Sun exposure helps the body make vitamin D naturally. Vitamin D deficiency is common and some estimates say that 1 billion people worldwide are deficient. Vitamin D can be difficult to get from food alone. It exists in certain fish and egg yolks, but most of it is consumed through fortified products like milk. Supplements are also available.
The benefits of sunlight and vitamin D include:. Keep in mind: The American Academy of Dermatology advises against using sun exposure as the primary method of getting vitamin D. Too much time in the sun can lead to sun rash , sometimes called heat rash, which is red and itchy. Sun exposure can also lead to sunburn, which is painful, may cause blistering , and can affect all parts of the body, even the lips. Sunburns may lead to melanoma later in life. Polymorphic light eruption PMLE , also known as sun poisoning , can happen as a result of too much time in the sun.
It presents as red itchy bumps on the chest, legs, and arms. To reduce the risk of sunburn, it may be best to stick to 5 to 10 minutes. Poor air quality can block some UV light. Growing evidence of the beneficial effects of UVR exposure has challenged the sun-protection paradigm that has prevailed for decades. Before a sun-exposure policy change occurs, however, we need to know if there is enough evidence to infer a protective effect of sun exposure against various diseases.
Only through well-designed randomized clinical trials can cause-and-effect relationships be established. However, most sunlight-related epidemiologic research to date has relied on observational data that are subject to considerable bias and confounding. Findings from observational studies are far less rigorous and reliable than those of interventional studies. But interventional studies would need to be very large and carried out over several decades since most UVR-mediated diseases occur later in life.
So for now scientists must rely on the results of well-conducted observational analytic studies. In sunlight-related research, there are two main exposures of interest: vitamin D status, which is measured by the serum 25 OH D level; and personal UVR dose, which involves three fundamental factors: ambient UVR a function of latitude, altitude, atmospheric ozone levels, pollution, and time of year , amount of skin exposed a function of behavioral, cultural, and clothing practices , and skin pigmentation with dark skin receiving a smaller effective dose to underlying structures than light skin.
When measuring sun exposure at the individual level, many scientists have relied on latitude or ambient UVR of residence. But these measures are fraught with uncertainties. In short, there is no real specificity for ambient UVR.
Researchers also assess history of time in the sun at various ages, history of sunburns, dietary and supplemental vitamin D intake, and other proxy measures. The fine lines recorded by the cast provide an objective measure of cumulative sun damage. Personal UVB dose and risk of several types of cancer both depend in part on latitude of residence. These maps show a striking concordance between differential UVB dose across the United States and mortality rates of breast cancer among white women.
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This article has been corrected. See Environ Health Perspect. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Vitamin D Production Unlike other essential vitamins, which must be obtained from food, vitamin D can be synthesized in the skin through a photosynthetic reaction triggered by exposure to UVB radiation. Evolution of the Great Solar Debate In the book Bone Loss and Osteoporosis in Past Populations: An Anthropological Perspective , Reinhold Vieth, a nutrition professor at the University of Toronto, writes that early primates probably acquired their relatively high vitamin D requirements from frequent grooming and ingestion of oils rich in vitamin D precursors that were secreted by their skin onto their fur.
Cancer: Cause, Protection, or Both? Other Health Links Various studies have linked low 25 OH D levels to diseases other than cancer, raising the possibility that vitamin D insufficiency is contributing to many major illnesses. How Much Is Enough? Creating a Balanced Message A growing number of scientists are concerned that efforts to protect the public from excessive UVR exposure may be eclipsing recent research demonstrating the diverse health-promoting benefits of UVR exposure. Serotonin, Melatonin, and Daylight As diurnal creatures, we humans are programmed to be outdoors while the sun is shining and home in bed at night.
Other Sun-Dependent Pathways The sun may be best known for boosting production of vitamin D, but there are many other UVR-mediated effects independent of this pathway. Research Challenges Growing evidence of the beneficial effects of UVR exposure has challenged the sun-protection paradigm that has prevailed for decades.
Open in a separate window. Support Center Support Center. Summary It is almost impossible to say that sunbathing is entirely good for you. The damage that sunburn can cause to skin, UV damage can cause and skin cancer, are all extremely strong points against sunbathing.
Looking better is a very weak argument when faced with cancer. Vitamin D supplements could be taken, and it not extremely necessary from the sun. The benefits of sunbathing are not vast medically.
Sunbathing Isn't Good For You Skin Cancer- Melanoma The main reason that people would argue that Sunbathing is bad for you is due to Melanoma- the most common cancer in women in their 20s and the most deadly of skin cancers. Melanoma, however, could affect anyone who has had overexposure to UV rays or severe sunburn8. The risk of getting Melanoma is also increased due to many other factors. One of those is a person's skin type. If someone had fair skin with freckles and burns easily, they are at a greater risk than someone with naturally olive skin.
Skin cancer is a huge issue, but when people only look at the perceived risk rather than the actually risk, then the benefits do seem to outweigh the risk most of the time.
Conclusion In conclusion, I think that Sunbathing is good for you, but only if you take the necessary precautions. Sunbathing safely can make you look and feel better. The fact that if you wear a sufficient amount of protection from UV Rays when you sunbathe is can stop you getting some cancers, diseases and vitamin D deficiencies makes it seem impossible to say that sunbathing is completely bad for you.
If you take care of your body and don't allow it to burn or over expose it to UV rays, then the pros and cons are almost equal.
If you allow your body to burn or over heat regularly then it is obvious that you are causing yourself unnecessary damage. Exposure to sun should never have to be dangerous. If the correct precautions are taken, sunbathing can be relaxing, reduce stress, and boost self esteem hopefully without the worry of cancer.
Most of my information used has come from reliable sources. I used mainly sources from scientific studies that had been peer reviewed. However, some of my information comes from the woman's magazine 'Cosmopolitan'. Articles in this magazine are usually written to influence people into buying a certain object and acting in a certain way.
Therefore facts could be twisted to fit into the angle of the topic that the article is written about. This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Miscellaneous section. I will then come up with a conclusion providing my final thoughts and ideas.
Some people would support the argument that sunbathing is good for you. It has also been shown to play a vital role in heart disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis as well as being essential for bone health.
Sunbathing also activates the pom-C gene which does several things including stimulating endorphins and leptin and increasing sex drive. SAD is Seasonal Affective Disorder; a condition where sufferers a biochemical imbalance in the hypothalamus the part of the brain that controls the release of hormones. SAD can cause severe problems for some sufferers such as depression, sleep problems, weight gain, and social problems.
Psychotherapy and anti-depressant drugs can be used to relieve this condition, however natural sunlight is the best cure for most7. If you wear the recommended SPF sun cream and avoid the sun during mid-day when it is at its strongest, the sunbathing gives out many benefits and these are not all medical. Sunbathing can make people feel better about themselves as tans can make people appear thinner and their skin can appear smoother.
If a person thinks they look better then they are generally happier. It is almost impossible to say that sunbathing is entirely good for you. The damage that sunburn can cause to skin, UV damage can cause and skin cancer, are all extremely strong points against sunbathing. Looking better is a very weak argument when faced with cancer. Vitamin D supplements could be taken, and it not extremely necessary from the sun. The benefits of sunbathing are not vast medically. The main reason that people would argue that Sunbathing is bad for you is due to Melanoma- the most common cancer in women in their 20s and the most deadly of skin cancers.
Melanoma, however, could affect anyone who has had overexposure to UV rays or severe sunburn8. The risk of getting Melanoma is also increased due to many other factors.
If someone had fair skin with freckles and burns easily, they are at a greater risk than someone with naturally olive skin. Also, if a person has a large amount of moles, they are at a greater risk of getting Melanoma. UV rays can cause Melanoma by damaging the skin cells.
UV is a type of radiation and in some cases when radiation damages a cell, it is killed or it repairs itself. However sometimes when UV rays damage skin cells, they are neither repaired nor killed. Instead they mutate into cancerous cells and reproduce as a damaged or mutated cell causing cancer.
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