Sun Exposure: Wellness supplements Part 7
Written by Dr. Bell Moody, PT, DPTThe sun-vital for so many parts of our world to function properly. However, just like anything else-too much or little of it can be negative and have long lasting affects. I was reading a piece of literature from the NIH on the benefits of sunlight and the author describes the sun's association to cancer. Over the years it has been studied extensively and found that 3 different types of skin cancer can be caused by excessive UV ray exposure. What is excessive? The World Health Organization recommends 5-15 minutes of sun exposure at least 2-3 times a week. The Skin Cancer Association states: "Despite the risk factors, you can safely, happily enjoy the great outdoors by protecting your skin against UV exposure with broad-spectrum sunscreen and sun-safe clothing, hats and eyewear. You can also consider UV window film for your home and car." It's hard to draw the line between too much and too little sun bc we also know that too little sun exposure has significant negative health impacts such as cancer-according to this piece of literature from the NIH " Living at higher latitudes (with less sunlight) increases the risk of dying from Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as breast, ovarian, colon, pancreatic, prostate, and other cancers, as compared with living at lower latitudes."Exposure to sunlight causes the creation of vitamin D that contributes to many aspects of our health: bone health
glucose metabolism
mental health
Early morning sun exposure can help jumpstart your body's natural rhythm that will in turn help to create more balance with your body's natural processes such as hormone production. According to multiple sources it's best to expose yourself to the sun early morning and late evening as the UV rays are less intense. (Most intense usually between 10 am and 4 pm)Sun exposure is necessary for a lot of our body's processes but in moderation just like anything else. Resources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2290997/
https://www.skincancer.org/risk-factors/uv-radiation/
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/features/uv-radiation-safety/index.html
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
