This post came to me as I was sitting here looking out the window at a cloudy, rainy Florida day. For those of you in other areas of the country (and world) who think we just bask in the sunshine all year round, think again. Florida is home to some nasty summer thunderstorms and this week has been a doozy! With each passing storm, we have been watching the lake level rise. Last year, it almost submerged the neighbor’s dock! I digress….
Sunshine has been proven to aid in mood elevation and increase all over health and wellness however, 3 out of 4 Americans are D deficient. According to Medical News Today, Vitamin D is a steroid vitamin, a group of fat-soluble pro-hormones, which encourages the absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorous. People who are exposed to normal quantities of sunlight do not need vitamin D supplements because sunlight promotes sufficient vitamin D synthesis in the skin. Researchers are suggesting that because people have become frightened of getting skin cancers they are avoiding the sunshine, but sunshine offers one of the best sources of vitamin D which protects the body from a number of diseases.
The scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and colleagues at Norway’s Institute for Cancer Research in Oslo, say the health benefits from some sun exposure are far larger than the skin cancer risk. By “some” they mean no more than 10 minutes per day if sunscreen-free UV light.
Any prolonged exposure to the sun should be combined with appropriate sunscreen protection. We see so many people visiting our beaches and they are outside for hours with their white northern skin and by the second day, they are as red as a lobster. I cringe whenever I witness that behavior. I want to cover them up with a blanket!
For more information on the benefits of Vitamin D, click here.
Cheers!
Life, Love & Lima Beans 