Our perception of the sun has become a negative one. While we are told to stay out of the sun’s rays and wear more sunscreen, (yuck!) the instances of skin cancer are on the rise. I would like to challenge our thinking here. Without the sun, we have no life. Without the sun, we have no Vitamin D, which could be arguably one of, if not the most important vitamin that we need. Over 80% of Americans are Vitamin D deficient. This can lead to a number of health issues including fatigue, frequent infections, poor eyesight, depression, general achiness, brain fog, irritable bowel syndrome, not getting well from a cold/flu, and many more. In fact, those who stay out of the sun are actually more likely to get melanoma.
In order to get more sun (Vitamin D), there are many things we can do. Depending on what latitude you live at, the sun’s angle determines whether or not we are getting UVB rays. There is a great app called “DMinder” that you may want to check out...it will show you when you can optimize Vitamin D exposure depending on where you live.
To challenge you even further, if you burn in the sun, you actually need to be getting more sun! Now, don’t do this right away as you will not be a happy camper. Slowly, overtime, start exposing yourself to more and more sun -- no matter what your skin tone is, we all equally need the sun!
So for this first week of the new year, when many of us are in the dead of winter, I encourage you to find those pockets of Vitamin D in your area. For example, where I live in SW Colorado we have a limited amount of Vitamin D in the noon hour (literally the day I write this we will have 27 minutes of Vitamin D exposure!). The great thing is, we are on the upswing and the time gets longer with each passing day
Take care of yourself and get some sun today! And remember to look for the love. All around you.
Cura te,
Jenny
