Sunshine

September 7th, 2003

The mornings are getting much darker now, and the feeling of summer having passed is becoming harder to ignore.

New Scientist reckons that we could be in for a SAD (Seasonally Affected Disorder) epidemic this winter, with everyone having soaked up so much sunshine during our scorching summer. I would’ve thought that all the sunlight (which essentially = vitamin D from a physiological standpoint) would have built up our vitamin stocks, and that we’d all get through the winter more easily as a result, but the opposite turns out to be true. I should think this is something to do with increased vitamin D tolerance levels, and alternative sources working under capacity, or something.

Anyway, the article focussed on how vitamin D and hence sunlight, helps to lower the risk of cancer. Contrary to popular belief, a little bit of unfiltered sun is good for you: the figure for healthy sun exposure was something like 1/6th the time it takes before your skin starts to redden, which would be somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes for me. Although there’s a slightly increased risk of skin cancer, the benefits (which also turn out to include reduced incidence of heart disease, diabetes, MS, depression and osteoporosis) far outweigh the risks.

Interestingly, most sun blocks screen out UVB completely, which is exactly what the skin needs to synthesize vitamin D. If you’ve been a bit too sensible in the sun this summer, it might be worth getting yourself down to Boots for some supplements.

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