You can soak up the sun’s health benefits—without the burn You’ve probably heard that your body needs at least a little straight-up sunshine to produce good-for-you vitamin D. But ask your dermatologist, and she’ll tell you that it’s never a good idea to expose unprotected skin to the sun. So how do you get your vitamin D without increasing your risk of sunburn and skin cancer? Good news: Your body can produce vitamin D even while you’re wearing sunscreen, according to new research from King’s College London’s Institute of Dermatology. For the study, researchers measured the vitamin D levels of 79 men and women before and after a one-week beach trip to a Spanish island. Half of the participants made sure to properly apply a sunscreen with SPF 15, while the other half hit the beach with bare skin. As you would expect, sunscreen helped protect the sunbathers from burns. And as for vitamin D? Both groups’ vitamin D levels soared—a good thing, since this essential nutrient keeps your bones strong, boosts your immunity, fends off depression, and lowers your cancer risk, according to data from the National Institutes of Health.
While the bare-skinned group had slightly higher levels of vitamin D at the end of the study, researchers say that the difference between the groups wasn’t significant enough to warrant skipping sunscreen. That’s big news, considering previous research found that sunscreen can significantly inhibit vitamin D synthesis and that the National Institutes of Health currently recommends up to 30 minutes of unprotected sun exposure at least twice a week. The thing is, the studies that came before this one weren’t perfect: They didn’t track the kinds and amounts of sunscreen used, relied on artificial light rather than sunlight, and/or failed to measure UV exposure, says the new study’s author, Antony Young, professor of experimental photobiology at King’s College London’s Institute of Dermatology. Researchers still don’t know whether a higher SPF could interrupt vitamin D production or exactly how much sun you need for sufficient vitamin D synthesis, says Young. One thing’s for sure, though: Regular use of sunscreen can lower your risk of skin cancer—and based on Young’s findings, slathering on sunscreen looks like it won’t block the sun you need to ward off vitamin D deficiency.
Keep this field blank Enter your email address You may unsubscribe at any time. Why You Need Vitamin D Vitamin D: Do You Get Enough? Delicious Ways to Eat More Essential NutrientsA new study shows that suncream does not stop the skin from producing vitamin D After the concerted campaign in recent years warning us to protect ourselves from the sun, questions are being raised about the advisability of the great 'cover-up'.While suncream prevents burning and so lowers the risk of skin cancer, fears have been voiced that it may stop your skin producing vitamin D.Cases of the bone condition rickets - caused by a lack of vitamin D - have risen fourfold at the same time as suncream use has increased, and this correlation has been used to support the theory.Yet a recent study seems to turn this on its head. For it seems you can make vitamin D when you are wearing suncream.Antony Young, a professor of experimental photobiology at St John's Institute of Dermatology, King's College London, recruited 79 men and women who were about to go on a week's holiday in Tenerife.
Their vitamin D levels were checked when they arrived. They then wore suncream from after breakfast until sundown.'We know that people typically do not apply enough suncream to get the full benefits of it,' says Professor Young. 'You should use 2mg of suncream per centimetre of skin, but most people don't use anything like that much.'I have calculated that when people apply a factor 30 suncream, the way they put it on means they get the equivalent protection of a factor 4.'So we showed one group how to apply it and gave them a tube each day [of SPF 15] with the correct amount for them to apply. The other group were allowed to take their own suncream and apply it as they normally would.' The results showed that even those who were slathered in suncream had a considerable increase in their vitamin D levels one week later.'The group who applied their own suncream had an increase in vitamin D levels of 28 nanomoles (nml) per litre, but also had substantial sunburn,' says Professor Young, whose study, part-funded by Boots, is due to be published this year.
However, people in the group who had been taught how to apply suncream had an increase of 16 nml per litre of blood but did not burn. 'That is still a significant rise in vitamin D levels,' says Professor Young. Suncreams filter out UVB - the part of the sun's rays that causes sunburn. However, UVB is also what stimulates our bodies to produce vitamin D. Professor Young believes his results show that some UV will get through the suncream.Vitamin D is vital for strong bones and may have many other health benefits. Studies have linked it to heart health, and it may also have a role in preventing certain cancers. About 90 per cent of our vitamin D comes from sun exposure, and only 10 per cent from what we eat.'It's said that 15 minutes' sun exposure, without suncream, to your head and arms each day during summer is enough to boost most people's levels,' says Dorothy Bennett, a professor of cellular biology at St George's, University of London.She contends that creams with a higher SPF might produce different findings.
'However, this does show you can stay safe in the sun and still get enough vitamin D.'There is usually a trade off between wearing sunscreen and getting enough vitamin D. When you wear sunscreen, you protect yourself against UV damage, but you also prevent your skin from getting direct sunlight, which is what allows your body to manufacture vitamin D. The choice is usually not as drastic as wearing sunscreen and getting rickets or not wearing sunscreen and getting skin cancer. Nevertheless, it is still extremely important to protect yourself from the sun while maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D. So, do you actually get enough vitamin D when you wear sunscreen? The short answer is no. However, even if you didn’t wear sunscreen, you still probably wouldn’t get enough vitamin D (more on that below). Keep reading to understand why vitamin D is so important, symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, and how you can get enough vitamin D without getting sun damage. Vitamin D not only regulates the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, it also helps boost your immune system along with other bodily functions.
It is important for strong bones, normal cell growth, hormonal balance, and overall good health. Vitamin D is synthesized from our skin when it is in contact with direct sunlight. But because direct sunlight is also harmful (i.e. causes cancer, premature aging, etc.), most people will wear sunscreen. This protected sun exposure impedes vitamin D synthesis. Most people also tend to stay indoors (for work/school) for the majority of the day. Coupled with the fact that our regular diets tend to not supply enough vitamin D, all of these factors can contribute to a vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency can encourage osteoporosis (called rickets in children) and cause your bones to soften. It is also linked to liver disease as well as colon cancer, though more studies must be done. Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency vary across individuals, but people with low levels of vitamin D may experience the following: Note: Some people also find that their acne clears up after taking vitamin D supplements.
Although vitamin D deficiency has not been scientifically linked to causing acne, vitamin D can mimic the effects of doxycycline, which is an antibiotic used to treat acne. The only way to tell for sure if you have a vitamin D deficiency is to get your vitamin D levels tested by your doctor. To get enough vitamin D, you could stay out in the sun and not wear sunscreen. However, the risks (sun damage, photoaging, skin cancer) far outweigh the benefits. If you did stay out in the sun all day long, you may not even manufacture enough vitamin D. People say that 15 minutes of sun is all it takes to get all the vitamin D you need for the day. However, this is incorrect. The amount of vitamin D your skin produces from sunlight depends on the latitude you’re at, the time of day, your skin color (darker skinned people tend to produce less vitamin D), how clothed you are, etc. Fifteen minutes of unprotected sun exposure may be enough for some people, but not for everyone. Additionally, this study found that high amounts of sun exposure does not guarantee adequate amounts of vitamin D synthesis.
Therefore, while you can synthesize vitamin D from the sun, it isn't worth not wearing sunscreen because: 1) you get sun damage (which is very difficult repair) and 2) you don’t make enough vitamin D anyway. If you are out in the sun every, single hour, you are not guaranteed to make enough vitamin D but you are pretty much guaranteed enough photodamage to last you a lifetime. You can practice healthy sun bathing (unprotected sun exposure during non-peak hours), but the only real solution is to take vitamin D supplements (preferably vitamin D3), that way you get enough vitamin D without having to tan in the sun. Most people will need around 2000 IU a day. Vitamin D3 supplements are also cheap and easy to find. Another way to prevent vitamin D deficiency while wearing daily sunscreen is to make sure you eat a lot of vitamin D rich food. Foods with vitamin D include dairy products, egg yolks, fatty fish, and liver. However, few foods, even fortified milk and orange juice, have enough vitamin D to meet your daily requirements, so it's best to take a vitamin D supplement.