Sunlight and Vitamin D

How is Sunlight and Vitamin D related to Cancer?
Does Sunlight cause skin cancer?
Sunlight can help you in Cancer Treatment.

What is Vitamin D?

This Vitamin (Vit.D) is actually not a normal vitamin like you have in vitamin A, C or E.

It is a steroid hormone precursor that is formed in your body after the skin is exposed to Sunlight. It is often nicknamed the "Sunshine Vitamin".

What is a steroid hormone? It is a hormone that affects the growth and development of the cells within the body. What is a precursor? It is a chemical compound that takes part in the chemical reaction to produce another compound.

The liver and the kidneys help to convert the Vit.D to another hormone that can be actively used by the cells. Because of this, the Vitamin actually influences the whole body.

The chemical name for Vitamin D is Calciferol. The two main components of this Vitamin are Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol).

Vit.D is also naturally present in a small range of foods such as fish, mushrooms, sea planktons, algae plants and eggs.

What is the main function of Vitamin D?

Within the human body, the major function of this Vitamin is to help in increasing the absorption of calcium to replace old bone cells with stronger new bone cells. The new bone cells may be produced stronger than the old by proper ingestion of nutrients, vitamins and minerals, but it is this Vitamin that will mineralize these into the bones.

Without Vit.D, the bones become brittle, soft and weak and promote other skeletal diseases such as rickets (in children) and osteomalacia (in adults).

Besides the bone function, this Vitamin plays an important part in the endocrine system because it controls some of the other hormones affecting how cells will grow, how enzymes are produced and other functions of the genes in the cells.

The natural Vit.D (Calciferol) is converted by the liver and kidneys into an active Vit.D (called Calcitriol), and this Calcitriol is responsible for signaling the genes to make all the enzymes and hormones that are important for maintaining good health and for fighting off diseases like cancer.

Which part of Sunlight produces Vitamin D?

Our Sunlight comes from the Sun and is comprised of the visible light and the invisible light. These lights are measured in terms of wavelengths (too scientific to discuss here).

The visible light is the part of the light that we can see with our naked eyes.

The invisible lights are the Ultraviolet and the Infrared lights. We are concerned about the Ultraviolet (UV) light in this page.

The Ultraviolet light is further divided into the Ultraviolet A (UVA), Ultraviolet B (UVB) and the Ultraviolet C (UVC).

The UVC is largely absorbed by the atmosphere, and so very little reaches our bodies.

The UVA and the UVB are the lights that affect us the most.

The UVA is the bad light because they can penetrate your skin and causes damage to your DNA by releasing free radicals. If you stand under the sun for a long period of time, the UVA is responsible for giving you that sunburn. Continuous exposure leads to higher risk of skin cancer.

The UVB is the good light and responsible for helping your body produce that needed Vitamin D. But UVB do not penetrate very deeply into your skin. To those who are dark skinned, the UVB light does not penetrate much, and so you well need longer time in the sunlight to produce the same amount of Vitamin.

How much Sunlight or Vitamin D is needed in a day?

The best Vit.D that we can get is from the sunlight and not from Vitamin supplements. But how much of sunlight is enough?

During earlier times, man used to be farmers and hunters, so we get adequate amounts of Vit.D by spending most of our time out in the sun. Unfortunately, with this modern and convenient age, we tend to spend most of our daylight indoors within air-conditioned rooms, and we are not getting enough sunlight exposure.

Sidenote: Come to think of it, when Adam and Eve were naked in the Garden of Eden, they received abundance of Vit.D daily through their sun soaked skins.

Research shows that we need about 4,000 International Units (IU) of Vit.D a day. One IU is equivalent of 0.025 μg.

In general, a 10 to 15 minutes a day of sun exposure, without sunscreen, on at least 40 percent of the skin, will already give you about 20,000 IU of this Vitamin. That kind of exposure should turn your skin color to a very light shade of pink. Any excess of the Vitamin from sun exposure is not stored but excreted in the bile.

Exposures of longer than 20 minutes will not produce any additional Vit.D because the body has a feedback mechanism to stop producing the Vitamin once the levels are enough. Excessive exposure may cause your skin to be damaged and may lead to premature aging or skin cancer. However, it is unlikely that a person will have over exposed without the sensation of getting burnt.

For those who want to prevent damage due to sunburn, consume more green vegetables and raw fruits to increase the anti-oxidants in the body.

So a moderate amount of 10 to 15 minutes of sun exposure provides the best health benefits especially to those who are sick and are usually deficient in Vit.D. When you keep to these amounts of moderate exposure, you will reduce your risk of sickness complications including other types of cancers.

Factors affecting the amount of Vitamin D

The amount of this Vitamin your body can produce from sunlight will vary due to many factors. Of course, you will not receive the benefits of the sunlight on a rainy gloomy day as compared to a bright sunny day.

The following factors affect the amount of Vitamin D that your body can produce from sun exposure:

• Latitude. The further you are away from the equator / tropics, the less sunlight you have, and thus the less Vit.D you can produce.
• Time of the Year. Summers produce more sunlight as compared to winters.
• Clouds. The more clouds there are in the sky, the less sunlight you will receive.
• Atmospheric Pollution. The more polluted the atmosphere is with smog and smoke, the less sunlight you will receive.
• Altitude. The higher up you go, the clearer is the skies, and the more sunlight you will receive.
• A Person's Age. The older you are, the less efficient your body is at producing Vit.D.
• Skin Color. The darker your skin is, the longer it takes the UVB in the sunlight to penetrate your skin to produce Vit.D.
• Place of work. If your work is entirely indoors, you will receive no sunlight as compared to a construction employee who works in the outdoors.
• Clothes you wear. The lighter your clothes are, and the more exposed your skin is to the sun, the more Vit.D you will produce.
• The filtering medium like Glass. If you receive your sunlight through a glass window or sun roof, you may not get the same amount of UVB as compared to receiving the sunlight directly, because the UVB may be blocked out by the tint.

So depending on these factors, a 15 minute of moderate sun exposure may be slightly insufficient for some. For example, a dark skinned person many need to have 25 minutes of daily exposure to generate the same amount of the Vitamin as compared to a light skinned person.

In cases of winter or gloomy days where the sunlight is reduced, an indoor alternative would be to use a safe tanning bed to simulate the sunlight for the body to produce the Vitamin naturally. Such beds must be certified under safety regulations and shielded from harmful radiation.

Are Sunscreens Good or Bad?

Contrary to most of the hyped up benefits displayed on commercially ads on Sunscreens, they are actually more dangerous than beneficial to the body.

Some Sunscreens (or Sunblock) do not protect the skin adequately against the dangerous UVA, which causes skin cancer or melanoma. The applicant may experience a false sense of security by using the Sunscreen product but in actual fact could be having cell damage.

Some Sunscreens block away the essential UVB which is much needed to produce Vitamin D.

All Sunscreens are synthetically manufactured and some of them have toxic chemicals that can seep into your body and increase your risk of other sicknesses.

For those who want to stay in the sun for long hours, but fearful of sun damage, you may consider applying a good Sunscreen that has a minimum of SPF 8 and capable of absorbing both UVA and UVB. When applied correctly, it can reduce the ability of the skin to make Vitamin D by up to 95 percent.

Vitamin D and Cancer

From the biological aspect, Vit.D does reduce the risk of many forms of cancer and increases the survival rates of cancer patients but it is not a standalone application. This Vitamin is essential for the overall well-being and works hand in hand with other cancer treatments.

It was found that women who have limited exposure to sunlight have very low levels of Vit.D, and the risk of them having osteoporosis and breast cancer is higher.

When you have healthy levels of Vit.D, it can help you reduce your risk of getting 16 different types of cancers including pancreatic, lung, breast, ovarian, prostrate and colon cancers. How does it do that?

It can increase the destruction of mutated cells that if left unattended can lead to cancer. It reduces the spreading and reproduction of cancer cells.

Studies have shown that Vitamin D deficiency is linked to heart disease, multiples chlerosis, muscle pain, general weakness, type I diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases.

According to Marc Sorenson, author of Vitamin D3 and Solar Power for Optimal Health, “having a tan is your best protection against skin cancer.”

A recent study from the US Stanford University, reveals that skin cancer patients actually have 3 times lower levels of Vitamin D than the general public implying that less exposure to the sun does not prevent skin cancer.

Another internationally recognized research scientist and Vitamin D expert, Dr. William Grant, PhD, presented his findings showing strong evidence that Vitamin D actually fights cancer. He found that those who were given calcium supplements together with Vitamin D had a 60 percent lower risk for all cancers as compared to those in the placebo group.

Dr. Grant found that 30 percent of cancer deaths could be prevented yearly if patients are administered with higher levels of Vit.D.

Research also shows that Vit.D chokes up the colon cancer cells and work together with calcium to stop the spreading of the cancer cells.

Does Too Much Sun Causes Skin Cancer?

We need to understand that for years, the dangers of sunlight have been greatly exaggerated, while the benefits of sunlight greatly ignored.

Medical personnel have always advocated that sun exposure causes skin cancer or melanoma, and coupled with the encouragement from the Sunscreen Manufacturers, many ignorant people have decided to stay out of the sun without a synthetic sunblock.

This approach is ridiculous seeing that the majority of the human population have always been working outdoors before World War 2, and skin cancers were so few in numbers then.

Studies have shown that Vit.D together with foods rich in anti-oxidants helps the body to get rid of free radicals, thus protecting the skin cells from DNA damage and preventing cell mutation that can trigger off cancer.

The right kind of food also plays an important factor for a person to be skin cancer-resistant.

Besides fruits and vegetables that are rich in anti-oxidants, the US National Academy of Sciences, in 2001, found that the correct ratio of Omega 6:Omega 3 is an important factor to prevent skin cancer from developing.

Both Omega 6 and Omega 3 oils are essential for good health and the ideal ratio is 1:1. However with the typical Standard American Diet (SAD) of burgers, chips and fats that are high in Omega 6, the ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 is closer to 20:1!

The best source of Omega 3 oil is fish oil and cod liver oil. Omega 6 oil is found in corn, soy and sunflower oils. Sunlight converts the Omega 6 molecules to cancer causing molecules. Increase the intake of Omega 3 and reduce the Omega 6 to restore back the ideal ratio. This will reduce your risk of getting skin cancer.

Vitamin D Supplements

A last option to increase the Vitamin D in your body is to take Vitamin supplements such as Cod Liver Oil capsules. This is necessary especially in regions where the sun seldom shines.

In such case, take only Vitamin D3 and not Vitamin D2. If taken regularly, it can assist the immune system to function normally.

Cancer patients are also tested to have Vit.D deficiency in their blood. Supplements will be useful as the activated Vit.D (Calcitriol) have been found to have anti-cancer properties.

Besides taking supplements increase your intake of natural foods that are also rich in Vit.D such as fish, eggs and mushrooms.

An overdose of oral Vit.D supplement is not good. If you need to take supplements, go for a blood test to determine how much is your deficiency. Then adjust your intake by increasing the amount gradually. Start with taking 1000 IU daily and then increase it to a comfortable level of 5000 IU.

Other Benefits of Vitamin D

Researchers are still in the process of discovering more of the wonderful benefits of Vit.D that is so freely obtained from our abundant sunlight. Much of these researches is on-going and are in their infancy stage.

They are:

1. Vit.D may prevent memory loss due to old age.
2. The higher your Vit.D level, the lower your blood sugar level.
3. Elderly people with fragile fractures were found to be Vit.D deficient.
4. Women who had lower Vit.D levels had five times greater risk of getting breast cancer.
5. Men who avoid the sun increase their risk of getting prostate cancer.
6. People with Parkinson's disease are linked to Vit.D deficiency.
7. Patients with chronic pains have very low levels of Vit.D and once they were given doses of it the pain disappears in a few months.

Further Reading:

Boston News: Vitamin D deficiency tied to host of dangers.

BBC News: Sun cream caused vitamin D deficiency

Time Magazine: Skin Cancer Patients Are Deficient in Vitamin D

Science Daily: African-American women had lower vitamin D levels than white women, and vitamin D deficiency was associated with a greater likelihood for aggressive breast cancer...Third AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities.

The Australian: Vitamin D may cut Cancer risk

Read about Tanning Beds here.

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