Recently there has been some research in the mainstream medical community that has been supporting what holistic Doctors have been telling us for a long time regarding the important of sun exposure and Vitamin D. We have been living with a fear of the sun for some 30 years now. Doctors have been telling us that we will get cancer if we don’t cover up and use powerful sun screen lotions. We slather up our babies and young children in hopes of sparing them future cancers. We forget to consider the fact that these sunscreans are actually chemicals that are being absorbed in to their bodies, as well as our own. That alone is cause for concern and may even be contributing to the increase in cancers, but even more concerning is the fact that these products also prohibit the absorption of vitamin D in the skin from sun exposure.
Sun exposure is the only way to get the correct amount of Vitamin D. We can try to supplement with fortified milk, orange juice, fatty fish like salmon, cod liver oil, and vitamin preparations, but nothing comes close to sun exposure for getting the safest and most natural form of this very important, but least understood vitamin.
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to cancer, bone loss, diabetes, insomnia, obesity, hormonal imbalances, just to name a few. It also is possibly one of the main contributors to immune deficiencies in the winter months when people are most likely to catch flu and other viruses, some of which can prove fatal. It may not just be a coincidence that once the days get shorter and the air gets colder and we cover up and stay inside more, that we also begin the annual battle to stay healthy.
Part of a good wellness plan includes moderate amounts of sun to the exposed skin every day, not enough to do damage which would be apparent with color change, but just maybe 10 or 15 minutes on the face and exposed arms or legs can be all that’s needed in the winter time. We can store some vitamin D in the fat cells of the body over the sunny season that can carry us through some of the winter, but as mentioned before, most people tend to hide from the sun now or cover with sun screen and prevent the absorption. As a side note, don’t you all find it interesting that even in spite of the tremendous amount of these products now being used, the rates of skin cancer is only going up? And even more disturbing is that these numbers are increasing in our young people, the very generation that has been drenched in sun screens from early childhood!
There has also been some research that has shown a lack of vitamin D can contribute to obesity. The connection has not been completely understood as yet, but I believe one main contributor can be related to SAD, or seasonal affective disorder. For many people the lack of sunshine in the winter months brings on noticeable depression. This is likely due to hormonal shifts of the “feel good” hormones. Another way to stimulate those hormones is with foods like sugar and carbohydrates. Many of us have experienced winter time weight gain. Some of us are also “night eaters” and find that we can stick to our diets all day long, but once the sun goes down our appetites go up and we end up blowing the day on bowls of ice cream or cookies or other carbohydrate rich foods. Insulin goes up and so does the weight.
Obesity can also interfere with Vitamin D absorption. Here is an excerpt of an article I found on this subject:
-The following is part three of an eight-part interview with Dr. Michael Holick, author of “The UV advantage” and one of the world’s most respected authorities on vitamin D and the health benefits of natural sunlight. His work can be found at www.UVadvantage.com.
Dr. Holick: Excellent point. Remember I told you about the major circulating form of vitamin D which is 25-hydroxy vitamin D? It’s half-life in the blood stream is 2 weeks. So when you build up your vitamin D levels during spring, summer and fall, you can use them because your blood levels are much higher, and also some of the vitamin D is stored in your body fat and is released during the winter time. But the opposite is true also, and that is that if you’re obese, we know that most obese people are prone to deficiency in vitamin D, and the reason is that the vitamin D gets sucked into the fat and it can’t get out. And so we actually did a study in obese and non-obese individuals, and we gave them either an oral dose of vitamin D or we put them on our tanning beds so that they can make vitamin D in their skin. Obese people could only raise their blood levels of vitamin D about half as much as non-obese individuals.
Adams: Very interesting.
Dr. Holick: And so if a person is in fact overweight, they don’t need 1000 units of vitamin D a day, they probably need 2000 units of vitamin D a day.
Adams: That’s fascinating, because again that plays into the sensitivity to vitamin D, so there’s a vicious cycle going on there in obesity.
Dr. Holick: Exactly.
Adams: It’s going to take a lot of vitamin D, a lot of sun exposure to help break that cycle. I’ve got another question for you here. So if a person has all the vitamin D that their body wants, and it’s stored in the fat tissues, how long can they go, is it a period of months?
Dr. Holick: Yeah, I mean if you’re getting a really adequate source in the spring, summer and fall, it’ll last two to three months. So it’ll get you through the winter. But for those that are concerned about this issue, what I always tell my patients is, take a multivitamin, you’re getting 400 units and get some sun exposure to really make sure that you’re building up your stores of vitamin D. And then during the wintertime especially take at least a multivitamin, and maybe take an additional supplement, a vitamin D supplement that contains another 400-1000 units of vitamin D.
Sunlight, proper sleep, exercise, balanced organic diet, pure water, and stress management are all important to a lifetime of good health. You will not get the full benefit of any one or two or even three if you neglect the rest, but any improvement is a step in the right direction. Making small changes will eventually give you the results you are wanting, but making the commitment to a complete lifestyle makeover will amaze you with the improvement in the quality of you life and your health.
Recommended reading: Lights Out! Sleep, Sugar, and Survival by T.S Wiley and Bent Formby. You can find it at www.amazon.com used for about $8 to $10. A wonderful and informative book.
