Talk to your doctor about supplements.ģ0 to 50: Generally inadequate for bone and overall health.ĥ0 and above: Adequate (but more is not necessarily better).ġ25 and above: Too high (may have adverse effects). On your lab report, here’s what your number means.īelow 30: Deficient. If you’re having blood drawn for your annual checkup, ask your doctor to test your vitamin D level. And the regular use of sun protection can go a long way to keep any of that from happening. In short, unprotected sun exposure puts you at risk for any number of conditions that can permanently damage your skin, disfigure you, sometimes even kill you. Nch express invoice free edition skin#In addition, UV radiation harms the eyes and can cause cataracts, eyelid cancers and other ocular skin cancers, including melanomas. Department of Health and Human Services and the World Health Organization have identified solar UV as a proven human carcinogen, with studies linking it to about 90 percent of nonmelanoma skin cancers and about 86 percent of melanomas, as well as premature skin aging. It has been proven on the molecular level that the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) light damages the skin’s cellular DNA, creating genetic mutations that can lead to skin cancer. Controlled studies have shown that regular use of an SPF 15 or higher broad-spectrum sunscreen reduces your chances of developing squamous cell carcinoma by about 40 percent, melanoma by 50 percent and premature skin aging by 24 percent. N contrast, there is overwhelming evidence for the multiple benefits of sun protection. Benefits of Sun Protection, Risks of Sun Exposure While observational studies may be a good starting point, they are not proof or a basis for medical recommendations. Some proponents hypothesize that it does everything from decreasing cancer deaths and heart disease to inhibiting type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. However, these suggestions are based on observational studies alone. This means the researchers have observed that people with enough vitamin D have a lower incidence of and/or deaths from these diseases, but not that vitamin D is the reason they are lower. In recent years, the claims for vitamin D have gone further. In fact, people who use sunscreen daily can maintain their vitamin D levels.” “Studies have never found that everyday sunscreen use leads to vitamin D insufficiency. In severe cases, by reducing calcium absorption, deficiency can lead to slower growth, bone softening and weakened bone structure, increasing the risk of skeletal deformities, osteoporosis and fractures. People deficient in the vitamin can suffer symptoms including muscle aches, muscle weakness and bone pain. Maintaining adequate amounts of the vitamin is essential for your bone health. Vitamin D helps keep your bones strong by regulating calcium levels. Benefits of Vitamin D, Risks of D Deficiency Let me show you how you can have your D and literally eat it too, without abusing the skin you’re in. As a dermatologist and member of The Skin Cancer Foundation, I want to explain why, when you add up the pros and cons, letting the sun beat down on your face and body is not the way to satisfy your D quotient. But that can lead to a whole other set of serious problems. The problem is, too many people think that using sunscreen and other forms of sun protection leads to vitamin D deficiency, and that the best way to obtain enough of the vitamin is through unprotected sun exposure. The sun’s ultraviolet B (UVB) rays interact with a protein called 7-DHC in the skin, converting it into vitamin D3, the active form of vitamin D. When your skin is exposed to sunlight, it manufactures vitamin D. Vitamin D also gives an important boost to the immune system, and some in the medical community believe it can help stave off any number of diseases, while a D deficiency can open a Pandora’s box of ailments. It spurs bone growth, and without it we’d be at high risk of conditions such as osteoporosis. You need sun protection as much as you need vitamin D. You can have both, without skin damage or nutritional deficiency. A dermatologist tells you how.īy ANNE MARIE MCNEILL, MD, PHD, and ERIN WESNER
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