Heliotherapy…The Positive Effects of the Sun
We all know that the sun can make us feel happier and more relaxed. Hundreds of studies now link sufficient Vitamin D with overall health and disease prevention. Below we have provided some information on this and the sources of this information.
Vitamin D production is one of the benefits that has been associated with human exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) emitted in sunlight and by an estimated 90 percent of commercial indoor tanning equipment. While the North American indoor tanning industry conducts indoor tanning as a cosmetic service, an undeniable physiological side effect of this service is that indoor tanning clients manufacture sufficient levels of vitamin D as a result of indoor tanning sessions.
Vitamin D is a hormone produced naturally when skin is exposed to UVB in sunlight or indoor tanning units. Scientists through thousands of studies now recommend vitamin D blood levels of 40-60 ng/ml. Only those who get regular UV exposure have those levels naturally:
Indoor Tanners………………………42-49 ng/ml………………………Sufficient
Non-Tanners…………………………..23-25 ng/ml………………………Deficient
Dermatologists………………………13-14 ng/ml………………………Severe Deficiency
Vitamin D sufficiency is linked to a reduction in 105 diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and most forms of cancer. It is believed that vitamin D deficiency contributes to nearly 400,000 premature deaths and adds a $100 billion burden to our health care system.
77 percent of Americans are considered vitamin D deficient according to government data and overzealous sun avoidance is the only plausible explanation for the 50 percent increase in that figure in the past 15 years.
The indoor tanning industry believes that, for those individuals who can develop tans, the cosmetic and vitamin D-related benefits of non-burning exposure to ultraviolet light in appropriate moderation outweigh the easily manageable risks associated with overexposure and sunburn. Many doctors agree: “I believe the health benefits of exposure to UVA and UVB rays greatly outweigh the disadvantages, even if that means using a sunbed during winter months.” -British Oncologist Dr. Tim Oliver
See more at: http://tanningtruth.com
Optimal Vitamin D levels (100 – 150 nmol/L) play a positive role in making sure that your body functions the way it was developed. There are Vitamin D Receptors (VDR) located in tissue throughout your body and in all the major organs. Vitamin D interacts with over 3,000 genes.
The benefit of an adequate vitamin D level to each individual will be better overall health and a reduction of illnesses. In addition to rickets, bone disease and osteomalacia/osteoporosis, vitamin D insufficiency is associated with many other diseases including: tuberculosis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, type-1 diabetes, high blood pressure, increased heart failure, myopathy, breast and other cancers. It is projected that the incidence of many of these diseases could be reduced by 20%-50% or more, if the occurrence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were eradicated by increasing vitamin D intakes through increased UVB exposure, fortified foods or supplements.
Scientists’ Call to D*action, endorsed by over 40 vitamin D Scientists (2011)
Michael F. Holick, Ph.D., M.D.
A summary of the health benefits and disease incidence prevention
that could be achieved by raising the public’s vitamin D levels to 125 nmol/L:
Holick, Michael F., PhD., M.D., Boston University School of Medicine,
textbook – Physiology, Molecular Biology, and Clinical Applications
(2nd Ed 2010 Humana Press). Page 12
Dr. William Grant released a study in 2010 which estimated that if
Canadians raised their vitamin D blood levels to105 nmol/L it would
prevent 37,000 deaths and save $14B in associated healthcare costs.
Grant 2010 – An estimate of the economic burden and premature deaths due to vitamin D deficiency in Canada
Source of above section: http://www.vitamindsociety.org/benefits.php
Sunlight = Vitamin D: Humans make 90 percent of their vitamin D naturally through sun exposure to the skin (without sunscreen). In Canada‚ our northern climate means UVB levels in sunlight are too weak 4-6 months of the year to make any vitamin D naturally.
What is the intended, natural level of vitamin D that the human body was designed to operate with?
Humans evolved in the horn of Africa, close to the Equator over 30,000 years ago. They spent their days out in the full sun, with no clothing, hunting and gathering food. Their skin pigment evolved and protected them from sun burns and allowed the production of vitamin D through the skin. Nature never intended for humans to live and work indoors, in cubicles, without sunshine exposure.
Non-Human Primates: 125 – 200 nmol/L
Vieth 2004 – Why the optimal requirement for Vitamin D3 is probably much higher than what is officially recommended for adults
Maasai and Hadzabe, Tanzania: 115 nmol/L
Luxwolda 2012 – Traditionally living populations in East Africa have a mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration of 115 nmol/L
Outdoor Workers – Lifeguards: 163 nmol/L
Haddad 1971 – Competitive protein-binding radioassay for 25-hydroxycholecalciferol
Outdoor Workers – Puerto Rico Farmers:135 nmol/L
Haddock 1982 – 25(OH)D serum levels in normal Puerto Rican population and its subjects with tropical sprue and parathyroid disease
Outdoor Workers – Nebraska: 122 nmol/L
Barger-Lux, Heaney 2002 – Effects of above average summer sun exposure on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and calcium absorption
Indoor Tanners: 95 nmol/L
Schwalfenberg 2010 – Addressing vitamin D deficiency in Canada: A public health innovation whose time has come
Average Canadian: 68 nmol/L
Statistics Canada – Langlois 2010 – Vitamin D status of Canadians as measured in the 2007 to 2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey
Dermatologists: 35 nmol/L
Czarnecki 2009 – The vitamin D status of Australian Dermatologists
Grassroots Health and over 40 Vitamin D Scientists recommend achieving an optimal Vitamin D level for disease prevention of 100-150 nmol/L using a 25(OH)D blood test. This is the natural levels that the human body had as it evolved over thousands of years. Everyone should have their vitamin D 25(OH)D blood serum levels tested and make sure they are within these guidelines.
UVB Exposure
Natural Sunlight – 10,000 – 20,000 IU per day, in summer, 10am – 2pm
Tanning Bed with UVB – 10,000 IU per session
Food
Salmon – fresh, wild, 3.5 oz – 400 – 1000 IU
Salmon – farmed, 3.5 oz – 100 – 250 IU
Fortified Milk – 8 oz – 100 IU
Supplements
Vitamin D3 – from 400 – 1,000 IU in tablets or liquid
Your skin is designed to tan as a natural bodily function! And it’s by far the best way to ensure perfect amounts of vitamin D, and achieve a wonderful healthful radiant glow.
The truth is that the benefits of ultraviolet light have been underestimated while its dangers have been grossly exaggerated.
A suntan is an evolutionary device; it protects against burning. A suntan is just a sign of increased pigment – melanin – in the skin and is a natural biological response to the sun, not a sign of skin damage.
Advice to avoid sun should be lifted! Such advice is “draconian and unnecessary”
Sun avoidance will increase cancer risks.
Vitamin D deficiency is linked to increased number of cases and deaths from thirteen major cancers such as: breast, colon, prostate, ovarian and others.
30,000 US cancer deaths yearly would be averted by the widespread adoption of regular, moderate sun exposure.
There is a Canada-wide epidemic of Vitamin D deficiency We get 90% of our Vitamin D requirements from exposure to ultraviolet light.
97% of Canadians are Vitamin D deficient for part of each year, and 30% of us are chronically deficient all year long.
Vitamin D deficiency is linked to higher incidences of Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases.
Vitamin D supplements are poor substitutes for sunlight.