The SUN is coming... Don't hide!
We are still getting bouts of snow flurries but on the opposing days I can feel the sun warming and delight in it brightening our rooms.
And with the excitement to plant a few of us including myself already have poison from clearing the field.
Isn't fascinating, how plant life can make their own food?! And to me it is even more dynamic that we in turn can thrive off of them. What a wonderful design, the symbiotic relationship this whole realm is, no?
Thus, I enjoy teaching photosynthesis, often, to our children because this process is just that cool. _へ__(‾◡◝ )>
(My little girls brought me these the other day, you should have seen how enthusiastic they were.)
The sun for a lot of people however is something to avoid, when we are talking about skin that is. I'm not sure when it happened but at some point the sun went from being worshiped to being demonized.
I can remember my grandmother consistently lathering on the sunscreen when she went outside and telling me about when she was little, growing up on a golf course, she would do her best to always wear long sleeves and a hat.
I always thought this was peculiar.
Today it is still hard but one can find the sporadic report(s) that steps out of line and makes a bold claim that intermittent sun exposure is more than healthy...
"It is true that too much sun exposure, and especially sun burns, contribute to skin cancer. But the message to avoid the sun altogether may be misguided. Our increasing knowledge about vitamin D, the sun, and how they affect our immune system has us re-thinking the recommendation to avoid the sun completely.
Our ancestors were outdoors far more often than indoors. How could we have evolved and survived as a species if we were that vulnerable to something humans have been constantly exposed to for their entire existence? Like all living things, we need sunshine.
Much as plants harness the sun's rays through photosynthesis, our bodies use the UVB radiation in sunshine to stimulate increased production of vitamin D. Vitamin D is needed to build bones, quell inflammation, bolster the immune system, and protect against disease."
And with the excitement to plant a few of us including myself already have poison from clearing the field.
Isn't fascinating, how plant life can make their own food?! And to me it is even more dynamic that we in turn can thrive off of them. What a wonderful design, the symbiotic relationship this whole realm is, no?
Thus, I enjoy teaching photosynthesis, often, to our children because this process is just that cool. _へ__(‾◡◝ )>
(My little girls brought me these the other day, you should have seen how enthusiastic they were.)
꒰˘̩̩̩⌣˘̩̩̩๑꒱♡
The sun for a lot of people however is something to avoid, when we are talking about skin that is. I'm not sure when it happened but at some point the sun went from being worshiped to being demonized.
I can remember my grandmother consistently lathering on the sunscreen when she went outside and telling me about when she was little, growing up on a golf course, she would do her best to always wear long sleeves and a hat.
And then she was also the first person I knew to have skin cancer.
I always thought this was peculiar.
Today it is still hard but one can find the sporadic report(s) that steps out of line and makes a bold claim that intermittent sun exposure is more than healthy...
"It is true that too much sun exposure, and especially sun burns, contribute to skin cancer. But the message to avoid the sun altogether may be misguided. Our increasing knowledge about vitamin D, the sun, and how they affect our immune system has us re-thinking the recommendation to avoid the sun completely.
Our ancestors were outdoors far more often than indoors. How could we have evolved and survived as a species if we were that vulnerable to something humans have been constantly exposed to for their entire existence? Like all living things, we need sunshine.
Much as plants harness the sun's rays through photosynthesis, our bodies use the UVB radiation in sunshine to stimulate increased production of vitamin D. Vitamin D is needed to build bones, quell inflammation, bolster the immune system, and protect against disease."
The above quote was first cited on March 10, 2016 in a "Positive Choice" newsletter covering general wellness. Dr. Mercola published a post about it here on April 4th of 2016. However today that original statement can no longer be found on their website.
I'm not posting this to stir up the arguments about all the politics involved in our "health care" industry, however.
Instead I'm writing this because I truly believe the sun has gotten a bad rap and I'm equally convinced that sunlight is part of a holistic lifestyle.
It is the best way to increase vitamin D levels to which most of us test deficient.
As for skin care, I'm certainly no expert. But having spent the last 10 years learning about and formulating personal care products, the sun is not enemy #1.
That would more likely be diet. As we remember that our skin is the largest organ we have and most often the last to be addressed.
So perhaps we should be discussing the stuff one puts on the skin to block those UV rays from entering in? Well, that would be another post.
Today I'm just trying to encourage some daily sun exposure. 15 minutes a day is "doable", right? ...And provoke some debate over blocking the sun from entering our skin with questionable ingredients.
In doing so I happened to come across this very intriguing post from Thrive Health about women, menopause and weight gain. I just had to share it. Isn't the lady pictured in this post so adorably healthy looking? She is beautiful!
Enjoy the sun. ＼\ ٩( ᐛ )و /／
What about you? What are your experiences with sun exposure? Or perhaps you would like to share your personal feelings about the sun. Don't be shy!
Comment below.
Sources; https://healthandwellnessassociates.co/tag/vitamin-d/
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/04/04/sun-exposure-benefits-risks.aspx
*Disclosure statement; I am in no way affiliated with any of the above links or sources. I do not agree 100% with everything Dr. Mercola advocates but do generally agree with him on many topics, evidently this being one of them.
I'm not posting this to stir up the arguments about all the politics involved in our "health care" industry, however.
It is the best way to increase vitamin D levels to which most of us test deficient.
That would more likely be diet. As we remember that our skin is the largest organ we have and most often the last to be addressed.
So perhaps we should be discussing the stuff one puts on the skin to block those UV rays from entering in? Well, that would be another post.
Today I'm just trying to encourage some daily sun exposure. 15 minutes a day is "doable", right? ...And provoke some debate over blocking the sun from entering our skin with questionable ingredients.
In doing so I happened to come across this very intriguing post from Thrive Health about women, menopause and weight gain. I just had to share it. Isn't the lady pictured in this post so adorably healthy looking? She is beautiful!
Enjoy the sun. ＼\ ٩( ᐛ )و /／
What about you? What are your experiences with sun exposure? Or perhaps you would like to share your personal feelings about the sun. Don't be shy!
Comment below.
Sources; https://healthandwellnessassociates.co/tag/vitamin-d/
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/04/04/sun-exposure-benefits-risks.aspx
*Disclosure statement; I am in no way affiliated with any of the above links or sources. I do not agree 100% with everything Dr. Mercola advocates but do generally agree with him on many topics, evidently this being one of them.
Comments
Post a Comment