By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

It’s summertime and after a long cold winter, it feels so great to get out in the sunshine. But should we fear the sun? Do we need to slather sunscreen all over us or wear long sleeved shirts and hats?

I find it odd to think that back in the days of our hunter/gatherer ancestors, there was no sunscreen, no hats, no umbrellas—nothing. How did they do it?

We actually need the sunlight on our skin for mental, emotional and health reasons. We must have sunlight. It’s essential to our health and wellbeing.

The Health Benefits of Sunlight

Some of the essential benefits sunlight provides include:

• Immune Health—Sunlight actually helps to stimulate our T cells in the skin. T cells destroy pathogens and are an important part of our immune systems.
• Vitamin D—Is a hormone that helps strengthen and modulate our immune system, regulate our sex hormone production, strengthen bones, teeth, protect our heart health, prevent cancer and keeps our genes healthy. The best way to get vitamin D is from the sun–but not if you block UVB (the rays that can burn) rays.
• Nitric Oxide—Helps our blood vessels stay dilated and increases blood flow. It also reduces blood pressure, improves cardiovascular health, and physical performance. Sun increases nitric oxide.
• Circadian Rhythm—Our sleep-wake cycle depends on our circadian rhythms. We need daylight sun and nighttime dark to have a normal sleep-wake cycle. In the daylight, sun triggers serotonin and exposure to sun in the daytime helps our bodies produce melatonin for sound sleep at night.
• Cognitive Function—Since sunlight increases vitamin D production, it has a positive effect on cognitive function—especially in the elderly. Maybe that’s why older folks retire to the Sunbelt.
• Mood–Exposure to sunlight increases the brain’s release of a hormone called serotonin. Serotonin is associated with feeling happy, calm and focused. Low levels of serotonin are associated with a higher risk of depression, especially “Seasonal Affective Disorder” or SAD.

Unfortunately, we’ve been told over and over again to avoid the sun, that the sunlight is dangerous and we should ‘fear’ it. And yes, you can get too much sun. Your skin can get burned or blistered and you can even develop skin cancer from excessive exposure to the sun. So how then, do we get the above benefits of the sun?

The Truth About Sunscreen

Yes, you are correct, getting sunburned is not usually a good thing. This means damage has occurred in your skin and the resulting redness is an inflammatory reaction. A history of blistering sunburns can actually be a predictor of your chances of skin cancer.

However, lifestyle and diet can definitely protect your skin from getting sunburned and can help lessen the damage, including the redness and discomfort of the sunburn.

The sun has two kinds of rays: UVA and UVB. UVB is actually the type that can burn you. Most sunscreens work to block the UVB rays.

However, blocking the UVB rays and just getting UVA rays (the rays that make your skin browner) won’t give many of the health benefits. Vitamin D is actually synthesized the sun’s ultraviolet B (UVB) rays hitting the cholesterol our skin cells, providing the catalyst for vitamin D synthesis to occur.

The trick with sun benefits is to get shorter exposures and build up time in the sun. So that means getting outside but limiting—not avoiding–your exposure to burning rays.

This also means getting real sun, not the kind you get from a tanning bed, which usually only put out UVA rays.

• Eat plenty of antioxidants

This is actually the key to avoid bad sunburns, and to reduce damage to your skin. Colorful vegetables and fruit are basically a type of edible sunscreen. A diet high in carotenoids (a type of antioxidant in red and orange vegetables) can actually protect against sun damage. Lycopene, the antioxidant in tomatoes has similar skin-protective properties. Vegetables that are high in vitamin C and E are also protective, as are anthocyanidins, the antioxidants found in blueberries, red or dark grapes and red wine. Eating lots of red, orange and purple stuff will prevent your skin from turning those colors!

Skin protective foods include: Berries, tomatoes, carrots, red bell peppers, kale and other dark green leafy veggies, pastured egg yolks, sockeye salmon, and shrimp

• Eat more omega 3 fats and avoid inflammatory omega 6 fats

Any processed seed oil such as canola oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil, or any other “vegetable oil”, is highly dangerous to your health. Seed oils are pro-skin cancer.

How? The short explanation is this—inside each and every cell in our bodies, we have the mitochondria. This is the energy production center of the cell. The cells’ mitochondria need to have specific types fatty acids to communicate with each other and work properly. These fatty acids signal when a cell is damaged or dysfunctional and the cell is destroyed. Omega 6 seed oils shut off the alarm to destroy the dysfunctional cell, and instead it can grow out of control and becomes cancerous.

The more (healthy) omega 3s you consume, the more protection from the sun you enjoy.

Skin protective fats include: Salmon, cod, other wild caught fish, grass-fed beef, pastured eggs, grass-fed butter.

• Know your own skin type and get the right amount of sun

The lighter your hair and skin, the less sun you need to get enough vitamin D and the other health benefits the sun provides. However, darker skinned people need more time out in the sun, and if you are dark-skinned and living in the northern hemisphere, you may need to take supplemental vitamin D.

• Get good sleep and get out in the sun early in the day

Did you know your skin’s ability to handle the sun has to do with your circadian rhythm? The skin’s defense against the sun actually works best the first half of the day. So if you are headed to the beach, do it early, not late in the afternoon, when you skin can handle it better.

Early morning sunlight is rich in UVB rays, which also helps prepare your skin for the UVA tanning rays in the afternoon by enhancing its UV resistance.

Daily sun vs sun ‘binging’

People who get out in the sun on a regular basis actually have better defense against skin damage than people who only get intermittent sun exposure. Holiday vacationers who binge on the sun for the week or two they are on vacation are far more likely to be at risk for sun damage, skin cancer and melanomas.

A daily low to moderate dose of the sun is much healthier than occasional sun binging.

What about sunscreen?

Granted, there are times when we all need sunscreen, even if we follow the above guidelines. Camping, a raft trip, boating, fishing, hiking—you name it, if you are outside for long periods of time, sun protection is probably important.

The problem with sunscreens is that the majority of them use chemicals to filter out the sun (mostly UVB) and unfortunately, those chemicals are quickly absorbed into the skin and into the bloodstream where they can be pretty toxic. Some of the more toxic ingredients include:

• Benzophene–Many sunscreens with chemical sun block also come with endocrine disruption. Some forms of the chemical benzophenone will inhibit the action of your thyroid hormones. Result, thyroid hormones T3 and T4 are lower than normal for several days after applying sunscreen with benzophene.
• Octyl-methoxycinnamate–Another common ingredient, octyl-methoxycinnamate is considered a xenoestrogen (artificial estrogen) and disrupts normal hormone function in men and women.
• Oxybenzone—This ingredient filters out UV rays, but it is also an artificial estrogen, which blocks testosterone in men, and can cause estrogen-based cancers in women—in addition to throwing female hormones out of whack. Oxybenzone is also dangerous to unborn children, as this study shows. And sunscreen and bug spray don’t mix—when you apply both, you absorb even more of the toxic bug-killing ingredients as well.
• Octinoxate—This chemical is the most widely used UVB-blocking ingredient. Octinoxate produces estrogen-like activity and also affects thyroid function. The scariest thing about this chemical is how easily it is absorbed into the body and the bloodstream. It has been detected in human breastmilk as well.
• Homosalate – This chemical is also another common UVB-blocking chemical that acts as an artificial estrogen in the body. Homosalate also will increase the amount of pesticides we absorb through the skin, if you happen to use buy spray as well.
• Parabens—One more endocrine disrupting/xenoestrogen synthetic preservative found in cosmetics and conventional sunscreens. Parabens can be tricky to find on labels. Look for ingredient names like methylparaben, propylparaben, isoparaben or butylparaben.

What is SAFE?

If you need to find less toxic protection from the sun, look for formulas that list zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as the active ingredients. Both of these sit on top of the skin, and physically block the sun with little to no absorption through the skin or into the bloodstream.

For a complete list of sunscreens to avoid, and safer sunscreens to use check out this article from Dr. Josh Axe.

Bottom line–if you must spend a long amount of time out in the summer sun, eat a skin-healthy diet, and protect your skin with a safe and natural zinc oxide or titanium oxide based sunscreen too. And enjoy the summer sun!

References
https://bit.ly/3x966CE
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/sun/#ref-11
https://draxe.com/beauty/best-sunscreens/

The post The Truth About Sunscreen appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Vitamin D from the sun has existed for a long time as an immune booster. In the 1800’s when many people had tuberculosis, sunshine was known to have curative powers, and sick patients flocked to sanitariums in sunny places to soak up the healing sunshine. Cod liver oil, also a rich source of vitamin D, has also been around for decades as a preventative for infections, colds and flu.

Studies show that vitamin D regulates many functions in the body, including hormone balance, metabolism, blood pressure, bone density, fighting cancer, and immune function (ever notice that people tend to get colds and flu in the winter when the sun is low?).

Vitamin D is critical for our health. We know that vitamin D is essential for healing and protecting against many contagious diseases and chronic diseases. Low levels of vitamin D are associated with upper and lower respiratory infections, heart disease, asthma, cancers, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, HIV, hypertension, inflammatory bowel disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other autoimmune diseases. Vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide public health problem in both developed and developing countries.

Did you know that our bodies contain cell receptors for vitamin D in virtually every system of the body? That tells us that vitamin D is necessary for virtually all body functions. Vitamin D actually influences the expression of over 200 health-supporting genes in our bodies.

There’s a lot of buzz about vitamin D boosting immune function to fight off colds, seasonal influenza, and other viruses. Research suggests that vitamin-D deficiency may one of the primary reasons people get more colds and flu in the winter when sunshine is less available.

As many as 70 percent of Americans are considered deficient in vitamin D. The elderly, females more than males, those who live the far north or south of the equator, people with darker skin pigmentation, those who work and stay inside during the day, and people with poor dietary habits generally have the lowest levels of vitamin D.

How does vitamin D boost immune function?

The immune system is an incredibly complex protective mechanism, but to simplify, we can divide the immune system into two main categories: innate immunity, and adaptive immunity.

Innate immunity is our nonspecific defense mechanism that activates in the presence of an invading pathogen. So, even if you have never been exposed to a virus or pathogen, your body has a built-in ability to protect itself from an invader. This part of your immune system is your first line of defense against any type of new type of germs—whether it is bacteria, viruses, and fungi. And it’s super important to be sure this line of defense is strong.

The other type of immune response is your adaptive immune response. This immune response is active against pathogens that you have previously encountered. The body recognizes, adapts and attacks specific invaders much more efficiently.

In the case of brand new types of influenza strains, the body has not had a chance to develop specific antibodies against it yet. So, this is where we call in the powers of our innate immune system to protect us. Vitamin D works to strengthen this innate immune system response.

Many different studies have associated vitamin D with its power to fight infection. One report looked at almost 19,000 people and found that the individuals with the lower levels of vitamin D were more likely to report upper respiratory tract infections, than those with sufficient levels of vitamin D.

This study looked at 800 people in Finland, and found that those with the lowest levels of vitamin D lost more days at work due to respiratory infections. Other studies have focused on how vitamin D helps to prevent influenza, colds and even HIV. And this well-designed study using therapeutic doses of vitamin D showed that vitamin D administration resulted in a statistically significant (42%) decrease in the incidence of influenza infection.

Vitamin D works by boosting the strength of the immune system while lowering inflammatory reactions. This makes vitamin D a powerful immune modulator. It helps boost immune power, but prevents the immune system from overreacting, as in the case of autoimmune disease.

How does it work? Vitamin D strengthens particular cells within the immune system, such as the T cells. It also helps to decrease levels of inflammatory cytokines, a part of the immune system that can overreact with dangerous outcomes.

There are three ways to get vitamin D levels up in your system. One—you can take a vitamin D3 supplement. D3 or cholecalciferol is most easily utilized in the body, over vitamin D2. Secondly, you can get some vitamin D from foods and third, you can get vitamin D from the sun—IF you are in an area where the sun is strong enough. Depending on the latitude where you live and the time of year, you may or may not be able to get vitamin D from the sun. In my opinion, however getting vitamin D from sunshine is the best way if you can.

The sun’s rays are too weak in the winter generally (depending on the latitude that you live). Even if you can get outside in the winter, if you live north of say, Los Angeles to the west and Atlanta Georgia to the east, you won’t be able to get enough sun from November through February.

The only way for our bodies to make vitamin D from the sun is to allow the UVB rays of the sun to reach our skin. That means we need to expose enough skin for 20-40 minutes without sunscreen at the strongest times of the day, between the hours of 10am and 2pm.

UVB rays are the rays that cause sunburn, just don’t overdo it! Full-body exposure of pale skin to summer sunshine for 30 minutes without clothing or sunscreen can result in the synthesis of between 10,000 and 20,000 IU of vitamin D.

However—if you don’t supplement with vitamin D3 in the winter you’re can pretty much count on being deficient in vitamin D in the winter.

Supplementing with vitamin D has a wide range of ‘suggested’ dosages, and you can overdo it with this fat soluble vitamin and create adverse health effects. While some doctors advise people to take 5000 to 10,000 Iu per day of vitamin D, this can be too much and a safer range would be around 5,000IU vitamin D3 per day.

According to Dr. Chris Kresser, the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K work synergistically, so adding adequate vitamin A and K2 may protect against toxic effects of excess vitamin D. Sufficient levels of potassium and magnesium have also been suggested to protect against vitamin D toxicity.

Lastly, be sure to get plenty of healthy food with natural sources of vitamin D, such as egg yolks, wild caught salmon and mackerel, organ meats, and some mushrooms. And avoid those processed foods with added vitamin D—those do nothing for your health.

Some of the best absorbed vitamin D comes from taking some cod liver oil daily. Make sure to take only small doses of cod liver oil (enough for 50% to 100% DV of vitamin D), as large doses can give you an overdose of Vitamin A.

One more thing to point out as we near the end of winter, sunlight has far more beneficial benefits for our health than just increasing our vitamin D.

A recent 20-year study following 29,518 subjects found that those individuals avoiding sun exposure were twice as likely to die from all causes. Sunlight helps us make more endorphins, the natural chemical in our bodies that makes us feel relaxed and happy.

Sunlight promotes production of a peptide that helps to dilate the blood vessels, lowering blood pressure, and it helps create another substance called ‘Substance P’, that promotes better blood flow and regulates the immune system in response to acute stressors. And one more benefit of sunshine, it helps to reduce appetite, increase the libido and gives you a nice looking golden glow, while regulating your sleeping/waking cycle better.

If you want to stay healthy and strong, it’s not only wise, but essential to spend time outdoors in the sunshine. Soak it up!

We put one of the worst modern health crisis in our rear view mirror, but is it really over?

2026 – ER doc has urgent immunity warning for what’s coming

According to one ER doctor, there are 3 terrifying warning signs right now…

The media is hiding them (the politicians needed votes this fall).

Click here to see what’s coming next, and how to protect yourself

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And, what comes next could make the last few years look like a cakewalk.

Here’s this MD’s suggestions for supporting your immune system right now.

References
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/well/live/can-i-boost-my-immune-system.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3166406/
https://chriskresser.com/vitamin-d-more-is-not-better/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190417111440.htm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2821804/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3738984/#B7-nutrients-05-02502
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3738984/

The post Vitamin-D and Immune Function appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.