Page 4 - Senior Times South Central Michigan - July 2019 - 26-07

Page 4 Senior Times - July 2019
SUMMERTIME HEALTH & SAFETY
By: Sherii Sherban, Publisher
Summertime opens up an entirely new set of opportunities to enjoy the grandchildren. It also has great health benefits. It has been said that the sun is one of the best sources of vitamin D for your body. It is often called the “sunshine vitamin” and summertime provides a wonderful opportunity to soak it in.
Vitamin D is essential for optimal health and maintaining strong and healthy bones. Vitamin D is produced from cholesterol when your skin is exposed to sunlight.
all you need to achieve the desired outcome. It is perfectly fine to wear sunglasses or a hat to protect your eyes and face.
much as 95-98%. Others have shown that wear- ing sunscreen only has a small impact on levels during the summer months in particular. One possible explanation is that we spend longer periods of time outdoors, even while wearing sunscreen, allowing for enough vitamin D to
Preventing burning of the skin is an import- ant consideration as well. If you plan to be out more than 10-30 minutes then sunscreen can be a valuable tool, but a delayed application of the same 10-30 minutes may yield the best vitamin D results according to some.
be produced in the skin. More research is being pursued to determine what is best as it relates to sunscreen.
A lack of vitamin D, however, can lead to severe health consequences such as osteoporo- sis, cancer, depression, muscle weakness, and even death.
The challenge with timing is that most peo- ple wear sunscreen in order to protect the skin against sunburn and skin cancer. Sunscreen is designed to reflect, absorb, or scatter sunlight. Consequently, your skin may not be able to allow for the vitamin D reaction that you are after.
The best time to head out is actually around midday because the sun is at its highest point, and UVB rays are most intense. Basically that means you need to spend less time in the sun
to make sufficient vitamin D. In fact, spending 15 minutes or less in the sun around midday at least three times a week may be all you need for lighter-skinned adults during the summertime.
In order for the sunlight to impact the choles- terol in the skin to create the vitamin D, the skin does need to be exposed. The UVB rays do not work the same through a glass window so going outside is important. Furthermore, scientists have suggested that as much as one-third of the area of you skin should be exposed for the best results. Wearing a tank top and shorts might be
Studies are all over the place trying to decide how sunscreen impacts the absorption of Vitamin D but longitudinally, there is just not enough accuracy to say one way or the other. When in doubt, follow caution and ask your physician what is best for you.
Darker-skinned individuals have more mel- anin and thus have the advantage of greater protection against damage from excess sunlight. The melanin acts as a natural sunscreen and absorbs the sun’s rays to defend against sunburn and skin cancers. Consequently, the person with more melanin in their skin will need to spend more time in the sun for the same vitamin D
As an example, some studies have estimated that sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or more can reduce vitamin D production in the body by as
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