Sunshine, Suntans, & Sunburns

     As it's Spring now, and summer (thank God) is right around the corner and within our midst, we will all be exposed to lovely and virtuous rays of the sun. I, myself, cannot get enough of the supplemental rays and would bask in them, if I didn't be at the adverse health effects of our beloved rays. Adverse health effects? What? Ohhhh yeah; don't be fooled by the warmth and nice tans you may get - your Melanin that is produced by your Melanocytes in your body is accelerated, which in turn darkens your skin; resulting in the nice brown tan.

     There is a lot of controversy over tanning and the addictive habit of doing it. Now, hold on, in my opinion, people are getting way too skittish about the sun. Lets review for a second:

1. First off, we literally need the sun to live
2. The sun is the key ingredient in producing our body's vitamin D 
3. Soaking up the rays even releases Endorphins that make us happy (Last time I checked, being happy was a good thing)
4. & who doesn't like a nice tan?

     You're not going to burst into flames if you walk out in the bright, light and you won't get stage 4 cancer by laying out for a little while. Too much of anything, including good things, can be a bad thing. You can get burned, and develop a higher risk for cancer, but if you stay out for too long. People have put on sunscreen for a long time, to protect themselves from the UV rays, but it's being speculated that the chemicals in sunscreen can put more harmful effects on your body than the actual sun itself. I'm not saying this is a sure thing, but I wouldn't doubt it either, with the amount of harmful chemicals the world has that people use.

     Tanning beds have become very popular for people who want an even tan, and that can time how much exposure their getting. These beds have been very harmful as well. This is not real sunlight, it's man-made, so it is not the same, and could be even more dangerous. If you fall asleep, you could have severe burns. These should be cautioned very high. Granted, I won't be a hypocrit, I've used tanning beds before; but this was when I was naive to them too.

     The truth is, is that your body can only absorb so much Vitamin D, and after it soaks up more than enough, it starts to break the Vitamin down. If your skin is tarting to feel too hot, get into the shade or put cool water on it (not cold, COOL!). Just because you won't burst into flames, doesn't mean you shouldn't be cautious and protect yourself.

Have a wonderful warm season!

Sincerely,

A Dreaming Dietitian