Sunshine has gotten a bad rep lately. We are told that exposure can cause skin cancer and skin ageing and is best avoided or kept to a minimum, but did you know that daily sun exposure is essential for your health and well-being? Want to know why and how? Keep reading.
The most important reason is that your body needs sunlight to produce Vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is rampant and starts already in young children who spend so much more time indoors nowadays. Long term low Vitamin D levels are being linked to cancer, dementia, depression and other mood disorders, heart disease and more. Many different factors influence how much sun exposure each individual needs. Some factors include age, use of sunscreen, pollution, elevation, time of day, color of your skin, etc.
One good way to keep track of when your body has had enough exposure is simply to watch the color of your skin. If it turns the slightest shade of pink, it means that you have had enough that day. This is the time to go indoors or cover up with a hat or appropriate clothing or to slather on some sunscreen!
But wait! Here is the kicker!! Most commercial sunscreens are using toxic chemical ingredients that are not good for you. There are some healthcare professionals who say that the use of sunscreen can cause SKIN CANCER. So which sunscreen should you choose? Short and sweet answer: Look for mineral sunscreens that contain the ingredient ZINC OXIDE, second best is TITANIUM OXIDE. If you want to read more on this controversial topic, I highly recommend that you read the following article http://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/the-trouble-with-sunscreen-chemicals/