Everything You Need to Know About the Sun
By Dr. Tamara Dickson
It is nearly
impossible to get all necessary Vitamin D from dietary sources. All
dietary sources of Vitamin D are animal products like milk, fatty
fishes, cod liver oil,
egg yolks because Vitamin D is actually a hormone that the body must
make, not a vitamin. This poses a problem for people who abstain from
eating animal products, all other dietary sources of vitamin D are foods
that have Vitamin D added and it is not always added in a form that the
body can easily use.
UV-Beta
sunlight exposure to skin is needed to turn the pre-hormone
dehydrocholesterol into D3,
the active form of Vitamin
D that the liver can use. It is later processed through the kidneys. UVB
rays are reduced by clouds (impairing Vitamin D synthesis greatly for
those in the NW), pollution and will not travel through
glass. Generally, the best time to catch UV-B rays is midday (10 am-3pm)
when UV-A to UV-B ratio is almost
equal. This is important because more skin malignancies are caused by
UV-A rays. Unfortunately, the UV-B rays are most responsible for
sunburn, too, so how does one keep a balance?
Within 10-15 minutes of sun exposure at
the ideal times, the average fair-skinned person can synthesize up to
10,000 units of Vitamin D, which is 2-3x greater than the average daily
supplementation. It can take an African-Americans up to 60
minutes to make
the same amount due to how increased melanin pigment in the skin slows
the absorption of UV-B rays. So, I suggest applying sunscreen after your initial 10 minutes of sun exposure so you can synthesize your
Vitamin D. Darker skinned individuals can wait up to 15 minutes longer.
Some advice about sunscreen:
-Re-apply
sunscreens often. Recent FDA regulations have moved to change labeling
such as "water-proof" and "sport-proof" because they mislead consumer
into thinking they have more protection than they have.
-Stick
to SPF ranges 15-50. Any SPF above 50 has been shown to be no more
effective than a 50 and often contain harsher chemical additives.
- Chemical additives to avoid are oxybenzone- a synthetic estrogen and retinyl palmitate- a possible
carcinogen.
- Look for active ingredients zinc,
titanium, avobenzone or Mexoryl SX. These substances protect skin from harmful UV-A radiation
and remain on the skin, with little penetrance into the body.
Dr. Tamara Dickson
Naturopathic Family Medicine
4411 Fremont Ave N
Seattle WA 98103
Phone: 206-683-4495
*Contact Classique Spa for a
complimentary consultation where one of our licensed Estheticians will
select a sunscreen that's right for your skin type. 206-216-9800
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