The sun has taken some hard knocks to its credibility. Millions of people the world over douse themselves in toxic lotions just to prevent it having any effect on them. But that beautiful ball of fire has been around a heck of a lot longer than us, and is responsible for all life on this planet. For hundreds of thousands of years we have co-habited in harmony with the sun, and spent most of our time outside! So how can it possibly be that bad for us? Although we need to be conscientious of our time in the sun, it turns out it is essential to our health. Check out these 20 reasons to ditch the toxic sunblock and start soaking up more sunshine today!

Sixteen Reasons to Soak Up More Sun

1 Sunshine is used by your body to make Vitamin D, which natural sun protection reduces your likelihood of getting many cancers including skin cancer!

2 Vitamin D positively affects nearly 3000 genes in your body.

3 Most people living in the West have alarmingly low Vitamin D levels which can lead to immune dysfunction, disease, and mood disorders.

4 Sunshine tones the muscles without working out!

5 Melanin is the pigment in your skin and it is your own natural, genetic sunscreen – if you are fair skinned, you need less sunlight exposure to make adequate Vitamin D, if you are dark skinned, you need more.

6 Sunshine boosts your levels of serotonin – the happy hormone. That’s why you feel so good when it shines.

7 It relieves aches and pains in the body by reducing inflammation.

8 Sunlight increases testosterone in men.

9 It helps heal skin conditions such as acne, eczema, psoriasis and minor skin infections.

10 It encourages the production of white blood cells, boosting your immune system.

11 Vitamin D makes your teeth and bones stronger.

12 Heliotherapy or sun therapy has been used as far back as ancient Greece and has been successfully used as a treatment for tuberculosis as well as dementia and fungal infections.

13 We are biologically created to be a walking human solar panel! We have our own form of photosynthesis – that is how we make Vitamin D!!

14 Bright light exposure from the sun regulates your circadian rhythm which is responsible for maintaining healthy sleep cycles.

15 The Earth is inside the sun’s heliosphere – the bubble like region of space the sun dominates, so we don’t live beside the sun, we live within the sun.

16 Having a healthy tan looks and feels really good.

Wise and aware sun exposure is important to maximise your experience and prevent burning or overexposure, but there’s no question the sun is fun and you should be enjoying and benefiting from healthy enjoyment of it! These next tips will help.

Four Smart Tips for Safe Sun Exposure

1 Consider what you are offering the Sun. The foods that become ripe and natural sun protection available during the spring and summer (think bright coloured foods like tomatoes, berries, capsicum… and even chocolate!) are high in antioxidants giving you a natural, internally based sunscreen. It’s also important to consume healthy, rich natural fats like coconut oil to maintain resilient skin.

2 Build up your exposure slowly – start in the spring when the sun isn’t as strong. If you are fair skinned be conscientious. Try 10 minutes mid-morning to around noon and build up slowly over time. If you are tanned and/or dark skinned, then your skin can handle more sun exposure and your body will need more to make adequate Vitamin D levels.

3 Be aware: when your skin becomes really warm, it’s time to seek some shade.

4 Use a chemical free sunscreen! Conventional sunscreens are full of carcinogenic compounds. Lather that on your skin and bake it – yikes! Things like coconut oil, red raspberry seed oil and carrot oil, and natural sunscreens with plant oils and zinc oxide are great options for days when you will be soaking up those rays for extended periods.

5 Wear a hat, and light long sleeved clothing for those long, hot days in the sun.

Also important to note is Vitamin D can actually take 24 – 48 hours to fully absorb into the body so avoid soaps and scrubbing the skin after absorbing those glorious rays.

So get your beautiful bod out to the nearest patch of sunshine and hone your healthy tan! Here’s to a beautiful, bright, bold and healthy lifestyle soaked in sunshine, just as nature intended!

Want to learn about what summer means for our health? Join us for a fun, informative and interactive evening at 7pm, Wednesday, 18 January at 111 Bridge Street, Nelson to learn more!

Tickets are $15 - see our Facebook event for details.

Written by Alison Ramsay for The Kitchen - you can find her here.