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Sunlight, often underestimated, is a potent resource that graces us with numerous health benefits. Let’s delve into the enlightening world of sunlight, exploring ten powerful benefits that contribute to our well-being, resilience, and vitality.

Vitamin D Production – Nature’s Wonder Molecule

When ultraviolet B (UVB) rays kiss our skin, they initiate the production of Vitamin D, a crucial hormone for maintaining robust bone health and a strong immune system. Unlike most vitamins, our bodies can manufacture Vitamin D, and sunlight is the primary catalyst for this process. Regular exposure to sunlight can therefore help prevent conditions like osteoporosis and boost our resistance to infections.

Mood Enhancement – A Ray of Happiness

Exposure to sunlight will trigger the release of serotonin – a neurotransmitter associated with boosting mood and promoting a sense of calm and focus. Regular exposure to sunlight can help stave off seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and other forms of depression linked to insufficient sunlight.

Better Sleep – Embracing the Night

Sunlight influences our circadian rhythm – our internal biological clock that regulates sleep-wake cycles. Morning sunlight exposure can improve sleep quality by regulating the production of melatonin, and that hormone controls sleep, ensuring restful nights and energetic days.

Heart Health – The Rhythm of Life

Studies show that Vitamin D, produced through sunlight exposure, can contribute to heart health. It helps regulate blood pressure and prevent inflammation – key factors in maintaining cardiovascular health and mitigating heart disease risks.

Weight Management – Sunshine’s Role

Sunlight can play a role in weight management. Exposure to early morning sunlight has been linked to lower BMI, aiding in weight loss and overall weight management. This is attributed to the effect of sunlight on hormones that regulate appetite and metabolism.

Skin Health – Sunlight’s Rejuvenating Power

Limited and safe exposure to sunlight can be beneficial for certain skin conditions. Conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, and acne have been known to improve with moderate sunlight exposure.

Eye Health – A Bright Outlook

Sunlight can promote eye health. Research shows outdoor exposure can help prevent nearsightedness in children, also known as myopia, by stimulating the release of dopamine, which can inhibit overgrowth of the eyeball during development.

Mental Health – The Sunlight Connection

Along with physical health, sunlight positively impacts our mental well-being. Its role in serotonin and melatonin regulation directly influences mood, sleep, and our overall sense of well-being, helping alleviate symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression.

Cancer Prevention – The Protective Shield

While excessive sun exposure is linked to skin cancer, balanced sun exposure and optimal Vitamin D levels have been associated with a reduced risk for certain cancers, including colon, prostate, and breast cancer.

Longevity – Basking in the Glow

The Benefits of Mineral Sunscreens

They are more gentle on sensitive skin than many chemical absorbers like oxybenzone or octinoxate. Mineral options are less likely to disturb your hormones, as there is no evidence that zinc oxide or titanium cause the same problems oxybenzone does.

 

Sunscreen products are intended to be applied to the body every day, for a lifetime. The companies that make and sell sunscreen ingredients and products should test them thoroughly for potential short-term and long-term health effects. This includes toxicity testing for irritation and skin allergies, as well as testing for skin absorption and the potential to cause cancer, disrupt the hormone system and cause harm during reproduction and development.

In 2021, the Food and Drug Administration, which governs sunscreen safety, proposed its most recent updates to sunscreen regulations. It found that only two ingredients, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, could be classified as safe and effective, based on the currently available information. 

Twelve other ingredients were proposed as not generally recognized as safe and effective due to insufficient data: avobenzone, cinoxate, dioxybenzone, ensulizole, homosalate, meradimate, octinoxate, octisalate, octocrylene, oxybenzone, padimate O, and sulisobenzone. 

The FDA has required additional safety data because of health concerns and studies by the agency that show these ingredients can be absorbed through the skin. But in recent years, many studies have also raised concerns about endocrine-disrupting effects of three ingredients: homosalate, avobenzone and oxybenzone.

In 2021 the European Commission published preliminary opinions on the safety of three organic ultraviolet, or UV, filters, oxybenzone, homosalate and octocrylene. It found that two of them are not safe in the amounts at which they’re currently used. It proposed limiting concentration to 2.2 percent for oxybenzone and 1.4 percent for homosalate. 

U.S. sunscreen manufacturers are legally allowed to use these two chemicals at concentrations up to 6 and 15 percent, respectively. Hundreds of sunscreens made in the U.S. use them at concentrations far above the European Commission’s recommendations.

The ingredients oxybenzone, octinoxate, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate and avobenzone are all systemically absorbed into the body after one use, according to the studies published by the FDA. The agency also found they could be detected on the skin and in the blood weeks after they had last been used. 

Other studies have reported finding  sunscreen ingredients in breast milk,urine and blood plasma samples. And it’s possible for sunscreen users to inhale ingredients in sunscreen sprays and ingest some of the ingredients they apply to their lips, so the ingredients must not be harmful to the lungs or internal organs.

 

The culmination of all these benefits is that regular, safe exposure to sunlight can contribute to overall longevity. By helping maintain a robust immune system, a healthy heart, a well-regulated body weight, sound mental health, and good eye and skin health, sunlight brings many life-enhancing and potentially life-extending benefits.

Sunlight is truly an essential life force. By understanding its far-reaching benefits, we can better appreciate its potential and incorporate safe sun exposure into our daily routine for a healthier, more balanced life. Remember, balance is key: while the sun’s rays can be beneficial, they can also be harmful in excess. Always practice sun safety by using non toxic sunscreen, wearing protective clothing, and limiting exposure during the sun’s peak intensity hours.

Badger Reef Safe Sunscreen, SPF 40 Sport Mineral Sunscreen, 98% Organic

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  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2290997/

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