The summer season is here again! Some seek the sun and bask in its warmth, while others cover themselves or lock themselves indoors to avoid it.
The recent scare about skin cancer caused by overexposure to ultraviolet sunrays made stormy news, but is it justifiable to shield yourself totally from the sun? Let us review some important facts about the sun and its power on the human body and our surrounding in order to reap its benefits and shun its harmful effects.
The Sun is energy, warmth, light, and life for humans, fauna, and flora. Our mere existence revolves around it. Without the Sun, life on Earth would not be possible and the Earth would be freezing and bathed in absolute darkness. The Sun gives plants their green color, chlorophyll, and delivers energy to them in order to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugar, producing nutrients for themselves as well as for us humans and other beings like animals, and insects.
The Sun for human beings works in an interesting way. The Sun adjusts our "biological clock." When direct or indirect sunlight hits our eyes in the morning, the body reacts by waking up and the brain becomes alert; thus our day starts. Other functions like the digestive and circulatory systems follow this arousal. Without light, sleep gets disturbed and body systems disrupted. That is not all!
Direct sunrays are important for the body to make vitamin D, a nutrient that helps calcium build bones and teeth; maintain skin, nerves, muscles, and heart health; suppress inflammatory substances that lead to heart and vascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, and cancer; and regulate the thyroid functions. How does that happen?
As sunbeams touch the skin, chemicals are synthesized and the liver and kidneys convert them into active vitamin D. The body takes its need from it and stores the rest for the sunless season. Sunrays and heat offer other benefits like destroying microbes and germs, hence protecting us for pathogens.
Twenty to thirty minutes of exposure to the cool morning or late afternoon sun is sufficient for vitamin D synthesis, but regular overexposure to midday strong ultraviolet rays can be harmful and damaging to skin and health.
Certain factors can obstruct sunlight from reaching us, robbing us of benefits. They are sunless cold climates, clouds, smog, fog, thick fabrics, glass windows, and sunscreens, which filter out or block ultraviolet rays, which help vitamin D synthesis. Darker skin filters out much of the ultraviolet rays, making it more susceptible to D deficiency and osteoporosis. With advancing age, the skin becomes less and less efficient at synthesizing D, making the elderly deficient in the nutrient.
On the other hand, overexposure to ultraviolet rays lead to skin damage, premature aging, sunburn, sunstroke, dehydration, painful skin eruptions, sunspots, and skin cancer. Of course, sunscreens with sun protection factor (SPF) higher than 15 and a lip balm block out much of the harmful rays, but it is paramount to keep out of direct midday sun and wear a hat and light clothes even when it is cloudy. Ultraviolet rays penetrate clouds. When the sun is cool, olive oil can act as a sun-block. Beware of sun-blocks made of nano-particles of metal oxides, which penetrate living cells, creating free radicals that disrupt cell DNA. Look in the Internet for natural or at least less offensive products for you and your children.
If you are a sun lover, protect yourself with the following methods; check your skin for lesions and changing moles; avoid the strong blistering sun; stay under a parasol on the beach or in the shade; drink plenty of water: protect your skin with sunscreens; use water-repellent sun-block when you are swimming; keep your head covered; and stop before reaching the grilling point. Apply a high SPF sunscreen if you have to be exposed to the sun.
You should be extra careful with children; their skin is very delicate. They should be protected from midday sun on the beach. Water magnifies the reflection of the sun. Their skins are delicate and burn much faster than adults. A strong sun-screen should be applied on their bodies and faces to avoid sunburns and their heads should be covered to prevent sunstroke. Taking a dip in the water every now and then reduces the sun's heat.
Expats should take extreme caution when exposing their skin to the Arabian sun. Though tempting, it can be very harsh on fair skin and harmful to light colored eyes. I have seen a European woman in her thirties tan herself to a very dark brown color. Her skin became leathery and wrinkled beyond her age. She was flaunting her tan. A couple years later, I heard she developed skin cancer. Remember, the sun dehydrates and ages skin prematurely and ultraviolet rays increase the risk of cancer
We, in Arabia, are blessed with an ever-shining sun, but we have such a fear of it and its heat that we do not allow the sun to touch our skin. We are constantly indoors and remain deprived of the sun's benefits. We are locked in our homes, offices, shopping malls, or restaurants all day long, and when we venture outdoors, we are entirely covered or when it is dark. As a result, we have become unknowingly vitamin D deficient and exposed to many illnesses including breast, prostate, and colon cancers. And, we keep wondering why disease is on the rise!
It is hypothesized that the reason behind the spread of the flu in the autumn and winter seasons is the insufficiency of sunlight, a germ-destroyer and vitamin D provider. Vitamin D is a protector against viruses and disease. D deficient individuals become more susceptible to catching colds and flus, adding to winter epidemics. In order to protect ourselves against diseases and to slow down the prevalence of the recent H1N1 swine flu virus, we should start exposing ourselves to the sun as early as September and all through winter.
Like all good things, a little can offer many benefits, whereas, too much can become detrimental to health. We should exercise caution and moderation to reap the bonuses our Sun offers. We should not deprive our skin, bones, and health from its wonderful effects. Bask in the early morning or late afternoon sun for just twenty minutes, but remember to stop before you start roasting!
