Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.
As the summer is winding down, do you fear that you’ve been
in the sun too much? Is there such a
thing as too much sun exposure over time?
Every time you read about summer
fun and outdoor activities, the professional criers warn you about the
disastrous effects of sun exposure. Most people, when asked, will say the sun
is bad for you, it causes skin cancer, sunburns and gives you leather looking
skin. Should you avoid the sun? Does it really cause cancer? What are the risks
and benefits of sun exposure?
For the past half century, dermatologists have promoted the
idea that you should never expose your skin to direct sunlight because it
damages your skin and causes cancer. Does it really? Actually the answer is
yes…BUT. The skin cancer melanoma is what they are talking about. Over the top
sun exposure does damage skin and increases the risk of melanoma, but that does
not mean avoiding as much sun as possible is good for you.
What they fail to acknowledge and appreciate about a good
amount of sun exposure are the many other beneficial biological processes, not
just vitamin D production. Sure you can take oral vitamin D (as you should,
especially from September to May), but it is clearly inferior to sunlight
exposure.
Sunlight increases protection against many internal cancers
and other chronic diseases, like heart disease, that kills far more people than
melanoma. Ironically, vitamin D also increases survival outcomes for those with
melanoma. It is important for cognitive health, immune function, pregnancy and infant
development, and for strong bones. Just 15 minutes a day helps the body produce
the vitamin D it needs to absorb calcium for bone growth and heart health.
Research has shown that when the sun hits your skin, nitric
oxide is produced and released into the bloodstream. Nitric oxide is a blood
pressure lowering compound. This means sun exposure prolongs life by
significantly reducing your risk of dying from stroke or heart attack. In the real world, your risk of dying from
stroke or heart attack is 80 times higher than melanoma. A little perspective
that shows the sun is doing more good than harm.
Here is another perspective showing the suns benefits:
nonsmokers who avoided the sun had a similar life expectancy to actual smokers.
This means avoiding the sun has a risk factor similar to smoking.
While it is true that sun overexposure, especially when you
burn, contributes to skin cancer, the message to avoid the sun is fully
misguided and dangerous to your good health. The more we learn about vitamin D
and it’s benefits, the more we consider sun exposure necessary and vital.
There are many types of sun rays, but UVA and UVB are the
most abundant. The UVA rays are the ones that do the most damage to skin, but
they also help modulate your immune system. UVB radiation is the one
responsible for vitamin D production.
Tanning beds with UVB bulbs are excellent for use over winter. Typically, commercial tanning beds exclusively
have UVA bulbs that make you brown, but don’t do much for vitamin D
production. Therefore, most tanning beds
are not healthy for you, and do contribute to skin cancer issues since there
are no UVB rays.
Some reasonable tips on sun exposure include the following
guidelines: Don’t burn, ever; build up
your tolerance to direct sunlight over time; expose as much skin as possible,
not just your head and arms; the best time to get sun is close to solar noon,
or from about 10 to 3 around here. You want to aim for 15 to 30 minutes of
direct sun exposure without any sunscreen. After that, simply do what you need
to do to keep from burning, whether that is organic sunscreen , adding clothing
or seeking shaded areas.
Don’t be afraid of the sun. The benefits of sunlight far
outweigh the risk of harm. Enjoy the coming summer weather and use the sun to
stay healthy.