A growing number of forward-thinking experts in the traditional and natural healthcare field are sounding the alarm about the connection between sunscreen use and vitamin D that helps build a strong immune system that can fight colds, fatigue, influenza, and a wide array of other conditions and diseases. Traditional and natural sunscreens and natural face products with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) component, like facial moisturizers, can block the UVB light your body needs to produce vitamin D.
The SPF reflects the percentage of UVB light a sunscreen or moisturizing lotion with SPF can block. In a Swiss newspaper interview, Prof. Dr. Annette Bischoff-Ferrari, a member of the Medical Faculty of the University of Zurich, said, We know that with a sunscreen protection factor of 6 (SPF-6) and more the body is unable to produce (synthesize) any vitamin D. A moisturizer with a sunscreen component is usually made with an SPF of 15.
What is Vitamin D? According to Mitchell A. Fleisher, MD, Vitamin D3, cholecalciferol, is a critically important nutrient that is much more than just a vitamin. It actually acts as a steroid hormone involved in multiple physiological pathways essential for health and well-being, including mineral and bone metabolism, and normal cardiovascular, neurological and immune system function.
The sun is your best source for vitamin D, because your body can store what it produces from sunlight for future use, followed by Vitamin D supplements, which your body does not store. Because higher levels of UVB light are required by your body in order to synthesize vitamin D, supplements are a great option in areas where UVB light intensity is low and when you cannot expose your skin to sunlight for long enough periods.
Vitamin D is important because it supports the proper function of cells. According to the Vitamin D Council (www.vitamindcouncil.org), there is a connection between low vitamin D levels and colds and flu, bone health, asthma, rickets, multiple sclerosis, fatigue, depression, Type II diabetes, preeclampsia, colorectal cancer, other cancers, and more.
Who is most at risk of having low vitamin D levels? Large segments of the U.S. population are very much at risk. In his groundbreaking book, The Vitamin D Cure, James Dowd, M.D., writes Current statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tell us that more than half of the general population is vitamin D—deficient regardless of age. And about 70 percent of elderly Americans and 90 percent of Americans of color are vitamin D—deficient. Add to the mix people who are overweight or obese because of dietary imbalance or inactivity, and the totals are staggering.
Why is the number of people with vitamin D deficiency so staggering? One reason is excessive sunscreen use. Sunscreen blocks UVB light, and thus, the body's ability to produce vitamin D. If you fail to take your body’s vitamin D production into account when exposing your skin to sunlight, you risk compromising your immune system.
What can you do to make sure you get your vitamin D while also protecting my skin? Being aware of what causes skin damage—free radicals--and knowing your skin’s limitations during sun exposure gives you the power to take complete control of your skin’s health. Resorting to high SPF sunscreen is not the answer because it gives you a false sense of security, often leads to over-exposure, and blocks your body’s ability to produce vitamin D.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating for dropping sunscreen use. What I am saying is that you need to set aside time for sun exposure that does not involved sunscreen, so your body can have the opportunity to produce vitamin D. You short and long-term health depends upon it. You can use antioxidant supplements or, even better, a high potency bioactive antioxidant moisturizer, such as MelanSol® Certified Natural Moisturizer.
Making sure your vitamin D levels are within the accepted range, at least 50ng, is crucial for maintaining optimum health. Become intimately familiar with your number - your body’s level of vitamin D3. Ask your doctor to test your body’s level of vitamin D3. Once you know your number, you can put together a personal plan that involves unprotected sun exposure, diet and supplements to give your body the best defense against many of the illnesses that plague our society today.
The SPF reflects the percentage of UVB light a sunscreen or moisturizing lotion with SPF can block. In a Swiss newspaper interview, Prof. Dr. Annette Bischoff-Ferrari, a member of the Medical Faculty of the University of Zurich, said, We know that with a sunscreen protection factor of 6 (SPF-6) and more the body is unable to produce (synthesize) any vitamin D. A moisturizer with a sunscreen component is usually made with an SPF of 15.
What is Vitamin D? According to Mitchell A. Fleisher, MD, Vitamin D3, cholecalciferol, is a critically important nutrient that is much more than just a vitamin. It actually acts as a steroid hormone involved in multiple physiological pathways essential for health and well-being, including mineral and bone metabolism, and normal cardiovascular, neurological and immune system function.
The sun is your best source for vitamin D, because your body can store what it produces from sunlight for future use, followed by Vitamin D supplements, which your body does not store. Because higher levels of UVB light are required by your body in order to synthesize vitamin D, supplements are a great option in areas where UVB light intensity is low and when you cannot expose your skin to sunlight for long enough periods.
Vitamin D is important because it supports the proper function of cells. According to the Vitamin D Council (www.vitamindcouncil.org), there is a connection between low vitamin D levels and colds and flu, bone health, asthma, rickets, multiple sclerosis, fatigue, depression, Type II diabetes, preeclampsia, colorectal cancer, other cancers, and more.
Who is most at risk of having low vitamin D levels? Large segments of the U.S. population are very much at risk. In his groundbreaking book, The Vitamin D Cure, James Dowd, M.D., writes Current statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tell us that more than half of the general population is vitamin D—deficient regardless of age. And about 70 percent of elderly Americans and 90 percent of Americans of color are vitamin D—deficient. Add to the mix people who are overweight or obese because of dietary imbalance or inactivity, and the totals are staggering.
Why is the number of people with vitamin D deficiency so staggering? One reason is excessive sunscreen use. Sunscreen blocks UVB light, and thus, the body's ability to produce vitamin D. If you fail to take your body’s vitamin D production into account when exposing your skin to sunlight, you risk compromising your immune system.
What can you do to make sure you get your vitamin D while also protecting my skin? Being aware of what causes skin damage—free radicals--and knowing your skin’s limitations during sun exposure gives you the power to take complete control of your skin’s health. Resorting to high SPF sunscreen is not the answer because it gives you a false sense of security, often leads to over-exposure, and blocks your body’s ability to produce vitamin D.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating for dropping sunscreen use. What I am saying is that you need to set aside time for sun exposure that does not involved sunscreen, so your body can have the opportunity to produce vitamin D. You short and long-term health depends upon it. You can use antioxidant supplements or, even better, a high potency bioactive antioxidant moisturizer, such as MelanSol® Certified Natural Moisturizer.
Making sure your vitamin D levels are within the accepted range, at least 50ng, is crucial for maintaining optimum health. Become intimately familiar with your number - your body’s level of vitamin D3. Ask your doctor to test your body’s level of vitamin D3. Once you know your number, you can put together a personal plan that involves unprotected sun exposure, diet and supplements to give your body the best defense against many of the illnesses that plague our society today.
By: Michael J. Russ
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