SKIN SAFE and HEALTHY under the SUMMER SUN

​The ​Queensland summer can be debilitating and dangerous

How to stay safe under our hot summer sun should be given thought with a proactive approach to looking after the skin to protect it from being burnt and damaged; while considering the importance of VIT D for the health of our bodies.   

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR SKIN FROM SUN DAMAGE

• Skin can be protected by closely woven, natural fabrics, long-sleeved and long legged plus broad-brimmed hats.
• ​Some sunscreens may contain harmful chemicals – so beware.  
• Sunbake early or late in the day, when the sun feels pleasantly warm. Do not use soap on the body for a few hours either side of a sunbake, in order to allow your body to make vitamin D.  (more on this below)
• Drink regular glasses of filtered water and you may require an electrolyte supplement such as ‘Endura’ to replace lost minerals.  (Contact me, this is available through my clinic.)
• When driving, cover your right arm to stop sunburn. 
• Eye protection – choose a quality pair of sunglasses, that preferably protects the sides of the eye too, eg wrap around and polarised.  
• VIT B3 by Blackmores is being recommended by some skin specialists to support skin health and aid in DNA repair.  It is recommended that you consult me or a health care professional before taking this product.

BREAKING SOME OLD RULES AND RAISING HOPE

Because of the "slip slop slap" campaigns, people have been under exposed to the sun because of fear; which has left many people vitamin D deficient and prone to other health problems as a result.  ​Now, many people cannot rely on their bodies to produce vitamin D the old-fashioned way, see the diagram. Instead, they are encouraged to depend on artificially fortified foods and pills to provide this vital nutrient. 

Collecting some sun rays with a sunrise surf. Healthy and good for you.

 What is Vitamin D
Vitamin D is not one chemical but many. The natural type is produced in the skin from a universally present form of cholesterol, 7-dehydrocholesterol. The Sun rays, ultraviolet B (UVB) energy effects a chemical change in the oil on your skin and converts the precursor to vitamin D3 and after *chemical reactions the body converts to vitamin D.  This is why you don't use soap before and after sun to allow this process to occur as it takes time for the chemical to be absorbed into the body.  

HOW YOUR BODY MAKES VITAMIN D

*CHEMICAL REACTIONS - The first stop is in the liver, where vitamin D picks up extra oxygen and hydrogen molecules to become 25-hydroxyvitamin D, or 25(OH)D. This is the chemical that is usually measured to diagnose vitamin D deficiencies. But although 25(OH)D is used for diagnosis, it can't function until it travels to the kidney. There it acquires a final pair of oxygen and hydrogen molecules to become 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D; scientists know this active form of the vitamin as 1,25(OH)2D, or calcitriol, but for the lay-person, the name vitamin D is accurate enough.

The sun's energy turns a chemical in your skin into vitamin D3, which is carried to your liver and then your kidneys to transform it to active vitamin D.

​Fish, eggs and milk if farmed correctly can provide a healthy source of Vitamin D.

In contrast, most dietary supplements are manufactured by exposing a plant sterol to ultraviolet energy, thus producing vitamin D2. Because their function is almost identical, D2 and D3 are lumped together under the name vitamin D — but neither will function until the body works its magic. ​

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HOW IT ALL WORKS
​Good levels of vitamin D lead to bone calcium stores, decreasing the risk of fractures. If vitamin D did nothing more than protect bones, it would still be essential. Evidence shows the body's tissues contain vitamin D receptors enabling efficient absorption that protects our bones from osteoporosis and fractures and absorption to many organs from the prostate to the heart, blood vessels, muscles, and endocrine glands.   Vitamin D is absolutely necessary for bone health and joins the list of magnesium, zinc, boron, germanium and vanadium, which are all in short supply in our soil.

Happy New Year
The beginning of the year is always a good time to reflect on the changes you would like to make in your life and how you can improve the outcomes.  I am committed to working with you to gain, retain and maintain health and wellbeing.​  
​Why not make a start toward better health today. 
​Warm regards 
Doctor Pat
Contact me on 07 5484 5050 

Without your health nothing else matters!​​​​