[readolog_dropcap ]V[/readolog_dropcap]itamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that acts as a hormone and signals many different changes to occur in the body. We now know that Vitamin D GREATLY helps in the absorption of Calcium and acts as a catalyst for many important functions in the body. 

The National Health Institute describes Vitamin D’s importance in absorbing calcium, they go on to say that without adequate Vitamin D our body will use calcium stored in our bones, leading to weak bones and degenerative illnesses such as osteoporosis.

Vitamin D has been shown to decrease your risk for different cancers; with specific links found between low Vitamin D levels and an increased risk of breast cancer.   Basically Vitamin D decreases your risk of illnesses across the board.

The simplest way to put it: Vitamin D is the sunshine hormone that we get from the rays of sunlight and radiation being passed through our bodies.  Light is a wavelength, it is a frequency, and humans need to absorb sunlight, we need it to function properly.  The dangers associated with sunshine seem to me to be largely fear mongering.  There is a huge market for sunscreen and skin products, so a lot of money is to be made from selling the fear of sun, severe sunburns, and skin-cancer.

But the fact of the matter is that your risk of: cancer, weak bones, and chronic illness, can be greatly reduced exponentially, across the board, just from getting enough Vitamin D. The risk of skin cancer is small compared to all of the illnesses you greatly decrease your chance of getting from smart sun exposure.

When getting sun exposure we need to realize that everyone’s skin is different, and that we must NEVER BURN the skin when in the sun.

People who have darker skin need greater sun exposure, because they have more natural melanin and a darker skin pigment, which provides a natural protection to UV-Radiation. For example, someone who has black skin can tolerate much more sun exposure than someone who is Irish and freckled.  Our genes and where we are from will become a factor in our ability to produce melanin (get a tan) and our natural level of sun protection, which plays a factor in how we expose our skin to the sun.

[readolog_blockquote ]During this time, diet is imperative to healing the damage caused by the sun.[/readolog_blockquote]

Early morning and late afternoon sun, in most places, is not as harsh as Mid-Day sun, which is when the sun is at its’ peak. I have read anywhere from 11AM-4PM during the summer is when the sun’s rays are the strongest, I find this to be true, however, I also find that the sun’s strength can vary from day-to-day.

When going out in the sun, you should start getting sunlight as soon as you can in the springtime, or even in winter, and slowly build up your melanin production and sun tolerance. During this time, diet is imperative to healing the damage caused by the sun.  Cancer is a proliferation of cells that multiplies due to the body’s inability to activate its natural protective functions and cells to kill the multiplying cancer.  It has been proven now that many different types of cancer can be avoided through proper lifestyle habits.  I believe that exposing yourself to radiation is no different.  You see our body breaks down cells all of the time, every cell in our body is replaced annually, I firmly believe most cancers and illnesses with a nutritional cause never get the building blocks to keep rebuilding/repairing optimally.

It is not about avoiding the sun and how our body reacts to it altogether, but it is in making sure we have to tools to rebuild and respond properly.

 We evolved with the sun since our existence; our bodies clearly NEED the sun’s radiation and wavelength to function properly.  Many people complain of sleep issues that work at a desk job and never go outside or exercise to capacity.  How many of these people would benefit greatly from sunlight exposure? Increased vitamin-d levels, and in turn stronger bones and vitality, would allow them to slash their risk of disease.

The problem is that people who work inside all year-round, will go straight to the beach as their first sun-exposure for the year, where radiation is at its peak and in an unprotected place where the light hits the sand and water and they will almost always get burned.   These people then feed into the sunlight fear mongering and avoid it for the rest of the year, and think that they need to slather toxic chemicals on their skin. The toxic chemicals are cancer causing themselves in most cases.

I would try to avoid commercial chemical sunscreen products by any means necessary and start healthy sun-exposure practices.

• Start with 15 minutes of exposure in the winter and spring; slowly keep building up your sun tolerance. Eventually you will begin to tan and will be able to tolerate longer periods of sun exposure, getting good sleep and eating well is imperative.
• Cutting out processed foods is a MUST, when I see someone who eats pure garbage and processed crap; I know that they will almost always react negatively to sunlight. The skin is a detoxification system that breathes with the environment, if someone eats processed foods, sunlight could help the skin start to release these toxins, and some people who eat poor diets may develop a reaction or rash to the sun just from their diets. These people’s detox systems will often be overloaded, thus producing the negative reaction to the sunlight.
• Eat plenty of healthy fats like avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, and tons of living fresh fruits and vegetables. Personally, I have a much greater demand within my body for living enzymes and fresh vegetables after being out in the sun. I will often have shakes with spinach, bananas, coconut oil, and some ice, after sun exposure. Getting these living enzymes in you right away, in my opinion, greatly helps with the healing process of your skin. Fresh fruit and vegetables are imperative for getting the hydration and vitamins we need for recovery.
• Use natural oil for sun protection, coconut oil works extremely well for sun exposure and will aid your skin with absorbing and processing the sun. Coconut oil is a tropical fruit, and has natural sun protectant properties; many tribes that live on islands with coconuts use it for this purpose. I like to slather a ton of oil on, enough that I could actually be described as greasy, after a few hours in the sun the oil burns off, however my skin is still moist and has a great glow. Many different natural oils offer good protection from the sun, like with anything we need to build up our tolerance to the sun gradually, but coconut oil, Jojoba oil, Avocado oil, olive oil, hempseed oil, all offer a good degree of natural sun protection.
• Natural oils like coconut oil also offer a great glow and enhanced healthy looking tanning effect. Stay away from chemical tanners that are toxic to the skin and body, and stick with these natural oils to enhance sun absorption and exposure.
• Always be mindful of how your skin is feeling when in the sun, and give your skin frequent breaks from the sun by going back and forth between shade and sun. I like to go outside for a bit, and then go inside and maybe go back outside again for a few minutes at a time throughout the day. This process lets your skin absorb sunlight in smaller doses, as opposed to prolonged exposure which could lead to burning
• Our skin has a limit of sun exposure for that day that will increase as we tan and become adapted to the sun. A light pink hue or glow is desirable, but never a BURN. A good way to tell if you got burned slightly is if when you stretch the skin by moving it or touching it you feel irritation. If I scrunch the skin on my face when I get burned I can feel it instantly, you should never feel discomfort or rawness on the skin, just a healthy glow for that day.
• Always be mindful of your skin type and how you respond to the sun. You may be freckled and porcelain and only need a few minutes at a time throughout the day, or you could naturally tan well and be able to handle hours out in the sun. Be mindful and remember that diet and rest play a big role in sun exposure, always use natural oil as a protectant.
• Wear a hat around sensitive skin on your face and keep a fair amount of skin covered during periods of high sun radiation, just exposing the arms and legs will still allow you to absorb vitamin D, but usually these areas are not as sensitive as other areas of the body that do not get as much sun exposure.

When to use commercial sunscreen products, and what to do if you get burned:

• I would only recommend using commercial sunscreen products if you find that they are effective for you, and when you will be exposed to the sun for very long periods of time, such as going to the beach or being exposed at high-altitude. If there is nothing better around, then using sunscreen is the lesser of two evils between that and getting severely burned. Just remember that skin-care and eating well will be needed if you apply chemical sunscreen.
• If you get burned badly, make sure to lower your core temperature slowly if you are over-heated. A warm shower or bath can be effective at doing this, you do not want to go to ice-cold water when you are burned because this will shock the body and can be dangerous.   I would recommend starting with a warm shower and slowly going to cool water and staying under for a few minutes, or however long feels good. Ice can also be used but never directly against the skin, place a few tissues between the bag of ice and the skin so that cool can still get through, but does shock the skin and body. Move the ice around all-over the persons’ back/neck/hips.
• Make sure to eat plenty of fresh living fruit and vegetables, healthy fats, and stay well hydrated. Making a shake with fruits, vegetables, and some coconut oil, will ensure that you stay very well hydrated, as fruit and veggies are almost all water and offer valuable vitamins for repairing the skin. Make sure to get essential vitamins and minerals and water in you A.S.A.P. when you get burned. Your body will be recovering for at least the next 24-48hours, many times longer, so you need to provide these nutrients NOW, so the repair processes can begin immediately. How you heal in a day or two is correlated to how you respond to the burn right away.
• If your body temperature stays very high or you are experiencing headaches, nausea, dizziness, delirium, etc. Then seek medical attention immediately. Do not play around with someone who is very sunburned, especially if a large surface area of skin got burned, they can be overheated and their body can begin to shut-down. If someone does not feel better within an hour or two after cooling them down and resting, and the symptoms are getting worse, seek medical help.
• After getting burned, the next few days are the most important time not to re-burn the skin. Keep all burned skin out of the sun and keep it covered AND oiled constantly. Keeping the skin oiled at all times, staying well-hydrated, getting rest, and keeping the skin out of the sun, will help to heal from sunburn. Use longer clothing if needed or hats etc. to keep skin protected.

My personal experience with sun exposure:

I suffer from a skin condition called Vitiligo that makes it so that some of my skin does not pigment properly and I get patches on my skin that have no pigment at all and are extremely susceptible to sunlight, so I know firsthand how annoying burning skin can be, but I also recognize the importance of healthy sun-exposure.

When I first got the condition it happened to be during a period where I got almost no sun exposure and was very stressed and depressed. When I think back I probably got almost no sun-exposure for 2 years straight.  I learned about vitamin D and started taking it to find that my energy levels noticeably improved greatly.  I am not one to fall for a placebo effect, I actually felt MUCH better and my skin looked great as well to my surprise.

[readolog_blockquote ]The sun actually made me increase me Melanin production, working outside had corrected my sleep cycle, and the patches actually filled back in! [/readolog_blockquote]

I started looking into the treatments for Vitiligo, which were all steroid based and could cause skin-thinning and cancer in and of themselves (thanks Dermatologist) and was told to NEVER expose my un-pigmented skin to the sunlight. But this did not make sense to me, if I potentially got this illness from staying out of the sun, maybe I should see how my skin reacts to sun exposure!

I took a landscaping job one summer and started slathering the most natural sun-block I could find on my cheeks where I lost the pigment, and I noticed that this helped, but my skin still got a bit burned at first. But then a few weeks went by, and I forgot my sunscreen for a few days, and I noticed that my skin was responding well!  Even the un-pigmented skin could get some protection from just coconut oil and from eating very clean.  The sun actually made me increase me Melanin production, working outside had corrected my sleep cycle, and the patches actually filled back in!  I now had more protection from sun-exposure than I did before, and realized just how good the sun is for my skin.  I can feel how good my skin responds to the sun when I eat right and protect it properly.  I can stay outside all day long and I will not burn, even on my un-pigmented skin, because I take the steps listed to protect it, and it responds well.

I have also learned that at places like the beach, where UV radiation is much stronger, that I can severely burn this un-pigmented skin, so I know that the sun CAN indeed be dangerous. But to limit sun-exposure completely like many people do and ignore the HUGE benefits of vitamin D for the health of the body is ludicrous. You can die from too much water if you’re foolish enough, your chances of dying from skin cancer from healthy sun-exposure are extremely small, but the benefit and protection you get from all of the illnesses you will PREVENT are much greater.

We need a more HOLISTIC and balanced approach to sunlight and exposing ourselves to it. I would say that most people could work up to a few hours of sunlight every single day, if they just built up their tolerance slowly, got a natural tan, ate well, and protected their skin on a daily basis.  Your skin cells replace themselves every few days, so how you treat your skin and what you eat determines the health of your skin and how it responds to the sun.  And as Science has now demonstrated, we NEED sunlight and Vitamin D to maintain healthy bodies.

A healthy level of Vitamin D is generally agreed to be at least 30ng/ml (nanograms to milliliter; the measuring units used to test Vitamin D levels) but that is the level just so that nothing is WRONG with you, these are NOT OPTIMAL or peak levels. I have read different ranges, but some say that Vitamin D levels for peak function can be as high as 80ng/ml.  Many women I know who have gotten breast cancer had a level less than 10!   These were often people who had not gotten outside and had very un-active and unhealthy looking skin.  There was no natural glow or vibrancy to them; they looked very pale and sickly.

And I mean come on, does it not make sense that if we essentially avoid the outdoors for years, or never allow the sun to hit our skin naturally, that something would not function right over time?

We are a part of the environment around us, and guess what, that giant glowing orb in the sky is an important part of WHAT we are on a physiological level. To limit sun exposure to 10minutes a day, or fear it just because we get burned after not going outside for years is not a logical or holistic approach.  Going outside benefits us all greatly, not just from the sun, but also from the fresh air and connecting to nature.  We are a part of the environment and it is time we get plugged back in, starting by cutting our risks for nearly all diseases at least in half, but maintaining adequate vitamin D levels through healthy sunlight exposure.

It is time to get some sunlight and go for a hike! Slather on some coconut oil and make sure you do not over-expose sensitive skin, be mindful of your skin-type, and adapt to the sun over a long period of time.  If you live somewhere with a harsh winter, realize that we store our vitamin D levels for the long term and for the winter.

Many diseases and illnesses, suicides etc. manifest themselves in the harshness of the winter months, and guess what, Vitamin D is DIRECTLY correlated to this. We get less sunlight, and if you are not someone who supplements Vitamin D on a regular basis, or who gets as much sunlight as possible during the summer, you could run the risk of depression or illness during the winter months when sun is scarce.

There are reasons why sunlight slashes depression and boosts energy, and why people who get healthy sun exposure and eat well, often have great and healthy glows. Stop over-thinking about horror stories of Melanoma from someone who was at the beach 10 hours a day for twenty years, this is NOT THE NORM!

To keep Vitamin D levels high over the winter make sure to:

Get as much sunlight during the rest of the year as possible, keeping Vitamin D levels high over the winter by being outside all summer is the best way to ensure good D levels and good health.

Get your D levels tested and supplement accordingly. Many experts say that our skin stops absorbing sunlight anywhere from 5,000-15,000 IUs per day, I tend to believe it is probably towards the higher side.  Vitamin D is remarkably non-toxic, although I cannot find anything definitive enough to say exactly how much to take, personally I take 5,000IU pills daily during the winter or try to get some sun during the winter months as well.  Taking a 5,000IU pill should not cause any adverse effects as cancer patients are given VERY high doses when their D levels are found to be low.  If you are not sure or apprehensive make sure to take AT LEAST 2,000 IU daily.  Although I would still consider natural sunlight to be the best source of Vitamin D.

Eat foods that naturally contain Vitamin D like eggs, sardines and other fatty fish, and certain animal products. Food however, is not the BEST source of Vitamin D, sunlight or direct supplementation will most likely be needed for optimal health.

So there you have it, why I believe healthy sun-exposure is one of the most fundamental pillars of good health. Please heed the advice in this article and make sure to never BURN you skin, but also make sure to eat well and adapt slowly to increased sun-exposure.  We can all enjoy a healthy and vibrant life outdoors if we are just conscious of our skin and body.  Here is to safe and healthy sun-exposure, and decreased illness across the board from high Vitamin D levels!