Protecting Against Sun Damage Without Sunscreen

Nothing quite beats the feeling of pure, warm sunlight in the spring and summer months, especially after a particularly cold and dreary winter. We often take for granted the life-giving power of the sun, completely ignoring its many health benefits.

On one hand, sun helps us to produce vitamin D, a hormone necessary for bone health and optimal immune function; on the other, sunlight can also cause deleterious effects on skin elasticity and function, aggressively facilitating the early signs of aging.

Having these extreme oppositions means we need to find a balance between getting enough and avoiding damage resulting from overexposure. And, regardless of what you may have heard in the past, this doesn’t always have to require the use of sunscreen.

How to Protect Against Sun Damage from the Inside Out

The sun has been vilified for decades thanks to a number of past studies indicating sun exposure increases the risk for skin cancer. While it is certainly true that subjecting your skin to too much sunlight can elevate cancer risk, a stable approach to exposure can actually decrease mortality from all causes.

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Can Vitamin D Levels Predict Depression? 

You probably know that vitamin D plays an important role in the human body, helping to absorb calcium and promote bone growth. It’s also possible that you have heard that Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a variety of health problems, including rickets, breast cancer, heart disease, and weight gain. But what you most likely haven’t heard is that in addition to these serious issues, certain experts believe that vitamin D deficiency may contribute to clinical depression.

Vitamin D and Depression

A recent study may confirm the link between low serum levels of vitamin D and depressive symptoms. [1] The study assessed 185 healthy young women over four weeks, measuring their vitamin D levels and symptoms of depression. Researchers found that nearly half of the participants had vitamin D deficiency, and over a third had symptoms of clinically significant depressive symptoms.

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