Lack of Sun, as bad as smoking?

The following is from a newsletter I receive from David A. Kekich, of the Maximum Life Foundation I thought it was an interesting read, I hope you do as well, especially as we move into Winter and ski season

Even taking the skin-cancer risk fully into account, on May 3, 2016, a Daily Mail article reports that researchers found that getting a good dose of sunshine is statistically going to make us live longer, healthier and happier lives.
According to the research, sunlight may protect us against a wide range of lethal or disabling conditions, such as obesity, heart attacks, strokes, asthma, and multiple sclerosis outside of the effects of Vitamin D. It has also been shown to boost our libidos and general mood.
Scientists now believe exposure to sun prompts our bodies to produce nitric oxide, a chemical that helps protect our cardiovascular system — and the feel-good brain chemical serotonin.
In March investigators, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, concluded that avoiding the sun is actually as bad for you as smoking. Non-smokers who avoided the sun had a life expectancy similar to smokers in the highest sun exposure group.
Last year Dr. Richard Weller at Edinburgh University published a report warning that older people, in particular, need to get into the sun more. ‘Advice on healthy sun exposure needs to be reconsidered,’ he urges.
Dr. Weller’s team established that exposure to sunlight may lower people’s blood pressure and thus cut their risk of heart attack and stroke. This is due to the fact that the sun lowers blood pressure by causing blood vessels to widen.
It also appears that sunlight alters the way our genes behave. Last year, Cambridge University scientists showed that the expression of 28 percent of our entire genetic makeup varies from season to season.’
The Cambridge investigators reported that in summer we increase the activity of anti-inflammatory genes.
Chronic inflammation is linked to modern epidemics such as heart attacks, diabetes and cancer. The Cambridge research indicates that sunlight may prompt our bodies to switch down the inflammatory response.
There is a correlation between more sun and less disease in a variety of conditions such as multiple sclerosis and atherosclerosis.
Scientists are discovering sunlight may even help us keep slim and healthy, according to studies by the Universities of Southampton and Edinburg.
The results show that ultraviolet radiation may suppress the development of obesity and the symptoms of type 2 diabetes.
We all tend to feel happier when the sun is out, and this is not simply a matter of morale. Research shows that the main wavelength of light in sunlight stimulates sensors in our retina which regulate our body clock. This in turn regulates the amount of melatonin, the sleep hormone that our bodies release.
Studies such as a report by Sweden’s Uppsala University last month show disruption of melatonin levels is linked to depression, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
The sun is a double-edged sword. Just the right amount is very healthful. Too much or too little isn’t.
New research has discovered the counter-intuitive concept that going out in the sun at mid-day is best, not worst for your health.
We were cautioned to avoid the sun from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Well, it turns out that this is a case where a little bit of knowledge can actually be dangerous.
Cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) is the most serious form of skin cancer, accounting for about three-quarters of all skin cancer deaths. New studies now support that while avoiding the sun at mid-day will decrease your risk of painful sunburn, it will actually increase your cancer risk.
As it turns out, the optimal time to be in the sun for vitamin D production is actually between 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The reason is two-fold.
First of all, you need a shorter exposure time because the UVB is more intense. The second reason is that when the sun gets lower in the sky, the UVB is filtered out much more than the UVA. And it turns out that the long wave of ultraviolet called UVA is highly correlated with melanoma—where the UVB is the one that produces vitamin D.
This surprising concept is just beginning to permeate through the mainstream media. For instance, the September 13, 2008, issue of U.S. News & World Report featured an article on time in the sun. In it, Robyn Lucas, an epidemiologist at Australian National University, agreed with these findings.
Both UVA and UVB can cause tanning and burning, although UVB tans and burns far more rapidly. UVA, however, penetrates your skin more deeply than UVB and is thought to be a much more important factor in photoaging, wrinkles and skin cancers.
In Caucasian skin, twenty minutes of peak ultraviolet exposure may be optimal. It can take three to six times longer for a darkly-pigmented skin to reach the equilibrium concentration of skin vitamin D. Longer exposures will be needed if sunbathing occur at off-peak times for ultraviolet light or at the beginning or end of the summer. Gradually increase your time, starting in the spring. Aim toward exposing large areas of your skin to the sun.
So, if you want to get out in the sun to maximize your vitamin D production, and minimize your risk of malignant melanoma, the middle of the day is the best and safest time to go. Just use a good natural sunscreen and/or protective clothing if you exceed these recommended exposure times.
Be cautious with prolonged exposure. One of the bigger factors in how old you look is how much sun you have been exposed to over the course of your lifetime.
A suntan is actually a response by your skin cells to their DNA being damaged. Repeated, long-term exposure to direct sunlight has a direct effect on the appearance of your skin and could increase the likelihood that you will get skin cancer as you age. As a pre-emptive action, see a dermatologist every year or so to have every inch of your skin examined for cancer and other lesions.
If you have to be out in the sun for long periods, then find a good sunblock with a very high SPF number. And make sure the block protects against both types of solar rays—UVA and UVB. Be aware that most commercial sunblocks can be toxic, and they screen out vitamin D3. If you take good antioxidants, including a 1:1 ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 oils, you will increase your resistance to skin damage from the sun.