Is the sun harmful or helpful?

Is the sun harmful or helpful? Warmer weather increases our sun exposure. Discussing the topic of sun exposure is controversial because skin cancer continues to be an ongoing problem. Experts agree that over-exposure to the sun via the burning of the skin is a catalyst for many skin issues but the sun can be beneficial to the body because of vitamin D3. Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin. Vitamin D is created in the body by the sunlight’s radiation on the skin. D3 affects the immune system. Vitamin D3 improves the effectiveness of the immune system and is known to help the body prevent viruses. Also, vitamin D3 decreases the risk of certain cancers. Conversely, our immune system is weaker when less Vitamin D is available in the colder months. The body becomes susceptible to the flu and other viruses. How do we balance our sun exposure to get the proper amount of vitamin D without increasing our risk of skin cancer? The body needs sun exposure for optimum health. The sun’s rays need to hit the body to create vitamin D. There is a way to do this without increasing your risk of skin cancer. In warmer months, healthy sun exposure is slowly introducing your skin to the sun rays. Initially, the body’s unprotected sun exposure should be about ten minutes. Allowing most of your body to be exposed can increase the production of Vitamin D. After a few days of ten-minute sun exposure, you can gradually increase your exposure time to 20 minutes of unprotected sun. Twenty minutes a day is enough time to get the full health benefits of the sun without damaging the skin. After twenty minutes, protect your body from further exposure. Put on your layers, sit under an umbrella or add sunblock with a minimum SPF of 30. You must understand what sunblock you are using, as MOST sunblock contain harmful chemicals that your skin absorbs, increasing your risk of skin cancer. Seek to buy safe sunblock with 100% natural or organic ingredients. Look for zinc oxide, the safest and most natural ingredient in sunblock. Lastly, recent research shows vitamins may help the skin prevent sun-related skin cancer. Studies show that people who consume turmeric daily have a lower risk of skin cancer. Lastly, as reported recently in the news, niacinamide (a form of vitamin B3) decreases the risk of skin cancer. One study showed that people who have had skin cancer treatments were less likely to have reoccurrences of skin cancer while taking daily doses of niacinamide. As most of you have heard me say in the past, EAT WELL… MOVE WELL… THINK WELL…