This is part 2 of 3 in the Sunshine Series. Part 1 is here.
There is a reason that John Denver said “Sunshine on my shoulders, makes me happy”! That reason is that he was getting a lot of sunshine in Colorado, and it was in fact making him happy. If any of you remember him then you know he usually had a pretty good tan going so it is doubtful that he was wearing any sunscreen, which might not have made him happy.
After doing some research I’ve found that sunlight does not contain Vitamin D, but rather your body creates it in response to direct sunlight. Too much Vitamin D won’t hurt you, but too much sun exposure will. By taking Vitamin D supplements your body can build it up so that you are able to go through periods of time without it. It is not uncommon to see vitamins or supplements with RDA % amounts in the hundreds or thousands range for Vitamin D and some others. This study goes into further detail on how much is really needed, and how much is too much.
It does appear that sunscreen can block the rays your body needs to produce the Vitamin D making reaction. Also interesting is that it seems people with darker pigmented skin have less capability of producing Vitamin D from natural sunlight. This leads some researchers to speculate that might be a cause for higher rates of certain types of cancer in African Americans. With all of these concerns some doctors are now advocating some sunshine without sun protection, and even indoor tanning.
I’ve lived in and experienced firsthand three different types of sun worshipping cultures in the U.S. so I find the tanning salon trend very alarming. I grew up in Florida where people rarely wear sun protection. When I was a teenager my tan was so dark that you might think I was Seminole Indian. Today I’m very fair skinned, and when I visit Florida my relatives always ask me why I look so pale. I still have huge sunspots on my shoulders and crow’s feet around my eyes as reminders of my past growing up in the Sunshine State.
Me skimboarding when I was 15, my sister in the foreground was also overly tan.
When I moved to Texas I was appalled at all the people walking around with orange unnatural looking tans that made them look as if they just jumped out of a microwave oven. The source of these unsightly tans was tanning booths or spray can tans, both of which are undoubtedly unhealthy. It was not uncommon to see orange stains on people shirts around the sleeves and neckline from the fake spray on tans that make you look like Hulk Hogan. To get an idea of the tanning disaster I’m talking about take a look at these celebrity tan disasters. Although there are plenty of places to get sunshine in Texas very few people venture outdoors in the searing heat, and outdoor activities simply aren’t popular in the Lone Star Shopping Mall State. This is where the all too convenient tanning beds come in. People in Texas are very concerned with material things I observed, and looks are one of those material things. Ironically Texans eat so much that they are considered of the most overweight states in the union, go figure?
After Texas I moved to Colorado where I quickly adopted the Rocky Mountain active outdoor lifestyle in order to enjoy the 300 days of sunshine per year. After an incident of skiing without sunscreen I came home looking like the Human Torch. Thereafter I always wore a sunhat and sunscreen whenever I went outdoors. However, many of my fellow Coloradoans did not. I knew many people who were very fit and healthy looking, but otherwise looked 20 years older due to over-wrinkled leathery skin. This was mostly a result from sun exposure at higher altitude, and to some degree the arid weather. If you feel wearing sunscreen is an inconvenience then consider wearing a sun hat to protect your face where the skin is most sensitive and susceptible to wrinkles. Case in point, I actually know a guy in Colorado that had to have a melonomia spot surgically removed from his face, and he was still in his 20’s.
So the point I’m trying to make with my abbreviated autobiography is that with a deteriorating Ozone Layer skin cancer has become a much bigger problem than it ever was in the past. Despite the fact that getting fresh sunshine without sun protection will help your body produce Vitamin D, I would not recommend it. Instead Mulder and I both recommend getting out in the sun with protection, and enjoy the psychological benefits that sunshine gives you. There is no need to fry yourself under UV rays to get your Vitamin D when you can just take sunshine in a pill. If any of you decide to try popping a pill to kick the winter blues be sure to come back and leave a comment to let me know how it works out for you. As for what kind of sunscreen to use, Charlotte will enlighten us on that topic in part III of the Sunshine Series.
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