The Sunshine Vitamin

By Jean Pierre
Pride Health Columnist

“Vitamin D”, coined the sunshine vitamin, helps our bodies make calcium and phosphorous. Vitamin D is largely responsible for building strong, healthy bones and teeth. It also supports muscles, nerves, glands and skin, and helps to boost our immune system.

Lack of vitamin D is thought to be associated with different forms of cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis (a disease affecting the nerve fibers of the brain and spinal cord), ulcerative colitis (a chronic inflammatory disease of the large intestines) and crohn’s disease (an inflammatory bowel disease).

Our bodies are designed to make its own vitamin D using Ultra Violet Rays (UVB) from the sun. This accounts for about 90% of our body’s vitamin D intake. When the skin is exposed to UVB rays, vitamin D is synthesized and is used by the body to maintain healthy bones and teeth, and to prevent other forms of diseases. Other sources of vitamin D are derived from the consumption of fatty fish like salmon, tuna, sardine, catfish and mackerel. It is also found in eggs, cod liver oil, beef liver and milk fortified with vitamin D. Mushroom is the only vegan source of vitamin D second to the sun.

Adults age 50 and over need to take a supplement, as age can cause the skin to loose its ability to synthesize vitamin D and to effectively absorb it from the sun.

Individuals with black skin need to have longer sun exposure, in order to get the required amount of Vitamin D that is required to maintain healthy bones and teeth. Black skin’s high melanin content filters out sunlight therefore, preventing adequate conversion of vitamin D by the body. Skin exposure to direct sunlight synthesizes thousands of units of vitamin D. However, black skin needs about 5 to 10 times more sun exposure as compared to that of white skin to synthesize the same amount of vitamin D. Exposure to sunlight 10 to 60 minutes daily is adequate for white skin to get the desired amounts of vitamin D that it needs to maintain good health.

The cosmetic industry promotes the danger of sun exposure where nearly everyone believes that any exposure to the sun is harmful, but you cannot overdose on sunlight as the body takes what it needs and discards the rest. A supplement is helpful, if you do not have adequate sun exposure, however, too much can cause a build up of calcium and can lead to the development of kidney stones.

Summary

My personal opinion is that anyone with black skin should NOT use sun protection on a regular basis, and more so, anyone over 50 years of age. Black skin has its own built in SPF due to its high melanin content which serves to block out harmful rays. This is further supported by recognizing that our families residing in the island of our birth, maintain the same skin colour with which we left them, as when we return for a visit several years later, and most are not using sun protection. However, the fact that we are now living abroad and the skin becomes acclimatized, we certainly can develop a tan and even a burn, if we do not wear adequate sun protection while sunning on the beach. If  sun bathing during the time of day when the rays are harmful, e.g. 10:00 am to 2:00 pm or from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, sun protection should be used. Obsidian Pro 25 is excellent as it will give adequate protection without blocking your pores and creating a skin problem later. If you do not have any SPF for protection, a wide rim hat, sun glasses, a shaded tree or an umbrella will do the trick.

Living in a cold climate results in our skin becoming acclimatized to that environment, and we become more susceptible to burn if care is not taken. An SPF of 15 to 25 is generally necessary when one travels to sunny destinations, or is undergoing hyper-pigmentation treatment to even out an uneven skin tone.

When sun protection is used on a regular basis we should up our vitamin D intake to 4000 IU or more daily; not the 1000 IU that is generally recommended. Please check with your doctor. Vitamin D is a very important vitamin, so it is essential for us to get as much sun exposure as possible, in order for our bodies to synthesize enough vitamin D to keep us healthy, and reduce our susceptibility to many forms of preventable diseases.

Jean Pierre is a Registered Nurse and an experienced Aesthetician. She has dedicated her professional life to the pursuit of excellence in specialized skin care products and spa service. She is the president and creator of the Obsidian Skin Care System and founder of the popular Jean Pierre Aesthetics and Spa. A community leader and inspirational entrepreneur, Jean Pierre, has been cited for numerous awards including the African Canadian Achievement Award for Business, The Toronto Sun’s Woman on the Move Award and the Harry Jerome Award for Excellence in Business.