Vitamin D and Sun Exposure

I did something over the weekend that I have not done in over 20 years - I sat out in the sun without wearing any sunscreen or a long sleeved shirt at 1:00 in the afternoon. As a member of the Oncology Nursing Society and employee of the American Cancer Society, I attended conferences on skin cancer with nationally reknown dermatologists as the speakers.

Vitamin D Information

After hearing about the dangers of being exposed to UV light, I became diligent in protecting my skin and that of my family's. We tried to limit our sun exposure from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM, stayed in the shade, put on sunscreen and wore long sleeved shirts.

Indeed there is plenty of evidence that sun exposure increases one's risk for basal cell and squamous cell cancers. Please note that sensible sun exposure is in reference to the skin and not the eyes. It continues to be important to wear your sunglasses.

Vitamin D Expert

The benefits of sensible sun exposure and vitamin D synthesis is a big paradigm shift for me and maybe it is for you too. Little did I know or appreciate the powerful benefits of UV-B rays. Indeed he writes, "of all the lessons learned in this book, this one may be the hardest medicine to swallow; giving your self permission to expose your skin for a specific amount of time without sun protection."

Of course, his sun exposure recommendations has been met with lots of resistance from other dermatologists. In fact, dermatologist Dr. Darrel Rigel from New York Unviersity Medical Center, NY was indeed one of the presenters at the skin cancer conference I attended several years ago. His response to Dr. Halick is: "As a dermatologist who treats the ravages of skin cancer on a daily basis, it is appalling to me that anyone in good conscience could make the claim that intentional sun exposure—for any length of time—is beneficial."

Dr. Holicks response is "I am not advocating a return to the baby-oil and sun-reflector tanning days of the past," he points out. "This is about spending a few minutes in natural or artificial sunlight several times a week—without sunscreen—to satisfy your body's vitamin requirement. It is not about damaging the skin."

Future Macular Degeneration News Newsletters

This information on vitamin D is so important that the next several newsletters will cover:

Vitamin D Levels

How To Tell if You are Deficient

Foods that Contain Vitamin D

How to Supplement Sensibly

The sun is the richest source of vitamin D and it's free. To find out more about how much sun exposure is healthy, when to sunbathe and why bother if you can just take a vitamin D supplement go to:

Vitamin D and Sun Exposure

Thanks so much for subscribing to Macular Degeneration News.

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

Better Health for Better Vision

www.WebRN-MacularDegeneration.com

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