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Sunshine
Sensible with Aloeride®
If you are fair skinned, or you like to lie in the sun, there is a high
probability that you will have fallen victim to sunburn at some point
during your life. However, just because it happens all the time,
it doesn’t mean that it can’t have serious side
effects now and in the future.
Mouth ulcers, IBD and Aloeride
What are the
effects of sunburn?
The best known types of ultraviolet
sunlight are UVA and UVB. Too much
exposure to either of these rays will damage your skin with more
exposure causing more severe damage. Not only will
overexposure cause wrinkles and brown spots, prematurely aging of the
skin, but it can also have far more serious consequences such as skin
cancer.
The effects of sunburn and sunstroke are unpleasant - as anyone who has
experienced it will know. Short term exposure may result in painful
burning and reddened and peeling skin. Sunstroke is more serious: it
dehydrates the sufferer and can cause high temperatures, vomiting and
headaches.
But the most devastating side effect is undoubtedly skin cancer. It is
estimated that 90% of non-melanoma skin cancers and 60% of melanoma
skin cancers (the more serious form) are caused by over exposure to the
sun. Worryingly, melanomas are not just caused by prolonged and
consistent over exposure: any episodes of sunburn, no matter how
infrequent, also increase the risk due to the damage this does to your
skin cells.
How can I
prevent sunburn?
Whilst everyone should take
precautions to protect themselves from
exposure to the sun, there are some group of people who are
more at
risk than others:
- People with fair complexions and fair or red
hair.
- People who work outdoors.
- Children: the amount of sun exposure is thought
to be linked to the probability of developing skin cancer in adulthood.
The good news is that sunburn and sunstroke is entirely preventable:
you simply
need to take sensible precautions and be aware of the damage
that the sun can do to your body.
- In hot places or during a hot day, stay out of
the sun between 11am and 3pm when it is at its fiercest.
- Cover up: wear a hat to protect your face and
neck - the areas most
commonly damaged by the sun; and wear loose clothing. Be aware that wet
clothing lets through more UV rays than dry.
- Use a good sunscreen with a minimum of SPF (sun
protection factor)
15. Apply before going into the sun and reapply frequently throughout
the day. Ensure the lotion you choose blocks UVA and UVB rays and be
aware that products have a limited shelf life. No sunscreen can
completely protect you from the effects of UV rays.
- Keep babies and small children out of the sun
completely if possible.
- Do not wash yourself with soap all the time.
Soap removes the oil
from the skin that is there to keep it supple and resilient. Ingest
good quality omega 3 oils preferably together with broad spectrum
(water and lipid soluble) antioxidants.
- Taking aloe
vera capsules, such as Aloeride®
before and during a
holiday much helps the skin to stand up to a sudden change in sunlight
exposure; it can also help to rejuvenate the skin following exposure.
Is there reasonable proof that aloe vera can help over-exposure to
sunburn beyond empirical evidence that since time immemorial people
used aloe vera for this? Other than the extensive research on burns,
there is good quality research on the anti-ageing
effect and effect on
UV light exposure by Danhof, McKeown, Strickland and Yagi. But be
aware, not all aloe vera products will give you the necessary molecules
that help your skin to stand up to UV light or not enough of them.
What is the
health benefit of sunlight?
Sunlight makes vitamin D which actually is a
pre-hormone and its
production requires a pre-cholesterol molecule to get UV-B from
sunlight onto the skin. Then the liver converts it to calcidiol
(storage form) which then is converted by every body cell into
calcitriol (a.k.a. activated vitamin D) Vitamin D is the most potent
steroid in your entire body. Steroid hormones enable the manufacturing
of proteins and enzymes by your genetic material (genome). Yet after
you've produced about 20,000 units, sunshine begins to destroy vitamin
D in the skin. In other words, the same sunlight that makes vitamin D
in the first place begins to degrade it - a miracle of self control and
safety. So the active form of vitamin D acts by enabling the genetic
expression of proteins and enzymes crucial to health in hundreds of
tissues throughout the body.
One of the ways in which to increase vitamin D orally is via good,
unpolluted fish oils but these are increasingly hard to find. To find
out whether you are deficient, the best vitamin D test is 25(OH)D, also
called 25-hydroxyvitamin D and optimal levels are 45-50 ng/mL or
115-128 nmol/L (these values are higher than the 'normal' values). The
amount of vitamin D produced from sunlight depends on exposure time,
latitude and altitude of location, amount of skin surface exposed, skin
pigmentation and season. UV-B also stimulates the production of MSH
(melanocyte-stimulating hormone), an important hormone in weight loss,
energy production, and in giving you that wonderful tanned appearance
(α-MSH ). However, UV-B does not penetrate very deeply into
your skin.
The darker the pigmentation or more tanned your skin, the less UV-B
penetrates. Remember that glass allows only some 5% of UV-B to enter
your home or your car, you must go outside to benefit from sunlight.
The take home message is that sunlight has an awful lot going for it
providing you avoid sunburn.
According to Professor Michael Hollick, Professor of Medicine,
Physiology and Biophysics at the Boston University Medical Centre it is
now estimated that the 1,000 IU of vitamin D a day is needed to satisfy
the body's requirement and maintain circulating concentrations of
calcidiol of at least 30ng/mL. Too much vitamin D over a longer period
of time can be toxic and cause calcification in the kidneys and heart.
Fortunately the warning signs are easy to notice: anorexia,
disorientation, dehydration, fatigue, weight loss, weakness and
vomiting. Dr. Esther John, an epidemiologist at the Northern California
Cancer Center, recommends taking a daily 10 to 15 minute walk in the
sunshine as it not only clears your head, relieves stress and increases
circulation, but also could cut your risk of breast cancer by 50%.
We all enjoy the sunny weather: it can lift our spirits and make us
feel happier and healthier. If you are sensible in the sun and follow
these simple precautions including using Aloeride®
to support your skin
from the inside, then there is no reason why you shouldn’t
enjoy its
positive benefits without the negative side effects.
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