Thermographic Diagnostic Imaging
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Sunlight, Supplementation
and Sun Screen

       

Guilty as charged. I am, by my own admission, a sun worshiper; I have been ever since I can remember. As a child I remember wondering how God could be everywhere at once. How could God hear my prayers in New Jersey and another child's prayers in China. I pondered this question long and hard, all through the summer of my 10th year.  One day while floating around in a swimming pool I could feel the sun's rays all over me. I reasoned, quite logically in my child's mind, that the sun's rays touched everyone, everywhere, in all four corners of the world. I also reasoned that the sun creates and sustains life. Voila!! I had the answer; the sun must be God! I had just solved the world's greatest mystery (lol), I was very satisfied with my conclusion and all these years later my love affair with God and the sun has not waned. Despite all the negative press the sun gets, I still spend as much time outside as I can; it keeps my battery charged and is essential to my well-being. 

 

 I wonder when the sun became something we should be afraid of?  Why would humans have the ability to generate a healthy vitamin (D) from sunlight if we weren't supposed to be exposed to sunlight in the first place?  Almost all life on earth is dependent on sunlight for survival.  If you believe the media, Vitamin D deficiency is epidemic. What part, if any, does the sunscreen and cancer industry play in creating such fear around being out in the sun?    

 

Happy Sunning, 

   Liesha
  
15 Facts You Probably Never Knew About 
Vitamin D and Sunlight Exposure 
  1. Vitamin D prevents osteoporosis, depression, prostate cancer and breast cancer, autoimmune disease and even affects diabetes and obesity. Vitamin D is perhaps the single most underrated nutrient in the world of nutrition. That's probably because it's free; your body makes it when sunlight touches your skin. Truth is, most people don't know the real story on vitamin D and health.
  2. Vitamin D is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from natural sunlight.
  3. 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.
  4. It is nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from your diet. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate vitamin D in your own body. Our bodies can produce vitamin D on their own when exposed to sunlight but the skin must be free of sunscreen, sun blocks and clothing, which all interfere with the process.
  5. A person would have to drink 10 tall glasses of vitamin D fortified milk each day just to get minimum levels of vitamin D into their diet.
  6. The farther you live from the equator, the longer the exposure you need to the sun in order to generate vitamin D. Canada, the UK and most US states are far from the equator.
  7. People with dark skin pigmentation may need 20 to 30 times as much exposure to sunlight as fair-skinned people to generate the same amount of vitamin D. 
  8. 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.
  9. Chronic vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed overnight; it takes months of vitamin D supplementation and sunlight exposure to rebuild the body's bones and nervous system.
  10. Even weak sunscreens (SPF 8) block your body's ability to generate vitamin D by 95%. Sunscreen products can actually cause disease by creating vitamin deficiency in the body.  Also the toxic chemical ingredients used in most sunscreen products are actually carcinogenic and have never been safety tested or safety approved by the FDA.
  11. 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.
  12. If it hurts to press firmly on your sternum, you may be suffering from chronic vitamin D deficiency right now.
  13. Vitamin D is activated in your body by your kidneys and liver before it can be used. '
  14. Having kidney disease or liver damage can greatly impair your body's ability to activate circulating vitamin D.
  15. Even though vitamin D is one of the most powerful healing chemicals in your body, your body makes it absolutely free. No prescription required.
Integrative Nutrition, 2010.
Adapted from " The healing power of sunlight and vitamin D: An exclusive interview with Dr. Michael Holick," by Mike Adams

The sunscreen myth:How sunscreen products actually promote cancer.
by Mike Adams, The Health Ranger
 Naturalnews.com June 15, 2007

  


Vitamin D- Sunlight or Supplementation?
Vitamin D is a fat soluble nutrient that plays a key role in almost all of our physiological functions. As an immune system regulator, vitamin D is absolutely vital to vibrant health. It is the only vitamin your body makes itself (and is actually a hormone). There are many forms of vitamin D, the two most common types are vitamin D3 and D2.   Although sunlight is one source of vitamin D, there are very few individuals who get enough sun exposure to reap the benefits that lead to adequate levels of vitamin D.

How can we get vitamin D? 

Exposing your body to sunlight is the simplest way to get vitamin D-your body makes it naturally. However, the amount of sun you need to meet your vitamin D requirements varies, depending on your geographic location, the season, your skin type, the time of day, air pollution, body parts exposed, and age.

 

While some experts say exposure to the sun is enough, others say that the sun is not reliable and they recommend supplementation.  However most experts agree that your Vitamin D level should be checked at least once a year.  The correct blood test is

25 (OH) D, which is the best marker for the measurement of Vitamin D levels in the body. 

 

Healthy Sun Practices 

Spending 3-15 minutes outdoors for light skinned individuals and 15-30 minutes outdoors for darker skin tones in midday, unobstructed sun with 40% of your skin exposed will provide most people with a protective vitamin D level (up to 50,000 IU of vitamin D in the next 24 hours). The Reference Daily Intake(RDI) however, is only 200-600 IU of vitamin D per day.
Studies suggest 2000 IU per day to have a protective effect, which can be delivered by regular sun exposure.

  

If you are supplementing Vitamin D, how much should you take? 

According to the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Institute of Health office of Dietary Supplements the following is the recommended dosage of Vitamin D per day :    

Birth to 13 years -  200 IU (International Units)   

19-50 years  - 200 IU

51-70 - 400 IU  

71 + years - 600 IU 

 

According to research published by Dr. Mercola on July 7, 2014, "many experts agree that 35 IUs of vitamin D per pound of body weight could be used as an estimate for your ideal dose." 

 

If you are supplemeting with Vitamin D make sure you are taking a good quality supplement.  Experts in the field have recommend that you take Vitamin D as D3 as well as taking Vitamin K2.  The recommended ratio is that for every 1000 IU's of Vitamin D you should take 100 to 200 Micro Grams of Vitamin K2.  The biological role of K2 is to help move calcium into the proper areas of your body and remove calcium from areas where it shouldn't be.   

 


 
Here are two devices that might help you monitor your Vitamin D and Ultra Violet Radiation:

1. There is a smart phone app called DMinder (dminder.info) that tells you how much UV radiation you are getting and how many IUs of Vitamin D you are making and it will also tell you when to get out of the sun to protect yourself from sunburn.
2. UVA+BSunFriend - a wrist band that monitors exposure to UV rays allowing users to soak up the sunlight needed to make Vitamin D without getting burned and without the need for sunscreen.

 
Here are some resources where you can find current information regarding Vitamin D supplementation.

Dr.Mercola
Naturalnews.com



Are you curious as to how your sunscreen ingredients rate?
 Check out the Environmental Working Group page.
Once you click on this link it will take you directly to the sunscreen page.
Once there, type your sunscreen name into the search box.
You can filter your results or scroll down and look for your specific sunscreen.
Also if you click on the number to the right of your sunscreen it will tell you what that number means specifically.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) lists the following chemicals in sunscreens as being toxic.
1. Oxybenzone
2.Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A Palmitate)
3. Fragrance (to include but not limited to Parabens, Phthalates and Synthetic Musks.

The EWG also listed the following top- selling sunscreen brands as being on the most toxic list:
Neutrogena, Rite Aid Brand, Walgreen"Well" brand, Target's " UP and UP brand" and Coppertone.

I love Dr. Mercola's 5 Top  Sunshine Tips and I follow all of them.

1. Give your body a chance to produce Vitamin D; expose large amounts of skin (at least 40% of your body) to sunlight for short periods daily.
2. When you will be in the sun for longer periods, cover up with clothing, a hat, long sleeves, or shade (get under an umbrella). A safe sunscreen can be applied after you have optimized your daily Vitamin D production.
3. Shield your face from the sun daily using a safe sunscreen or a hat as your facial skin is thin and more prone to sun damage like premature wrinkling.
4. Consider the use of an internal sunscreen like "Astaxanthin"( I love this product) to offer additional protection against sun damage. I also ingest and put organic virgin coconut oil on my skin.
5. Consuming a healthy diet full of natural antioxidants is another incredibly useful strategy to help avoid sun damage to your skin.

You can read this article in its entirety at Mercola.com, June 4, 2014
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