Some people experience health issues as a part of their mortal existence through no fault of their own. It’s their trial to manage as best they can with it, and a test for the rest of us to learn to serve them.
However, the majority of us start out life with fairly healthy bodies and we are then challenged to keep them that way through good choices. One of those good choices involves discerning between truth and error proclaimed by the diverse voices of true science and distortions of the media and “science.”
I’ve always been bothered by the hype of needing to apply sunscreen every time we step outside. God blessed us with the sun; Satan didn’t curse us with it. And yet, to hear people talk, it seems they think the sun is a curse.
Previous articles have discussed the role of sunlight in preventing rickets in children and in boosting vitamin D levels in everybody. We all need vitamin D for strong bones and good health. And for many of us, myself included, our knowledge of vitamin D’s function in preventing disease is limited.
It’s time to learn more.
You know that sunburn is caused by too much UVB radiation. It also accelerates aging of the skin and can lead to some forms of skin cancer. But did you know that this excessive radiation only accounts for 0.1% of the total disease burden worldwide? (Excessive sun exposure means inappropriately high levels for your skin type.) On the other hand, too little sun exposure is estimated to affect nearly half of the world’s population. Seriously? And that it’s affecting those of us at the higher latitudes in greater numbers? In other words, those of us with cushy, industrialized-nation lifestyles?
Researchers estimate that 90% of all children in industrialized Europe and North America had rickets by the late 1800s. At that point, doctors and scientists were learning more about the body’s physiological processes and came to the realization that the body synthesized vitamin D through sun exposure. At about the same time, they recognized that sunshine was also valuable in treating tuberculosis, hence the development of the tuberculosis sanatoriums in the West, particular in high altitude locations where the air was dry and the atmosphere thinner so that ultraviolet radiation penetrated more quickly.
As sunshine prescriptions for treating rickets and tuberculosis spread, sun exposure became a popular treatment for many chronic diseases—diabetes, gout, chronic ulcers, wounds. The healthy tan was in—only wealthy could afford vacations and playing in the sun.
However, shortly thereafter, in the 1930s, health professionals began warning of the risks of too much sun exposure and cautioning people to again cover their skin and wear hats, and increase seasonal sun exposure gradually to reduce the immediate risk of sunburn and future risk of skin cancer.
Now we have decades of observational studies on the effects of sun exposure. Most of the following information comes from observational studies—what doctors are seeing. Interventional studies—treatments—would take several decades in the case of sun exposure effects on health, as these effects generally manifest later in life.
Cancer. The emphasis on preventing skin cancer obscures the larger mortality burden threatened by lung, colon, and breast cancers. As one considers the data from north to south, we see that while there may be 2-3% more skin cancer deaths, there are 30-40% fewer deaths from other forms of cancer. People who live at higher latitudes, where sun exposure is lower in the winter (and thus, so is vitamin D synthesis), are at greater risk of dying from Hodgkin lymphoma, ovarian, breast, colon, pancreatic, prostate, and other cancers as compared to inhabitants of lower latitude areas. One study found that increasing the recommended intake of vitamin D and calcium by 2-4 times reduced the cancer rate in post-menopausal Nebraskan women 50-77%. Continued sun exposure was even linked to higher survival rates in patients with early stage melanoma. (Did you know that most melanomas begin in the least sun-exposed areas of the body?)
Diabetes. Children who have sufficient vitamin D levels exhibit a lower risk of developing type-1 diabetes later in life. A Finnish study showed that children who received 2000 IU daily from the age of 1 year reduced the incidence of type-1 diabetes later in life by 80%; those who were deficient increased their risk four-fold. Type-2 diabetics are found to have lower vitamin D levels as well.
Multiple sclerosis. Low vitamin D levels also linked to increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis; indeed, living at a latitude above 37° doubles the risk of developing this disease.
Hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. Those living at higher latitudes or who are vitamin D deficient are at greater risk for developing these diseases.
It is believed that sun exposure and higher vitamin D levels may protect the body from rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers note that rheumatoid arthritis symptoms are more severe in winter and at higher latitudes.
Sun exposure may also protect a person from asthma and infectious diseases. Sun exposure affects the seasonality of infections like influenza, bronchitis, gastroenteritis, tuberculosis (high vitamin D levels reduce risk of active tuberculosis by 32%), and septicemia.
Reports suggest that sufficient vitamin D levels reduce the risk of developing several forms of arthritis, autoimmune diseases, and inflammatory bowel disease.
Osteoporosis. In the elderly low vitamin D levels can cause osteoporosis. Sufficient vitamin D levels reduce falls and osteoporosis due to strengthened bones and muscles. Keep in mind that the elderly have a diminishing capacity to synthesize vitamin D and benefit greatly from supplements and additional time in the sun.
Wound healing. Analysis of numerous studies conducted over the past 20 years revealed that ultraviolet light, whether from the sun or artificial sources, accelerated wound healing and reduced the need for antibiotics.
Researchers believe that many American babies, children, adolescents, and post-menopausal women are vitamin D deficient even though they lack clinical manifestations of such. They are still at much higher risk of developing various diseases. Because the developing fetus depletes the mother’s store of vitamin D, even prenatal vitamins may not be sufficient, and some doctors recommend increasing the pregnant woman’s daily intake to 4000 IU.
That’s a pretty impressive list of benefits we receive from the sun, and all free. No storage space required, no rotation. Easy to pack in the bug-out bag, too. So how do we access these benefits best?
Wearing a bathing suit in the summer sun for 30 minutes will get 50,000 IU into circulation within 24 hours; 20-30,000 IU into tanned people, and 8-10,000 in dark-skinned peeps. Doctors recommend 4000 IU per day without sun exposure or 2000 IU plus 3-15 minutes of midday sun for whites or 15-30 minutes for blacks, with 40% of the skin exposed. As far as wound healing goes, consider using Tegaderm or plastic wrap to protect a wound and then getting a little sun exposure to facilitate healing.
It’s that easy.
Links to related posts:
Vitamin D Deficiency and Rickets
References:
https://journals.lww.com/aswcjournal/fulltext/2021/04000/does_uv_light_as_an_adjunct_to_conventional.9.aspx (wound healing information)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2290997/ (everything else)
Is it just a coincidence that "flu season" is when most Americans are spending much more time inside and far less exposure to the sun?
ReplyDelete