What do sunscreen and obesity have in common? You may be surprised to find out that they may both be leading to osteoporosis, auto-immune diseases, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Skin cancer has reached epidemic proportions even though we are all aware of the risk of tanning beds and smearing our skin with body oil for that perfect “glow”. The use of sunscreen, hats and sunprotectant clothing is on the rise, and is necessary if the goal is cancer prevention. Obesity is also increasing as more and more of us turn to fast food, either for convenience, taste or financial reasons, and we continue to find our entertainment on the couch.
Something many of us may not know is that both being obese and blocking the sun can prevent our bodies from absorbing Vitamin D. Because our main source of vitamin D is the sun, vitamin D is often called the “Sunshine Vitamin”. Avoiding the sun completely may be good for our skin, but it isn’t doing us any favors in the vitamin department. Sunscreen with 30 SPF can reduce the body’s ability to synthesize vitamin D by 95%. Obesity and gastrointestinal disorders decrease the ability to absorb vitamin D from foods.
Ideally, we would all be getting plenty of vitamin D from sitting outside at lunch and eating vitamin D rich foods like eggs, fortified milk, and fish including sardines, salmon and herring. It only takes 5 to 10 minutes of sun on bare skin to reap the benefits and absorb enough vitamin D to keep levels adequate. Those who are homebound, stay inside, have darker skin or live in northern climates are also at a higher risk of not being able to get their daily dose of sunshine.
A long term deficiency of vitamin D can lead to numerous serious health problems.
Symptoms of a deficiency are subtle ornonexistent but could be bone pain, muscle weakness, low energy and depression. The list of possible health problems includes the obvious: osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, but may also cause high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, severe asthma and other lung diseases, and an increased risk of cancer, specifically of the breast, colon, prostate and pancreas. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to Type 2 Diabetes and autoimmune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis and Crohn’s disease. There is even evidence that deficiency could lead to cognitive impairment in older adults and is associated with a larger amount of belly fat!
Vitamin D plays a critical role in the processing of calcium, which can’t be used by the body without the right level of vitamin D. Research has shown that adequate levels of the sunshine vitamin in healthy people hasa significant impact on the biological pathways that govern illnesses, cancer, autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disease, and infectious disease. It has may be involved in weight loss: Vitamin D levels in the body at the start of a low-calorie diet predicted weight loss success, suggesting that vitamin D may play a role in weight loss.
If you aren’t sure whether you’re getting enough vitamin D, a simple Vitamin D 25-hydroxy test, or a Micronutrient test to assess levels of all vitamins and minerals in the body, can give you the right information to help you decide whether you need to make lifestyle changes, such as getting outside more, losing weight or taking vitamin supplements to keep you at your best, today and long into the future!
