We're always being told to protect our skin from the sun, but what about the other end of the scale when you over do it? Did you know that wearing too much sun cream can be damaging to your health and well being too? Read on to find out more!
Get your face in the sun and top up the sun rays when the summer comes around later this year! I am very fair skinned and for most of the year I wear a sunhat, sunglasses, SPF 25 on my face, but at this time of year I throw caution to the wind and make sure I recharge my body from the sun.
Why? Well it’s been reported that people who constantly use sun cream can have Vitamin D deficiency. As reported on the BBC News on 19 January 2011 a 12-year-old girl with vitamin D deficiency has been told that her condition could have been caused by using strong sun cream. The young girl used factor 50 cream which, according to her consultant, could have deprived her of the essential vitamin and caused the bone disease rickets.
And those people with fair skin, who have been taught the mantra ‘slip, slap, slop’ to good effect to help stop the rise in skin cancers are also at risk of Vitamin D deficiencies.
Protection against sunburn should remain the priority, says Cancer Research UK, but it is important to make sure that you do ensure you do get some sunlight on to your skin in order to build up your levels of Vitamin D. Medical advice is now to recommend short spells in the sun, without sun cream and in the middle of the day too. One of the up and coming vitamins on the market is Vitamin D and is being used in spray format in particular to combat deficiencies and the potential also to have SAD. Vitamin D keeps bones strong and protects against diseases such as osteoporosis, a common complaint with older women
With all the warnings over skin cancer, which should still be taken very seriously it is interesting that both Cancer Research UK and the National Osteoporosis Society are promoting small doses of sunshine to top up Vitamin D levels. Whilst the government have recommended that pregnant women and children under 5 take Vitamin D supplements, I am pretty certain that most people are not aware of this. The consensus tends to be to cover up at all times, and especially with children! How misleading!
So sunshine here I come....any excuse!
