{"id":22732,"date":"2020-11-13T09:06:55","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T14:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/?p=22732"},"modified":"2020-11-13T09:50:15","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T14:50:15","slug":"uv-d-now-understanding-the-importance-of-sun-exposure-for-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/uv-d-now-understanding-the-importance-of-sun-exposure-for-health\/","title":{"rendered":"UV\u2192D NOW \u2013 Understanding the importance of sun exposure for health"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Perry Holman, Executive Director, Vitamin D Society<\/em><\/p>\n

COVID-19 has spawned an entirely new angle of ultraviolet and vitamin D research in 2020 \u2013 bringing the role of UV and vitamin D into the health of your immune system into the forefront once again.<\/p>\n

Research studies over the past 6 months have been consistent: People with higher vitamin D levels, naturally produced when your skin is exposed to UVB light from the sun, have a reduced risk of catching COVID-19 and a less severe outcome if they do contract the virus\u00a01, 2, 3, 4, 5<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

COVID-19 cases dropped substantially during our Canadian summer when people were out in the sunlight making vitamin D in their skin.<\/p>\n

This is why we are focusing Vitamin D Awareness Month in 2020 on the main source of vitamin D: sunshine.<\/p>\n

Vitamin D awareness has increased in Canada in the past decade, but vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency still remains an issue for most Canadians. We think the reason is because most Canadians are unsure about getting vitamin D from sun exposure \u2013 the way our bodies were designed to make it.<\/p>\n

So, this year we wanted to build upon this vitamin D knowledge base and extend it to address the importance of sunlight and the benefits of moderate UV exposure and encourage people to take action due to the low levels we see in Canada from October to May.<\/p>\n

The Vitamin D Society has created a new program called \u201cUV\u2192<\/em><\/strong>D NOW!\u201d The reason: COVID-19 has taught us once again that the potential benefits of vitamin D lie in levels you only get naturally if you get regular non-burning sun exposure. And the evidence that the benefits of non-burning sun exposure go beyond simple vitamin D production is stronger than ever.<\/p>\n

Dr. Michael F Holick, a world-renowned vitamin D researcher and author said: \u201cIf the body could say which method it prefers to get its daily dose of vitamin D, it would hands down give a standing ovation to sunlight sources of vitamin D rather than a bottle. After all, why else would it spend so many millions of years perfecting this clever self-regulating process?\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true. While supplements are a good secondary method of vitamin D intake, dietary and supplementary vitamin D does not self-regulate this way.<\/p>\n

Your body was designed to make vitamin D \u2013 not to take it.<\/p>\n

The science brought forward as a result of and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has made it clear that regular, non-burning UV exposure is essential for Canadians for a number of reasons:<\/p>\n