You Need Sun! 10 Healthy Tips to Get It

For the last 30 years or so, doctors (dermatologists in particular), health officials, beauty experts and many product companies have been demonizing the sun. They’ve told us to avoid it because without sunscreen, exposure to the sun’s rays will damage skin and cause cancer.

But this oversimplification distorts the facts. In the past few years, numerous studies have shown that optimizing your vitamin D levels may actually help prevent as many as 16 different types of cancer including pancreatic, lung, breast, ovarian, prostate and colon cancers. And the best way to optimize Vitamin D levels is through safe, smart and limited sunscreen-free exposure to the sun.

For hundreds of thousands of years, man has lived with the sun: Our ancestors were outdoors far more often than indoors. We developed a dependence on sunshine for health and life, so the idea that sunlight is dangerous does not make sense. How could we have evolved and survived as a species, if we were that vulnerable to something humans have been constantly exposed to for their entire existence? Is it possible that our bodies are made in such a way that the sun is really a lethal enemy?

Not in my opinion. Like all living things, we need sunshine, and it feels good for a reason. Much as plants harness the sun’s rays through photosynthesis, our bodies use sunlight to help the skin produce the vitamin D it needs to build bones, quell inflammation, bolster the immune system and protect against cancer (including skin cancer).

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Past Member .

9:32AM PDT on May 22, 2011

thanks! i love when health science meets what should be common sense.. and what only seems logical. me natural. sun natural. building and sunscreen manmade.

lately i've been lying out in the sun often (for vitamin D) and then - go figure - my depression lifted and i started sleeping better. i say avoid the sun at its harshest (indoors or find a shady tree) and by all means avoid sunburns (even if it's for no other reason than that, ouch! it hurts) but definitely get sunshine!!

send a green star

Martha N.

4:14PM PDT on May 21, 2011

Thanks

Maira S.

6:08AM PDT on Mar 24, 2011

Gracias!

4:43AM PST on Jan 11, 2011

Also, it's great that some people don't burn and have good metabolisms, but this simply doesn't apply to everyone: I have friends who are very healthy apart from their sun allergies; they cannot wear short sleeves in the summer and should they walk around with no sunscreen they end up severely burnt or worse in a matter of 15-20 minutes...

4:40AM PST on Jan 11, 2011

Very interesting, but I don't think it applies where I leave: people get too much sun rather than too little and spend hours sunbathing with no lotion or very weak filters, because higher than 8/12 tend to be very expensive.

Magg W.

9:53PM PST on Jan 7, 2011

This was a great article. I've always hated wearing sunscreen (it feels gross on the skin, particularly when mixed with perspiration and salt water!) but love being in the sun.
I've read brazil nuts are supposed to be a great antidote for over exposure and can help reduce the risk of skin cancer. Is this true?

Eva O.

12:26AM PDT on Oct 29, 2010

Thank you very much for this insightful article! I always try to spend at least 60 minutes outside each day - especially in the less sunny months - and try to replenish possible Vitamin D shortages with healthy Vitamin-D-rich foods :)

Belinda J.

5:18PM PDT on Oct 28, 2010

I thought this was a really great article! Thankyou very much!!

Sanja T.

1:11PM PDT on Aug 12, 2010

thanks...

Melody N.

7:41PM PDT on Jul 27, 2010

Thank you for this interesting post.