BALANCE your life in the Sun!!

THE EXTREME NO-SUN-EXPOSURE PRESCRIPTION

by Dr.Perricone


For years I have recommended that people have no unprotected sun
exposure, as have all of my colleagues in dermatology. This
recommendation was made because of the pro-inflammatory,
photo-aging, and cancer-causing effects of ultraviolet light. If
the skin is the only organ we are concerned with, this is good
advice, but dermatologists, like other subspecialists, can often
fail to see the implications of treating a single organ system at
the expense of other vital organs.

We now know that vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, is produced by
sunlight on the skin. It is then absorbed and circulated in the
bloodstream. Vitamin D is stored mainly in the liver and must be
processed by the liver and kidneys before it is converted to the
active form.

Vitamin D is also present in cold-water fish, another good reason
to consume that delicious piece of salmon. Dietary sources of
vitamin D are often inadequate to meet our minimum needs, and
this is now resulting in an epidemic of subchronic vitamin D
deficiency diseases.

Vitamin D is known to enhance all vital organs and reduce the
risk of all forms of cancer throughout the body. Scientists now
recognize that low vitamin D levels increase the risk of
cardiovascular disease and mental depression, as well as the
obvious disease, osteoporosis. Laboratory tests are revealing
very low levels of vitamin D in adults, increasing our risk for
multiple age-related diseases. Supplementation with vitamin D
capsules is an unexplored area, and I believe will prove to be
nowhere near as effective or safe as getting vitamin D from sun
exposure. I advise my patients to get moderate amounts of sun
exposure, unprotected by clothing or sunscreens, on a regular
basis. This does not mean sitting in the sun until the skin shows
signs of redness. We can slowly increase our exposure as the
protective melanin in the skin increases with repeated exposure.
Each person is different, so use caution and don't overdo it. The
goal is not to get a suntan or bake in the sun.

For sunbathing to be effective, our skin must contain adequate
natural oils. I recommend not showering or bathing before taking
a therapeutic sunbath. After sunbathing, these oils need to be
absorbed into the skin and to enter the tiny blood vessels called
the dermal vasculature, so the deal is not to shower for at least
eight hours after sun exposure. By following this technique, we
can produce thousands of units of vitamin D that the body can
utilize, without the fear of overdose seen with oral
supplementation.
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WE NOW KNOW THAT THOSE IN NORTHERN COUNTRIES LIKE CANADA DO NOT GET ENOUGH VITAMIN D FROM THE SUN, BECAUSE NOT ENOUGH DAYS WITH SUNSHINE AND WEARING SHORT SLEEVES AND SHORTS ARE AVAILABLE. NOW IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT PEOPLE IN COUNTRIES LIKE CANADA DO TAKE SUPPLIMENTAL VITAMIN D ALL YEAR ROUND. IF ON A NORMAL DIET WHICH INCLUDES MILK AND CHEESE ETC. THEN ABOUT 500 IU IS RECOMMENDED. AFTER AGE 50 AND ESPECIALLY IF NOT GETTING ENOUGH MILK AND CHESSES ETC. THEY SAY ABOUT 1,000 IU DAILY, AND MAYBE MORE.
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