Don't Put Your Health In The Shade!

By Liz Egger     In which I investigate why, after years of telling us to keep out of the sun, some experts believe they've got it all wrong. ( From August 2005)

I don’t know whether to be pleased or not. 

You know how it is. You jog along merrily for years, believing - because the experts tell you so – that something is harmful to your health, and avoiding it like the plague and then wham! – another bevy of experts suddenly decide that NOT doing it does more harm than good, if you follow my drift. 

Let me explain.

For the last couple of decades, we’ve been warned that over-exposure to the sun is bad for us, putting us at risk of skin cancer, cataracts and premature aging. We’ve been told to cover up, stay out of the sun, and to slap on the high UV sun cream thicker than icing on a cake. It was bad news for nudists. The sun is a silent killer. Yet now the experts admit that they might have got it wrong. Protecting ourselves against the sun might be MORE dangerous than over-exposure to solar radiation. 

Recent research has suggested an inverse relationship between solar exposure and osteoporosis, rectal and colon cancer, breast cancer, and even the most deadly form of skin cancer, malignant melanoma. In fact, some experts believe that the incidence of some cancers may be reduced by some thirty to forty percent by sensible exposure to the sun’s rays.

According to these findings ultraviolet B rays, the rays that give you sunburn, and which until now have been considered so dangerous, interact with a special cholesterol in unprotected skin. Once stimulated, this cholesterol triggers your liver and kidneys to make vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 isn't really a vitamin, but rather a type of steroid hormone that can drastically improve your immune system function. Vitamin D3 also controls cellular growth and helps you absorb calcium from your digestive tract. Most importantly, this hormone/vitamin inhibits the growth of cancer cells.   Conversely, if we block out the sun’s ultraviolet B rays - the rays that trigger the production of the cancer inhibiting vitamin D3 – we increase our chances of contracting the disease.  And guess what? Most recommended daily sunscreens are designed to block ultraviolet B rays.

So, just what is going on here? Is our sun phobia doing more harm than good? 

 Dr. Richard Hobday, author of  " The Healing Sun "  firmly believes so. According to his research, the number of people who die from breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis and osteoporosis -- all diseases which could benefit from sunlight - is far greater than the number of deaths from skin cancer. 

 Another researcher, Dr Gordon Ainsleigh of California agrees. After meticulously reviewing fifty years of medical literature on cancer, he concludes that, “the benefits of regular sun exposure outweigh the risks of squamous-basal skin cancer, accelerated ageing and melanoma.”  Yet another researcher, investigating the specific link between solar rays and breast cancer, has calculated that fifty-five women die from underexposure to the sun to every one that dies of overexposure. 

 So, now we have two conflicting pieces of advice. On the one hand the “official” line is still that we should protect against the sun, whilst the latest research indicates that the exact opposite is true. It’s a real muddle, which is why I don’t know whether to be pleased or not.  As a nudist, I welcome any proof that getting naked and exposing the body to the sun and air is beneficial. However, I also look to the medical community for clear, unambiguous health guidelines. Now I have neither.   

But I do have my own common sense, which tells me that whilst lying all day in the searing sun is harmful (and physically painful), a couple of hours of early and late sunshine will do me good. 

 So you won’t catch me basking naked in the mid-day sun just yet, despite the evidence that it might boost my production of vitamin D3. The jury is still out, and common sense rules against it. At the hottest part of the day I’ll do what I’ve always done – retire to some cool bar or restaurant. It’s much better for the health.

 Besides, I never miss an excuse for a drink. 
'Til next time,

Liz

Related links:

The Complete Guide to Nudism And Naturism   The comprehensive nudist guidebook, from which the information in this article was obtained, also contains more links to the actual research.
The Healing Sun: Sunlight and Health in the 21st Century     In this revolutionary book, Richard Hobday shows how the sun is central to human health and well-being.
http://www.sun-wellness.com/articles/211feat1.html    Explores the link between the sun and breast cancer.

(This article may not be published or otherwise used without the written consent of the author.)
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