Summer Fun & Too Much Sun!

Have we gone too far in putting restrictions on the amount of sun we should be exposed to? For years it has been warning after warning; don’t forget a hat, later on SPF, check the UV exposure, pretty much everything shy of wearing a snow suit outdoors! With the rise of skin cancer on the horizon it can be hard to avoid the negative connotations of being outdoors when the sun is up. But there are studies that have been conducted that show that that glowing ball of fire up there isn’t all bad!

In the fitness and health industry we preach everything in moderation and the sun is no exception. The sun provides us with a necessary amount of Vitamin D. We are only able to obtain about 10% of necessary amounts of Vitamin D from our diet. Sun exposure is the only reliable way for humans to generate Vitamin D in our bodies. We need vitamin D to make enzymes and proteins in our body that will help prevent disease and preserve our current health status. The best part is that it doesn’t take much to be beneficial to us. Vitamin D is produced from your skins response to exposure from ultraviolet radiation (UV) from the sun. The best part is that in 20 shorts minutes outdoors tour body will produce 20,000 units of Vitamin D. That is 100 times more than the government recommends per day.

So get up and get out but remember- do not over expose! Enjoy!