For years, doctors and health advisors have been spreading the warning that sunbathing is dangerous and can lead to skin damage: wrinkles, dryness, sun spots and skin cancer. While this is true, there is a new viewpoint coming to the forefront now.
The sun provides health benefits for the body, including providing the body with a vital nutrient: vitamin D. The body was designed to be a “solar collector” that manufactures or synthesizes this essential nutrient metabolically, and it is commonly known that Vitamin D helps to reverse osteoporosis, strengthen bones and assist in the formation of strong teeth.
What many people may not know is that a lack of adequate sunlight weakens the immune system and facilitates the proliferations of cancer in the body. Recent studies suggest your body needs up to 1,000 units of vitamin D per day to cut the potential risk for some cancers in half.
While vitamin D is produced in the skin when exposed to sunlight, scientists are finding shockingly few people have adequate vitamin D levels to support their daily needs. Because sun exposure has its own hazards and health risks, perhaps the best way to address this situation is through appropriate supplementation. Many scientists now advocate supplementing with doses that are considerable higher than the minimums currently recommended. Though vitamin D can be obtained through a few food sources, such as fish, eggs and dairy, these foods fail to provide the daily levels required by most individuals, thus necessitating vitamin D supplementation.
Strong data now implicate low vitamin D levels in at least 16 different types of cancer. Powerful evidence indicates that vitamin D may be useful in preventing and even treating colon and prostate cancers. There is also evidence that points to its effects in countering lung, breast, skin and other cancers.
Cancer prevention specialists at the University of California recently conducted an extensive review of scientific papers published between 1966 & 2004. Their analysis suggests that taking 1000 international units (IU) of vitamin D3 daily lowers an individual’s risk of developing colon/rectal cancer by 50%. The researchers recommended increased intake of vitamin D3 as an inexpensive, non-toxic preventive therapy for colon cancer. Emerging studies suggest vitamin D may help avert cancers of the breast, ovaries, head and neck. Research published over the last decade suggests that vitamin D toxicity is unlikely at daily intake levels of less than 10,000 IU.
Low dietary intake and limited sun exposure have led to an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D plays many essential roles, including enhancing calcium absorption, contributing to healthy bones, supporting immune function, reducing inflammation and helping to fight cancer. Vitamin D also shows promise in preventing both type I and type II diabetes. Finally, vitamin D may also help alleviate seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression experienced during winter months due to decreased sunlight. Here’s to your health!
Dr Lisa Benest is a medical and cosmetic dermatologist in Burbank. She and her staff provide comprehensive skin examinations as well as an array of non-invasive, cosmetic procedures and offer a full line of skin care products. To learn more about skin rejuvenation as well as the most up-to-date lasers, schedule a a free consultation with our skin care specialist!. Check out our website for a complete list of all our treatments.
Dr Lisa Benest can be reached at:
1624 W. Olive Ave #B
Burbank, CA 91506
818-729-9149
www.lisabenestmd.com
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