Praktikos Institute

In spite of years of bad press about the harmful effects of the sun, with its powerful ultraviolet rays, such as UVAs and UVBs, researchers are now pointing to its many benefits instead. For both mental and physical benefits, exposure to the sun is necessary for good health. Even the benefits offered by substitutes, such as vitamin D supplements, are not as well processed by the body as natural exposure to the sun.

If you live where the winter gray skies and cold conditions makes daily exposure to sunshine difficult, eating vitamin D rich and vitamin D fortified foods is essential for good health.

While overexposure to the sun increases the risk of skin cancer, it may have some surprising health benefits. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen suggest it can reduce the risk of heart attacks and early death, lending more credence to the widely accepted belief that sunlight exposure—and the resulting vitamin D production—greatly benefits heart and bone health.

Most of us have heard of the affliction known as SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, which overcomes many in the northern hemisphere during the winter months. What we don’t totally grasp or even think about is the question behind why the sun has such a powerful effect on our mood and overall emotional well being.

Despite living in a famously sunny country, we’ve been getting reports of widespread vitamin D deficiency for some time now. The solution to this problem is simply the judicious use of a plentiful, if somewhat maligned, natural resource.

While age, lifestyle, diet and physical activity all play a significant role in development of breast cancer, an estimated fifteen percent of women fall victim to the disease due to genetic susceptibility. Current treatment options remain limited, but extensive research clearly demonstrates that natural compounds—including vitamin D—may play an effective role in the prevention and even treatment of breast cancer.

Is there a connection between sunlight exposure in your office and quality of sleep at night? A study shows that the natural lighting in your workplace, whether it is sunlight streaming in or darkness in the cubicle could affect sleep.

The debate on whether the sun is a friend or a foe is ongoing, with more and more people afraid of sun exposure given its ties to skin cancer and premature aging. But don’t completely shun the sun, as sun exposure has numerous health benefits that go beyond just vitamin D.

Protecting your skin from sunburn isn’t the only reason to slather on sunscreen. New research shows using sunscreen regularly also slows the aging of your skin, significantly so.

Sunny weather is here again and with it comes concerns about sun exposure and sunburn. The sun is beneficial for its ability to induce vitamin D production in our bodies. For those people who take cod liver oil in the winter for its vitamin D value, it may be prudent to switch during the sunny summer months to fish oil or krill oil as an omega 3 supplement, which do not contain vitamin D. It may be possible to build up too high a level of vitamin D in the bloodstream.