All this summer I have faced the dilemma of just how necessary 30+ SPF really is. I am extremely suspicious that it might just be the sunscreen that will do me in in the end (but of course then it wouldn't be skin cancer, right?) And sure, I don't want tons of wrinkles and to look 147 years old -- but I live in Michigan! With the exception of the few summer days when the planets perfectly align (I have a day off, the sun is out, it isn't too hot, hot, hot to be outside, and I am actually outside), most of my skin is covered up most of the time.
And without the sunlight hitting skin, bodies don't make Vitamin D. Many of you know how important this vitamin is to calcium absorption (essential) but you may not know that our bodies are much more efficient at making Vitamin D we can actually use than it is absorbing the Vitamin D that comes from the drug store.
Strong bones are important -- really important! But this study suggests that strong bones might just be the tip of the iceberg for what Vitamin D does.
The researchers found 2,776 binding sites for the vitamin D receptor along the length of the genome. These were unusually concentrated near a number of genes associated with susceptibility to autoimmune conditions such as MS, Crohn's disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (or 'lupus') and rheumatoid arthritis, and to cancers such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and colorectal cancer.
It's not a done deal -- these are merely associations right now, so don't run off to a nudest colony in the Bahama's and try to get your HSA to pay for it. Just give it some thought and keep your eyes and ears open for further research.
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