Sunday, November 11, 2012

Sunlight is everywhere: What are you going to do?


Summer is coming, and immediately we start thinking about going on vacations, spending our time in pools and beach, or getting a suntan. It is the sun who makes us feel energetic and healthy. However, it is important to remember that sun rays are every day more dangerous due to the ozone layer is getting thinner.

Sunlight contains three types of rays called ultraviolet rays (UV). These rays can cause not only premature aging of the skin, but they can also cause wrinkling and contribute to skin cancer. Also, UV rays may cause sunburns, eye damage such as cataracts (clouding of the eyes lens), and effects on the immune system (for example, sun allergies).

But, what if I tell you that sunlight is not that bad? Sun exposure has several benefits, but one of the most important is that it activates the production of vitamin D in the body, which is an essential nutrient that helps in building and protecting the bones. The Atlas of Cancer Mortality Rates for the United States, 1950-94, has estimated that about 50.000-63.000 annual deaths in the U.S could be prevented if all people had sufficient vitamin D. Also, a study from the Journal Photochemistry and Photobiology discovered that the annual number of cases and deaths due to cancer, multiple sclerosis, and osteoporotic hip fracture that likely could have been prevented with vitamin D is higher than the cases and deaths from skin cancer, melanoma, and cataracts that have been prevented by avoiding excess UV exposure (For further information, click here!).

After reading this, what are you going to do? 

Note: Although the study mentioned shows that UV irradiance may be good, it is important to protect your skin because too much sunlight exposure can damage it. If you want to know simple precautions, click here!

2 comments:

  1. Personally, I'd preffer to die from cancer than feeling the pain that exposing my skin to the sun puts me through, of course I enjoy a little bit of sun, but I'm very careful with the time and the products I use, since my allergies are not just related to the sun but also to some chemicals used in this kind of products. So I, for once, I'm in favour of hiding.

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  2. I enjoy so much the sunlight! I love it, but I protect my skin from sunburns. My skin is really pale so I need to take care of it.
    I had heard before that vitamin D is quite important and that we can get it from sunlight, so now that I have read your post, I will be more pleased to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin.

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