Sun worship

Let me paint you a picture I only wish I could paint more often. I am currently sitting at my garden table, in my bikini, with a parasol shading my laptop, and the sun beating down on my back. It's scorching hot and there's not a cloud in the sky. And it's quarter past six in the evening, for goodness sake!

The south of England, where I live, has enjoyed uncharacteristically high temperatures since last Thursday. I've had an especially lucky time of it because, prior to that, I spent a week in Tuscany – which was also experiencing unusually high temperatures. And I feel better than I’ve felt since…well, since the last time I spent a fortnight in the sun. Coincidence? I think not.

For half of it I haven’t been on holiday; I’ve been hard at work. But whenever possible I’ve been hard at work in my outside office, wearing my summer uniform.

Why? Because the more I study health and meet people around the world who are enjoying extraordinary levels of it, the more convinced I am that getting out in the sun at every opportunity is one of the most health-promoting things we can do. And that whatever ails you, be it physical or mental, there are few things that will make you feel as good, as quickly, as getting out in the sun.

I’m sure there is more to this than vitamin D; I’m sure the sun’s rays bestow benefits on us that science has yet to uncover. But vitamin D is a huge deal and the studies that prove it just keep pouring in. Vitamin D has been linked with bone health, mental agility, immunity and emotional balance. And deficiency has been linked with osteoporosis, dementia, cancer, MS and depression – among other things.

How much sunlight is enough? First of all, yes we can get some of our vitamin D from food and supplementation – but spend a fortnight on the beach somewhere hot and your body can easily produce more than most people consume in a year. Also, for reasons too complex to go into here, the vitamin D your body produces from the reaction that occurs when the sun's ultra-violet rays hit your skin is superior to the vitamin D you get from foods and certainly from supplements.

In simple terms, nature intended us to get the majority of our vitamin D from sunlight. It didn't intend us to live out our lives indoors nor to be so afraid of the sun's rays we do all possible to shield ourselves from them during the small portion of our time we do spend outside. So it's no surprise that a recent study shows that 60% of us in the UK are deficient in vitamin D in summer and 90% in winter.

Experts say we need 20-30 minutes of sun exposure a day, exposing not just our face and hands (as is the norm for us Brits most year round) but also our arms and some leg. But how likely is it that this is really enough? Consider that, as a species, we belong in the tropics and nature designed us to be naked there – and without a liberal head-to-toe slathering of factor 50 sunscreen! While the recommended level of sun exposure may be adequate to stave off vitamin D deficiency, it is best thought of as a bare minimum. It is certainly not enough to promote optimal health.

So given that, here in the UK, exposing more than hands and face to the elements, however briefly, is something of an endurance feat for at least half the year – and that even if we are prepared to bear the cold, the sun won’t be strong enough to have much impact on vitamin D levels – it is clear that, once “summer” comes, there is nothing better we can do for our health than get out in the sun every chance we get.

Comments

[DebbieTook]

Great points. And I wonder how many people have tapped away at a computer (indoors), advising others to take a Vitamin D supplement from a powder, pill or potion while there's been a free unlimited source of Vitamin D shining away outside.

We could all get out more. Just takes a bit of self-discipline and re-organisation (if only I could take my own advice).

[Elizabeth]

Question - does SPF prevent our body from absorbing The rays needed to create vitamin D? I would think not, as it is still shining on us?

Also, do our bodies benefit if you cannot see the sun directly in the sky, perhaps it's 5pm, but it is still light outside? My thought we would benefit, just not nearly as much as being directly under the sun?

[Sarah]

Thanks for your questions, Elizabeth. You will find the first one answered in my article "The truth about sun exposure, sunscreen and skin cancer".

http://fresh-network.typepad.com/fresh_network_blog/2009/06/the-truth-about-sun-exposure-sunscreen-and-skin-cancer.html

And stay tuned, because I will soon be posting an article which answers the second.