps to promote growth and formation of bone and to avoid osteoporosis (porous and weak, degraded bones).
- Vitamin D also looks after nerve-muscle coordinate functioning, reduces inflammation, and influences gene action.
- As the expanded role of vitamin D is being discovered, the deficiency of vitamin D is being implicated as a major factor in the pathology of cancers, stroke, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, auto-immune diseases, and more.
Convinced??? Yeah…we really need to get out more!
Get Your Sun Now and Store It for Winter
Can we really do that? According to the US News Report, UVB rays, those necessary for vitamin D production, are only available when the UV Index is at 3 or above. This just doesn’t happen in the winter for most of America. UVB rays convert the cholesterol in the skin to vitamin D3 which is superior in many ways to the vitamin D2 (popular vitamin D supplement). Vitamin D3 will store longer in the fat cells and help us endure a long UVB deficient winter.
During the summer months the UVB rays are the strongest between the hours of 10 A.M. through 2 P.M. For most people 10-15 minutes of direct sunlight on unprotected skin during these hours will be enough to manufacture about 10,000 – 20,000 IUs of vitamin D3. Consider your skin type. Get just enough sun to turn your skin slightly pink. Darker skinned people will have to get more sun exposure to optimize their vitamin D levels.
And don’t be quick to shower after being in the sun or you may wash off the good effects. It takes about an hour for the cholesterol on the skin to convert to D3 and then to be absorbed. Many animals get their vitamin D by licking their oily fur which has combined with the UVB rays to make vitamin D3.
The Skin Alphabet: UVA & UVB
UVA are long-wave rays from the sun that penetrate the skin more deeply. They are now considered the more harmful ray. UVB are short-wave rays that convert the cholesterol on the surface of the skin into D3 and results in tanning. Sunscreens block UVB which is now being discovered as essential for vitamin D and good health.
Vit D = Vit D2 + vit D3
Get Your Sunscreen
Yes, we want to be in the sun to get our vitamin D3, however,we don’t want to overdo it. When you are going to be out in the midday sun for quite awhile consider a sunscreen that meets your needs. If you have sun tender skin you may need to use sunscreen often. Check out the Environmental Working Group’s Guide. I trust their research on this.
