Sunshine brings me so much joy! Sunshine on the skin is an essential component of our health and wellness. Regular exposure to sunshine results in denser bones, stronger muscles, richer blood, healthier nerves, and greater endurance. But just like overeating, over sunning causes free-radical damage to the skin. Even though it can have negative effects when misused, I consider it a natural remedy.
Here are some interesting facts about sunshine exposure:
Vitamin D, which assists in mineralizing the bones and boosting the mood, is formed when the skin is exposed to sunshine.
Sunshine increases the amount of iron in your blood. This creates a "magnetic" presence as is evident in the well tanned look.
US cancer rates are highest in the northern states with the least amount of sunshine.
Rates of breast, prostate, ovarian, and colon cancer are lower in people with more sunshine exposure.
Sunshine exposure may reduce breast cancer up to 30-40% and ovarian cancer by 80%.
There are 11,480 sunlight-associated deaths yearly versus 595,040 deaths for cancer in the US.
Sunshine associated cancers increase most where sunscreens are most heavily promoted.
Sunshine exposure may reduce breast cancer up to 30-40% and ovarian cancer by 80%.
Sunshine boosts mood in people with seasonal affective disorder.
Psoriatic skin lesions are reduced by sunshine.
Direct sun exposure kills most forms of mold, fungus, and yeast.
Daily sunshine exposure normalizes hormone levels, especially when one is barefoot on the earth.
Free antioxidant electrons are available to us whenever we touch the earth barefoot and these electrons help shield us from excessive solar oxidation. This means that you are more susceptible to sunburn when you wear shoes.
So as the sun is shining more and more these days, how can we use it safely?
Basically, the prevention of sunburn just requires a little forethought. First consider the fairness of your skin. Melanin is the pigment that gives your skin its color. The more melanin you have, the darker your skin and the better protection you naturally have against UV rays.
Secondly, gradually increase the time you spend in the sun each day. I have fair skin that burns easily and have had some pretty terrible sunburns. Now I have a strategy! I start with 10 minutes laying out in the sun and I set a 5 minute timer to turn over and to go inside or cover up more. For me, I need to do that for about a week before I can increase the amount of time I am out. Everyone is different so you will have to find your limits but it is always better to underestimate than overestimate! An hour of sun is sufficient exposure to gain maximal health benefits. I use coconut oil as it naturally protects you from the sun but compared to regular sunscreen it is SPF 5 so it is only going to block 20% of UV rays. This is not what I would use for sunscreen if I am out on an all day adventure.
For an all day adventure, I choose Sun Bum or Coola. I am very careful to use all natural products - I have no clue what half of these chemicals are or what they will do to my body so I tend to google every ingredient before I make a purchase. Keep in mind that your skin is your largest organ both for absorption and detoxification. If you are putting chemicals on your skin, they are going into your bloodstream too. If you are shopping organic in the grocery store, you should be shopping organic for anything you put on your body too. If you would like to skip the google search for every ingredient in your beauty products, I have a whole selection of all natural bath and beauty products that I love in my Amazon Shop if you would like to browse!
I hope you get out in nature, enjoy the sun, and do it safely! If you are interested in learning more about natural remedies or getting your lifestyle less toxic, I would love to help. You can schedule a free wellness consultation right through my website.