303
« on: July 19, 2010, 01:20:12 am »
Sun is extremely important. The darker the skin, the more time a persons should spend in the sun. Fully body exposure is ideal, as this creates the most Vitamin D in the shortest amount of time. It's best to get out when the sun is at it's peak or near, around 9am-3:30PM. I'd say light skinned people should aim for < 1 hour each day and dark skinned people should aim for < 3 hours each day, and in between colored people should aim for in between. I don't think sunscreen is helpful, from my understanding it blocks the UVB rays which are the rays required to produce Vitamin D. I believe there are other nutrients that we get from the sun, currently unknown by modern science, other than vitamin D.
I try to get about 2 hours a day in the sun, but I live in the Midwest, United States. 6 months out of the year here are without sun,and usually cloudy. In the summer I try to get out for at least an hour if not more.
note: sunburn is bad and does damage the body. it's best to avoid sunburn while getting lots of sun exposure. if you have sunburn i don't recommend letting that part of the skin get exposure to sun until it's healed. sometimes i put aloe vera gel on my shoulders because the shoulders get exposed to the sun no matter which direction you're facing, and they are always being shined on by the sun. therefore I am somewhat prone to sensitivity/pink/sunburn on my shoulders, so sometimes i cover my shoulders with a t-shirt(draped around my shoulders only), and the rest of my body never gets burned because I make sure not to spend too much time in the sun either.
Vitamin D has been linked to so many benefits in modern science, including immmune system and cognitive benefits, as well a link to many many diseases...that is, having a higher vitamin D level is associated with lesss disease