What is Vitamin D? 

Vitamin D is actually not a vitamin at all. Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble pro-hormones that regulate calcium and phosphorous levels in the blood aiding in bone growth and remodeling. Vitamin D also affects the immune system by promoting anti-tumor activity.

Where do we get Vitamin D? 

Several forms of Vitamin D have been discovered, however, there are two main forms: D2 and D3. Vitamin D2 is produced in plants and fungus in response to UV radiation. D2 is also used in fortified milk and most dietary supplements. Humans and other vertebrates do not naturally produce Vitamin D2.

Vitamin D3 is made naturally in humans when a form of cholesterol in the skin is exposed to Ultraviolet B radiation (UVB). It can also be found in fish and cod liver oils.

What is the most effective form of  Vitamin D? 

D3 is the most effective and potent form of Vitamin D. On average, a person can generate 10,000 IU’s of Vitamin D with 10-15 minutes of full body, unprotected sun exposure per day. This of course depends heavily on skin type. People with darker pigmentation require more time in the sun to generate the same amount of Vitamin D as people with lighter pigmentation.

According to a study published by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vitamin D2 is not as effective at raising blood concentration in the elderly as it is in younger people. By contrast, Vitamin D3 had similar effectiveness between all age groups. Source: The case against Vitamin D2 as a vitamin supplement 

How much Vitamin D do we need? 

Most experts now agree that the FDA guideline of 400 IU per day of Vitamin D may not be enough. To get what are now considered to be optimum levels of Vitamin D, we may need anywhere from 800 – 4,000 IU's of Vitamin D per day. There are some concerns regarding toxicity and supplementation at these higher recommendations. When our body’s are exposed to UV light, Vitamin D production is auto-regulated, so toxicity is not a problem with this method.

Vitamin D quick facts and stats: 

? As many as 75% of Americans may not be getting enough vitamin D for optimal health

? Harvard Scientists have discovered that men with high levels of Vitamin D were less likely to suffer heart attacks than men with the lowest levels of Vitamin D

? To get the vitamin D value of ten minutes' exposure to sunlight, you'd have to eat...

- 6 1/2 pounds of shiitake mushrooms, or

- 150 egg yolks, or

- 3 3/4 pounds of fresh farmed salmon, or

- 30 servings of fortified cereal

? The online Journal of Pediatrics reports that 70% of American children are either Vitamin D deficient or insufficient

? According to Dr. Marie Savard, there are 5 different ways Vitamin D  can save your life

1. Promoting Weight Loss – Your insulin works better and Vitamin D reduces belly fat

2. Reduces Risk of Death – Your overall mortality rate is reduced

3. Fewer Bone Fractures – Without Vitamin D, calcium can not be absorbed

4. Reduces Risk of Heart Disease – Improves blood flow by relaxing blood vessels.  Lowers blood pressure

5. Helps fight cancer – Improves functioning of immune system that helps fight cancer

FACTS ABOUT SKIN CANCER 

·                Contrary to popular belief, melanoma IS NOT the most common form of skin cancer

·                Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of skin cancer; about one million of the cases diagnosed annually are basal cell carcinomas. Basal cell carcinomas are rarely fatal.

·                 Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer. More than 250,000 cases are diagnosed each year. Approximately 1% of these cases result in fatalities.

·                 According to the Skin Cancer Foundation Between 40 and 50 percent of Americans who live to age 65 will have either of these forms of skin cancer at least once regardless of age, race, or skin type.

·          Despite sunscreen sales growing from just a few million dollars per year in 1974 to $5 billion in 2004, skin cancer detections are on the rise likely due to more visits to the dermatologists and better screening.

·          Melanoma skin cancer is most common in people who work indoors – not in those who work outdoors.

·         Melanoma skin cancer occurs most often on parts of the body that are not regularly exposed to the sun.

·       18 of 22 studies examining melanoma and indoor tanning have shown no statistically significant association, including the most recent and largest study, which showed no connection at all. The four older studies that alleged a connection did not adequately control for important confounding variables such as the subjects’ outdoor exposure to sunlight, childhood sunburns, type of tanning equipment utilized (many of which were unsupervised home units) and duration and quantity of exposures.

·             Melanoma mortality rates in the United States are not rising among young women, but are increasing dramatically among older men, according to National Cancer Institute data. (In Canada, melanoma rates for women under 50 have actually declined in the past 20 years). Yet the majority of the marketing message about this disease is directed at young women, who are the highest consumers of dermatological services.

·             Skin cancer generally has a 20- to 30-year latency period. The rates of skin cancer we are seeing today in older individuals mostly are a function of the ignorant misbehavior of the 1970s and early 1980s. Recall: Society used to view sunburns as an inconvenient right of spring, or as a “precursor” to developing a summer tan. Severe burns were commonplace. Today we know how reckless that approach was, and the incidence rates of skin cancer today in those over 50 years of age reflect that ignorance.

·           0.12% of all deaths in the world are from skin cancers. By comparison nearly 30% of all deaths are from cardiovascular disease.

·          You are 18 times more likely to die in a traffic accidence than from skin cancer

·          Of the 79 known causes of death, skin cancer ranks 75^th

·              New studies reveal that the sun IS NOT the most significant factor contributing to skin cancer. Genetics and the number of moles on your body are the determining factors

 

THE MEDIA & THE ANTI  SUN CAMPAIGN 

FEAR,

      Is one of the most powerful human emotions.  

There's no better tool in the human experience the media can utilize to get a reaction. Our response to negative news is so powerful and predictable, positive stories have become nothing more than filler.

Remember the Avian flu? It wasn't long ago that this so called “pandemic” was all the media would report about. Today, despite the fact that the odds of the “bird flu” becoming a true pandemic haven't changed, the media no longer reports on it. Why? Simply because we just lose interest. So, for the sake of ratings, the media jumps on another bandwagon.

The swine flu is the next big disaster just waiting to happen, right? Well, many experts have concluded that Vitamin D, made by the sun, is the key to avoiding and treating H1N1, yet the media has decided not to pick up on that. Instead, they report that it's going to be an unavoidable pandemic that will begin to sweep the entire world come winter.

Scaring people out of the sun is a multi billion-dollar business. The term “sun scare” was coined in 1996 to properly identify those who were distorting the truth about sunshine’s complex relationship with human health in order to scare you out of the sun. Some “sun scare” groups profit by marketing a distorted sun abstinence message, while others simply tell you to avoid any and all sun exposure because they don’t trust you to make your own informed decision about proper sun care.

Giant, multi-billion dollar cosmetic companies are notorious for using “sun scare” tactics to get consumers to buy their products.

 And why not?  Sunscreen sales are reaching record numbers:

- $9 billion pharmaceutical giant Schering-Plough (Coppertone) reported sun-care related sales of over $200 million in 2005, up 16% from 2004 and up 40% from 2003. 

- Johnson and Johnson, which markets products like Neutrogena and Aveeno, saw an increase in sales of $2.36 billion in the first quarter of 2006 alone. Neutrogena uses the most blatant “sun-scare” tactics of any sunscreen company recommending that people use an SPF 30 in their daily moisturizer to “combat damage from daily sun exposure”. You may be wondering what the importance of all of this is concerning the media.

· The average North American beauty magazine contains 21 pages of anti-sun-related advertising in every issue. That’s an estimated $1 million a month in revenue for many beauty magazines, which explains why their editorial message is so heavily slanted against sunshine.

·             According to Nielsen reports for 2008, 2 of the top 5 advertisers and purveyors of anti-sun, skin care products in the U.S. are Proctor and Gamble (#1) and Johnson and Johnson (#5), spending over 3.4 billion dollars in combined media advertising. Products represented in these advertisements are Neutrogena, Aveeno, Lubriderm, Johnson's, Clean and Clear, Roc, Vendome, and Ambi.

How can the media produce unbiased reports when 30% off all advertising dollars spent comes from the "skin care" industry? The short answer is: they can't.

Don't allow the media to scare you into record profits for the “sun-scare” industry. Especially when the evidence is mounting that too little sunshine can have irreparable and irreversible consequences.

  

WHY WE NEED THE SUN 

The sun is the center of our solar system. Without the sun, the temperature of the Earth would be at absolute zero (-273 degrees C) and life would not exist. Without the sun, there would be no photosynthesis, and the plants that produce life sustaining oxygen and food would not exist. Without the sun, there would be no winds, flowing rivers, or fossil fuels and we would have no energy.

UV light (generated by the sun and other artificial sources) is necessary for Vitamin D production in our bodies. Vitamin D is necessary for calcium absorption which leads to stronger bones and healthy teeth. Low levels of calcium lead to softer, more brittle bones which may also lead to Osteoporosis.

UV light also stimulates the production of a protein called p53. P53 guards against cancer-causing DNA damage. A new discovery has shown that p53 may also provide an entirely different level of cancer protection: By prompting the skin to tan in response to ultraviolet light from the sun, it deters the development of melanoma skin cancer, the fastest-increasing form of cancer in the world. So why are we told to stay away from something that we cannot live without? The short answer is because the sun is free.

If dermatologists and the pharmaceutical companies could profit from you experiencing the benefits of the sun, they would. Instead, they tell us to cover up and wear sunscreen, which itself has become a multi-billion dollar a year industry.

The big pharmaceutical companies profit greatly from the ill and diseased. The unhealthier we are, the more money they make. Even when Vitamin D supplementation is necessary, they would rather you get it the unnatural way, through prescription drugs and supplements. These prescriptions cost money, are not as effective, and run the risk of toxicity if taken in large doses. So why should you pay for something that you can get safely and for free?

While there are risks associated with too much sun exposure, too little exposure is deadly. Moderation is the key to your health. It is our intention at SunlightTruth.com to make you aware of the benefits of the sun so that you can make an informed decision about your health.