We all know the sun can be damaging. From sunburn to more serious issues, the side effects of prolonged sun exposure are well-known. But what about the benefits? As we’re a positive lot here at Silver, let’s look at some of the health benefits the sun can offer us.

Nourish and repair your skin

Spending time in the sun can increase the production of endorphins in your body. These help with both pain relief and healing. And who doesn’t want a bit of help with that?

We all love to get a good tan. But overexposure to the sun can dry out or even burn your skin if you’re not careful. Overexposure is overexposure – the clue is in the name.

We’ve all spent too long in the sun sometimes, and whilst it’s important to try and avoid that, it’s also good to take time to make repairs. Try a good serum, or a cooling eye gel for puffy eyes.

What the sun can do for you

Being out in the sun can offer countless benefits to your physical and mental health. As we all know, the sun provides us with vitamin D, strengthening our bones and muscles and improving our immunity system. But did you know the sun also increases the production of both serotonin and melatonin in our bodies?

Serotonin energises you for the day ahead and enhances your mood, keeping the sun shining in more ways than one. And after a busy day, melatonin helps you get a good night’s sleep. The sun helps us to balance these chemicals, so if you find yourself feeling sleepier in the darker months, your body may not be producing enough serotonin.

What about the darker months?

As the darker months creep in, your body needs support to keep feeling the sun’s benefits. But how do we top up on sunshine while the sun is away?

1. Adjust your diet

Food is an easy way to increase both vitamin D intake and hormone production. Seafood and mushrooms are both great natural sources of vitamin D.

For a serotonin and melatonin boost, you want foods which are high in tryptophans. High protein foods such as meats, fish and eggs are all excellent sources of this. Fish doubles as a source of vitamin D, so consider adding more seafood to your diet to energise and nurture your body.

2. Keep active

Staying active is always important, especially during the darker months to fight off Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). But you don’t need to hit the gym to feel the benefits of exercise on both your physical and mental health.

Even an hour of light exercise scattered throughout the week can be enough to boost your serotonin levels. So why not take some short walks, especially while the sun is out. Use the sun’s benefits to your full advantage.

3. Take vitamin D tablets

Vitamin D tablets are an easy way to keep your intake up all year round. According to the NHS, the sun alone cannot give us the vitamin D we need throughout autumn and winter. Even in summer, the cloudy British weather can prevent us from fully feeling the health benefits of the sun. If you don’t already, consider taking vitamin D supplements to keep your immune system strong.

4. Try UV lamps

If a lack of sunshine is putting a damper on your life, consider buying a UV lamp. By having your own personal sun, you can receive a much-needed serotonin boost from the comfort of your home.

But be careful. Much like the real sun, UV lamps can cause sunburn if used for too long. Make sure you turn the lamp off regularly to give your body a break from the UV rays.

5. Keep going outside

While there are a lot of ways to experience the sun’s benefits from your own home, nothing beats the real thing. So why not find some time to sit outside or take a walk, and feel the sun’s warmth energise you for the day ahead.

Keep the sun shining

Whether the sun is beaming or tucked behind the clouds, there are always ways to keep the sunshine on your skin. With a little extra effort, you can ensure the sun shines through your mind and body all year round.

But there’s no better way to experience the sun than to go out and let it do its thing. So make the most of the day – head outside and take advantage of all that the sun has to offer.

Aiden Winn

Aiden is an editorial and production staffer at Title Media. He’s constantly looking for opportunities to have fun and get creative, whether it be art, baking, storytelling… you name it!

The post Nourishing your body: the health benefits of the sun appeared first on Silver Magazine.

In recent years, scientists developed a new way of measuring vitamin D levels in the blood, and there has been a stream of studies and trials since. What has been clear is that;

a) more people are low in vitamin D than anyone realised; and…

b) vitamin D deficiency seems to be related to pretty much every disease and condition you can think of.

It’s easy to understand why vitamin D levels might be perilously low in the colder months. You make vitamin D with the help of certain UVB rays from the sun, which then covert a cholesterol-based substance in your skin to vitamin D. This you then absorb into your bloodstream and convert it to other forms in your body. But it’s not just as straightforward as getting a bit of sun.

You can get it from the sun, but it has to be the right sun

To get the right sunrays, the sun needs to be at least 50 degrees above the horizon. Lower than that and they just bounce off the ozone layer back into space. In autumn, winter and early spring, the sun is never high enough in the UK (and similar distances away from the equinox elsewhere in the world). So even on a crisp, sunny winter’s day, you won’t be making any vitamin D on your daily walk or run.

The rest of the year, varying amounts of time in the morning and afternoon are also lacking in vitamin D potential. So again, that pre-work or post-work stroll, run or sea swim won’t do it. The way to tell if the sun is high enough in the sky is to look at your shadow: if it’s shorter than you, then yes, but if it’s longer than you it’s too low.

Even then, there are factors that can get in the way, like sun block, clothing, clouds, pollution, having darker skin… which partly explains why vitamin D deficiency is a problem worldwide, not just in the colder, greyer zones.

How does vitamin D help protect against disease?

There are several mechanisms, and scientists are exploring new ones all the time. For a start, vitamin D blocks a number of inflammation pathways, so can be described as an anti-inflammatory. It also seems to prevent viruses, including Covid-19, from attaching to and entering your cells.

In addition, a form of vitamin D acts at genetic level, helping to stop disease genes from being expressed.

How much vitamin D should you be taking, and can you get it from food?

You can get vitamin D from oily fish, and a little from eggs and mushrooms. However, most health experts are currently suggesting that people supplement with vitamin D3 drops, sprays or tablets.

How much you need depends on your current levels. Your GP may offer you a blood test for this, or you can order bloodspot tests online quite cheaply. These are kits where you prick your finger and send a small sample of blood to be tested.

If the result comes back at around 50-60, this is deemed to be adequate, but not optimal. I would still suggest supplementing. If your test comes back at around 200 or more, then you’re taking too much, so stop!

To address very low levels, you may need to sake around 5000-10000iu vitamin D a day, but if your levels are pretty good, then 1000-2000iu daily should see you through winter. You may want to test periodically to make sure.

Like this article? You may like to read about how to boost your immune system

Do supplements always work?

I often recommend taking a supplement that also contains vitamin K2, as the two work together well. When you increase vitamin D, you also absorb more calcium, and vitamin K2 helps make sure that calcium goes towards strengthening your bones and teeth.

The human body is a complex thing, and sometimes adding in a missing nutrient is not the whole picture. In the case of vitamin D, for example, it will only carry out some of its functions if there are working vitamin D receptors (VDRs) in place. This is unfortunately not always the case, often for genetic reasons. So there is never a guarantee that correcting a deficiency with supplements will do the job.

There is still not enough research to know exactly what extra support needs to be in place. What has increasingly become apparent, though, is the importance of a varied and well-balanced wholefood diet, good hydration, regular exercise and regular practices that help reduce stress.

So don’t give up on good quality supplements – just make sure you’re giving your body the best chance to use them well. And with relation to Covid-19, keep an eye out for the results of a current trial to see if vitamin D supplementation actually works.

Silver Lifestyle – time to get your silver on with our retreats and products

Kirsten Chick

Kirsten Chick is a nutritional therapist and lecturer, and author of Nutrition Brought to Life.

www.kirstenchick.com

The post Should I take vitamin D supplements? appeared first on Silver Magazine.