We’re almost right in the middle of the hottest season of the year – summer, and although we all learn to slip slop slap while we’re out in the heat, are there any detriments to not having enough sun?

Vitamin D is a steroid hormone that can only be produced and obtained via sun exposure. It is an essential hormone (not vitamin although it has adopted the name) as it fights numerous infections, including the common flu and cold. It also regulates the expression of genes that influences our immune system to attack and destroy bacteria and viruses. It has been noted and evidenced that vitamin D assists with many other health functions. For instance, optimizing your vitamin D levels can help protect against the following:

Cardiovascular disease

Vitamin D is very important for reducing hypertension, atherosclerotic heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. One study showed that vitamin D deficiency increased the risk of heart attack by 50%. If you have a heart attack and you’re vitamin D deficient, the risk of dying from that heart attack can increase to almost 100%!

Autoimmune diseases

Vitamin D is a potent immune modulator, making it very important for the prevention of autoimmune diseases, like multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease.

Infections, including influenza

It also helps you fight infections of all kinds. For example, a study done in Japan, showed that school children taking 1,200 units of vitamin D per day during winter reduced their risk of getting influenza A infection by about 40 percent. I believe it’s far more prudent, safer, less expensive, and most importantly, far more effective to optimize your vitamin D levels than to get vaccinated against the flu.

Depression

Those with decreased levels of vitamin D in their blood were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression than those with higher levels, according to a study in the British Journal of Psychiatry that included more than 31,000 participants. The hippocampus and other areas of the brain involved in regulating your mood contain vitamin D receptors, researchers suggest that low levels may affect the ability of these regions to function as they should.

DNA repair and metabolic processes

A study showed that healthy volunteers taking 2,000 IUs of vitamin D per day for a few months up-regulated 291 different genes that control up to 80 different metabolic processes, from improving DNA repair to having effect on autoxidation (eg. oxidation that occurs in the presence of oxygen and/or UV radiation, which has implications for aging and cancer), boosting your immune system and many other biological processes which ultimately leads to better health.

These are just of the few processes that Vitamin D has an effect on our overall health. Next time you’re at the beach, maybe hold off on the sunscreen for at least 10 minutes, and soak up the sunray goodness first!

References: 

• “7 Signs And Symptoms You May Have A Vitamin D Deficiency”. Mercola.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Dec. 2016.
• “Why Sunlight Deficiency Is As Deadly As Smoking”. Foodmatters.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Dec. 2016.
• “The 10 Worst Things That Can Happen When You Don’t Get Enough Vitamin D”. Prevention. N.p., 2017. Web. 13 Jan. 2017.