Vitamin D is perhaps the single most underrated nutrient in the world. That's probably because it's free: Your body makes it when sunlight touches your skin. Drug companies can't sell you sunlight, so there's no promotion of its health benefits. On the contrary, a huge anti-sun campaign is used to promote sunscreen agents. This robs many people of the many health benefits of sunlight and vitamin D.
The truth is that most people don't know the real story on vitamin D and health. Vitamin D helps to prevent osteoporosis, depression, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and even affects diabetes and obesity.
An eminent American dermatologist, Dr. Michael Holick, in his book The UV Advantage, has a powerful message: Sensible exposure to natural sunlight is the simplest, easiest and mostimportant strategies for improving your health with vitamin D. I urge you to read Dr. Holick's book to get the full story on natural sunlight.
Vitamin D and sunlight
In an interview with medical writer Mike Adams, Dr. Holick makes these important points about vitamin D and sunlight.
1. Vitamin D is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from natural sunlight. The body converts cholesterol in the skin into an inactive form of vitamin D that is subsequently converted into the active form in the liver and kidneys. It is nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from your diet. A person would have to drink 10 large glasses of vitamin D-fortified milk each day just to get minimum levels of vitamin D into his or her diet. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate vitamin D in your own body.
2. People with dark skin pigmentation may need 20-30 times as much exposure to sunlight as fair-skinned people to generate the same amount of vitamin D. This may be why prostate cancer is an epidemic among black men - a simple, but widespread, sunlight deficiency. The further you live from the equator, the longer exposure to the sun you need in order to generate vitamin D. Canada, the United Kingdom and most U.S. states are far from the equator and the huge populations of black people (which includes many Jamaicans) in those areas are at great risk of vitamin D deficiency. But even here in sun-torched Jamaica, many people deliberately avoid the sun and may be lacking in vitamin D.
3. Sufficient levels of vitamin D are crucial for calcium absorption in your intestines. Without sufficient vitamin D, your body cannot absorb calcium, rendering calcium supplements useless. There is more to healthy bones than just calcium.
4. Chronic vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed overnight: It takes months of vitamin D supplementation and/or sunlight exposure to rebuild the body's bones and nervous system. The healing rays of natural sunlight (that generate vitamin D in your skin) cannot penetrate glass. So you don't generate vitamin D when sitting in your car or home. Even weak sunscreens block your body's ability to generate vitamin D by 95 per cent. Excessive sunscreen use may actually contribute to disease by creating a vitamin deficiency in the body. I suggest that sunscreens be used sparingly, primarily on the sensitive areas on your body.
5. It is impossible to generate too much vitamin D in your body from sunlight exposure. Your body will self-regulate and only generate what it needs. If you feel pain when you press firmly on your breast bone, that may be an indication that you may be suffering from chronic vitamin D deficiency right now. By the way, the vitamin D that your body makes is more powerful that the vitamin D found in your multivitamin tablet.
6. Vitamin D is 'activated' in your body by your kidneys and liver before it can be used. Therefore, having kidney disease or liver disorders can greatly impair your body's ability to activate vitamin D. People with disease of those organs should take regular sunbaths.
Email Dr. Anthony Vendryes at vendryes@mac.com, log on to www.anounceofprevention.org, or listen to 'An Ounce of Prevention' on Power 106FM on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.
Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate vitamin D in the body.
WHAT ABOUT SKIN DAMAGE?
It turns out that antioxidants greatly boost your body's ability to handle sunlight without damage or burning. So take enough vitamins A, C and E and eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. For skin protection against the elements and ageing, I use a natural skin care programme that provides generous amounts of antioxidant vitamins - A, C, and E along with herbal antioxidants like green tea extract and aloe vera.
The skin needs both outer nutrition and inner nutrition. I even take an extra dose of vitamin C if I will be exposed to the sun for a long time and I never get sunburn or skin damage.
I regularly advise my patients to include adaily sunbath in their healthy lifestyle programme. Half an hour of morning or afternoon sun has powerful benefits. Drink lots of water and use lots of antioxidants. Vitamin D is one of nature's most powerful healing agents and your body makes it absolutely free. No prescription required!
