Vitamin D is widely considered to be one of the most beneficial vitamins, though sadly many parents deprive their children of it by neglecting their need for the biggest source of the vitamin – the sun. The most recent study of children ages 4 through 7 suggests that much of it has to do with parents neglecting their child’s inherent (and very necessary) need to go outside and play.

Not Enough Vitamin D Gathered Outdoors

The study details that a massive 42 percent of all preschoolers are not being taken outside to play daily by either of their parents. Children that don’t go to daycare regularly in particular are at the highest risk of being bound to their homes. The report describes that there is “considerable room for improvement in parent-supervised outdoor play opportunities for preschool-aged children, which could have numerous benefits for young children’s health and development…in particular, efforts are needed to increase active outdoor play in children who are girls and nonwhite.”

Many thousands of modern families have a tough time adjusting to the nature of young children, being busy without end in some cases. That does not mean that it is irrelevant to try and push your children towards social and physical heights, the most important benefits of playing outside with others. Many children that are stay-at-home types without the structural benefits of daycare are likely on the verge of becoming another casualty of this generation of television.

Public schooling may also prove itself to be at some fault, especially those in urban sprawls. Many schools have been effectively desolating young students’ interests in outdoor activities by reducing the amount of recess and PE time by as much as an hour a week, in an effort to boost time spent in classrooms – all bracketed under the No Child Left Behind standard of quality.

A particularly good example of the descent of time spent outside in young school children comes from a survey taken in 1989 by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. The survey found that 96 percent of elementary schools had at least on recess during the day. A decade later, down to the 70th percentile. It is always the responsibility of the parent to decide what is best for their children, but NCLB and other like-minded organizations may believe they know what is best for all children.

Although the chickenpox is usually a mild disease with little complications in healthy individuals, you probably want to rid your child of this spotty intrusion. What you may not know is that letting your child outside when the sun is out and strong may be the best remedy and preventative measure to take to avoid coming down with the chickenpox. This is mainly due exposure to ultraviolet light and the vitamin D that is absorbed from it.

Sunlight and Vitamin D Shown to Reduce Chickenpox Risk

Researchers from the University of London analyzed data from 25 different studies focusing on the variecella-zoster virus, which is the cause of chickenpox. What they found was that areas of the world with more sunlight year round always had lower rates of people with chickenpox. Similarly, chickenpox is more prevalent in areas that experience cold-weather months when sunlight is not nearly as available. The researchers note in the Virology Journal:

“Chickenpox is seasonal in temperate zones, with the highest incidence seen in winter and spring.  One explanation for this seasonality could be the significantly higher levels in ultra-violet radiation (UVR) of approximately 10-25-fold seen in summer in temperate zones, which could inactivate virus either in vesicular lesions or after their rupture.”

One reason the researchers think chickenpox is less prevalent where there is more sun is because ultraviolet rays harness the power to disinfect. An example of this is when people place their laundry outside to dry in order to make it clean and fresh. Well, this idea also applies to ultraviolet light on skin, where the rays deactivate viruses by breaking down their cell walls.

Vitamin D has actually been shown to have many tremendous benefits, and they include turbo-boosting your immune system. One study found that even low doses of vitamin D can slash your risk of contracting the flu by nearly half. Even more surprising, vitamin D trumps fluoride in protecting the teeth from cavities.

The best part of it all is that you can utilize a completely free resource to boost your immune system and protect yourself from disease. There is no need to participate in questionable vaccinations when there is a far safer solution available right outside your door.

For those who don’t know, there are actually foods out there that will help treat sunburn. This is awesome news since most sunscreens contain toxic ingredients and cause damage to the body. Next time your out soaking up the UV’s, try consuming some of these foods to protect your skin, and even for treating skin that has already been scorched.

Carrots

Plants, just like people, also need protection from the sun. The protecting-compounds found in plants also protect people if they are consumed. An example is carotenoids found in carrots and dark leafy greens. Eat some carrots or kale during your next beach vacation.

Watermelon

Another carotenoid is lycopene, a compound found in watermelons and tomatoes which is responsible for their red color. In one study, participants consumed 2 1/2 tablespoons of tomato paste or 1 2/3 cups of carrot juice daily for 10-12 weeks. After being exposed to UV light, the conductors of the study found that they had almost 50% less skin reddening than people who didn’t consume the tomato paste or carrot juice.

Cucumber

Cucumbers contain a skin-soothing vitamin called vitamin c. Try cutting a cucumber in half and topically rubbing it on burnt skin. Feel the pain subside as your skin takes in the vitamin c.

Although summer is slowly reaching it’s end, this information will prove to be valuable for every single summer to come. Try it, and let us know of your success.

Sources:

The Huffington Post

Researchers have found that eating grapes and drinking wine can protect the skin against UV damage, and in turn sunburn. Cosmetic companies are already attempting to develop formulas that take advantage of the new information.

The Telegraph reports:

The study, carried out in vitro in the laboratory, has been published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Marta Cascante, a biochemist at the University of Barcelona and director of the research project, said it proves grapes could help protect the skin from sun burn and even skin cancer.

She said the research could help to develop skin creams and other products to protect skin from sun damage.

“This study supports the idea of using these products to protect the skin from cell damage and death caused by solar radiation, as well as increasing our understanding of the mechanism by which they act”, she said.

The study also adds to the popular image of the healthy and tanned population of the mediteranean.

Previous research has put the low cancer rates and good health down to tomatoes, olive oil and even red wine.

Although studies have shown that indoor tanning raises your risk of the deadly skin cancer melanoma by a staggering 75 percent, a new survey reveals that young women continue to use tanning beds at an alarming rate.

In the past year, 32 percent of the 3,800 young women questioned in the American Academy of Dermatology survey said they had visited a tanning salon. In fact, 25 percent of those who tanned admitted to soaking up ultraviolet (UV) rays from indoor beds at least once a week, on average. Moreover, 81 percent of the respondents also tanned outdoors, either frequently or occasionally.

Young women were the most at risk, according to the survey. Specifically, 18- to 22-year-olds were almost twice as likely as 14- to 17-year-olds to have use a tanning bed.

“Exposure to UV radiation is the leading risk factor for skin cancer, yet — despite this knowledge — droves of teens and young women are flocking to tanning bed facilities and beaches or pools to tan every year,” academy president and dermatologist Dr. Ronald L. Moy said in a news release from the academy.

“The challenge is that teens have access to indoor tanning salons on almost every corner. A recent survey of 116 U.S. cities found an average of 42 tanning salons per city, which means tanning salons are more prevalent than Starbucks or McDonald’s. We are very concerned that this tanning behavior will lead to a continued increase in the incidence of skin cancer in young people and, ultimately, more untimely deaths from this devastating disease,” Moy added.

Melanoma rates have been increasing for the past three decades, particularly among young, white women, the academy noted. If trends continue, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer during their lifetime. The disturbing numbers prompted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the World Health Organization’s International Agency of Research on Cancer panel to declare UV radiation from both the sun and artificial light sources as a known carcinogen.

“Our survey underscores the importance of educating young women about the very real risks of tanning, as melanoma — the deadliest form of skin cancer — is increasing faster in females 15 to 29 years old than in males of the same age group,” said Moy. “In my practice, I have had patients — young women with a history of using tanning beds — who have died from melanoma.”

As the medical establishment begins to find out more about Vitamin D, the daily recommendations continue to go up as well. With some nutritional experts recommending upwards of 20,000 IU per day, it is hard to keep up with the growing requirements – especially in the winter months that many of us are now experiencing. Sometimes actually taking in the vitamin D proves to be the hardest part.

That’s why this article was put together, to help you determine the best source of vitamin D for you. Everyone’s location and schedule is different, and that’s why there needs to be an equal amount if diversity when it comes to getting enough of this life-saving vitamin.

The Sun

This is an obvious one. When it comes to getting vitamin D, this is simply the best way. Remember that your body cannot generate vitamin D behind glass, as the sun’s rays cannot penetrate glass. Read more about what vitamin D is and how it works in the article What You Need to Know About Vitamin D. In order for your body to make vitamin D, you might be directly exposed to the sunlight. At least fifteen to thirty minutes of sun is recommended in the summer months.

The amount of vitamin D that your body will generate from such sun exposure is extremely dependent on your geographical location in addition to the time of year. Some reports indicate that 15 minutes in the summer sun could generate as much as 10,000 IU. While this may be accurate in some areas of the world, it simply does not cover everyone’s location.

In the winter months it becomes much harder to get enough sunlight, especially for those with a job that revolves around a hectic schedule. Luckily, there are other similarly-powerful ways to optimize your vitamin D intake.

Supplementation

Supplementation is considered by many to be the next best thing in comparison to sunlight for taking vitamin D. It is important to remember, however, that the vitamin D you are taking should be in the form of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). The body can utilize vitamin D3 much better than it can D2, and there have also been negative side effects reported with the intake of vitamin D2.

Even if vitamin D2 was only slightly worse, it makes no sense to choose vitamin D2 over vitamin D3. There is virtually no price difference at most stores, and vitamin D3 has been studied to a much further extent.

Diet

It would require ten tall glasses of vitamin D fortified milk to reach the minimum daily levels of vitamin D into your system. Food fortified with vitamin D tends to contain the low quality form, vitamin D2. Dairy products and fatty fish contain vitamin D3, but even adding them in your diet may not be enough.

Fish also tends to contain mercury, so eating it on a regular basis could do more harm than good. Eating some foods with vitamin D can pay off, and usually the best source of any vitamin is your diet, but vitamin D is unique in the sense that most people will need to be taking a vitamin D supplement to make up for what their diet lacks.

Which works for you?

Just as the best diet is a balanced one, the best method of vitamin D intake is a balanced one. Eat food sources containing vitamin D, get enough sunlight, and take a high quality vitamin D3 supplement. You simply cannot go wrong if you utilize every method available to you.

Vitamin D deficiency is quite common, and a growing list of diseases and conditions are being linked with it. Regular sun exposure, without sunscreen, causes your skin to produce vitamin D naturally. But how much sun do you need?

You’ve probably seen some vague guidelines, recommending “a few minutes every day.” But these recommendations are far too general to be useful. The amount of sun you need to meet your vitamin D requirements varies hugely, depending on your location, your skin type, the time of year, the time of day, and even the atmospheric conditions.

The Vitamin D/UV Calculator

Scientists at the Norwegian Institute for Air Research have devised a calculator that will take all those factors into consideration and estimate how many minutes of exposure you need for your skin to produce 25 mcg (the equivalent of 1,000 International Units) of vitamin D.

It’s not the most user-friendly interface and it is very easy to enter the wrong information. But once you get past the technicalities, it’s very interesting to see how much the answers change when you vary the input.

It is also not written for US cities so you can go to this page to find out latitude and longitude of many cites and enter the numbers manually. The easiest way may be to simply google “altitude of [your town]“. Remember to convert it to kilometers. One kilometer is about 3300 feet.

If your latitude is 39 S, enter -39. If your longitude is 76 W, enter -76.

You’ll also need to enter the time of day you are going out in the sun, expressed as UTC (Greenwich Mean Time). Here is a converter that will convert local time into UTC. The calculator uses a 24 hour clock, so hours from 1 PM to midnight are expressed as 13 to 24.

The calculator also wants to know the thickness of the ozone layer. I suggest just setting this one to medium. Be sure to click the radio button next to the entries. They are often not automatically selected when you fill in the values.

Keep in mind that the exposure times given are considered enough to maintain healthy vitamin D status. If you are starting out with a vitamin D deficiency, you might need more.