Why is it that some people just have amazing skin? Sure there are those who live their lives by SPF factors whilst glancing at their clock every time they're in the sun for any length of time, and often they have pretty good skin but then there are those people who just seem to do all the wrong things, and have all the best skin. Why?
Why indeed.
We all know that exposure to the sun is the number one bad thing right..? Well, maybe it's not quite that simple. You see, the statistics tell a different story. You would expect skin cancer rates to be higher in countries like Australia with a much higher average exposure to the sun, but this isn't the case.
Exposure to sunlight stimulates the liver to produce Vitamin D which has an important role in the maintenance of an intact and strong skeleton. Its primary task is to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphorus in the blood by ensuring correct intake from intestines and secretion.
Sunlight also has this love us/ hate us thing going on it would appear. The latest research suggests that we need sunlight in order to function most efficiently, and our skin's cells are uniquely adapted to work together with the sun to allow us to spend time in it's presence without being harmed.
However, if we ?binge sun bathe? ie: have little or no exposure to the sun, and then spend two weeks getting burnt whilst on holiday on that Greek Isle we aren't working in harmony with our body's natural ability. The result? at the very least a nasty case of sun burn, and at the worst? a statistic which shows Europeans have a higher incidence of skin cancer than those people living in sunnier climates.
The key, as ever in life, is balance. Spending too little time in the sun prevents your skin from producing the pigment melanin, which protects your skin from damage when exposed to sunlight, and Vitamin D, which is a necessary component for optimum health.
Thus, if you're from Europe, and go on that wonderful annual holiday to a Greek island, you're much more likely to put your skin in a situation it can't cope with. Do this too often and you risk skin cancer.
So, the key (or rather one of the keys) to great health and great skin, is to spend just enough time in the sun to allow your skin to do what it needs to do to ensure your health.
How much time is enough? That's the beauty of this life. There is no one set answer that applies to us all. From experience you know roughly how long you can spend in the sun without getting burned. Ever noticed that the healthiest looking people often have a lightly tanned skin? The answer is ?not too little, and not too much?.
