The sun is rated as a villain for health and in fact it is dangerous, when it has a prolonged action on the skin, it can lead to the dreaded skin cancer. What cannot be confused is a sunbath of quality with a insolation.
What you hear most out there is that to maintain body health it is necessary to maintain a Balanced diet, do a lot physical exercise, only ingest healthy food, all these requirements are part of the process, but they are not sufficient to achieve the vitality. On the contrary, what we are suggesting in this context does not concern any sacrifice, such as going hungry, resisting sweets, getting exhausted from working out, it would just be enough 15 minutes daily of a pleasant task: wear a swimsuit and enjoy the sun by a pool!
But what is so special about this action? It is the vitamin present in the sun's rays that is involved in various bodily functions, such as immune activity, bone strengthening, fetal develop, cancer inhibitor, among others. We are talking about vitamin D
, it is also present in foods such as salmon, for example, in this form its consumption is difficult, since nobody eats this fish every day. But in the case of the sun, the vitamin is free and is available daily for anyone who wants it.Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
The following is how vitamin D is activated in the body:
the particles of cholesterol present in the foods we eat are used to make the compost 7-dehydrocholesterol, once present in our body, this compound moves to the outer layer of our skin (the epidermis). When we receive solar radiation, more precisely the ultraviolet rays of the type B (UVB) that penetrate the skin, the 7-dehydrocholesterol molecule undergoes several chemical transformations and gives rise to vitamin D.
So that time is not an excuse to be exempt from vitamin D, try to perform daily tasks, such as reading the newspaper while sitting in the sun. Swimwear is ideal, as it would be advisable to leave around 30% of your body exposed, just don't forget to wear sunscreen.
Don't make your longevity difficult, have fun in the summer: take in that vitamin-filled sun! Invest in your health in addition to maintaining that wonderful golden tan.
By Líria Alves
Graduated in Chemistry
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUZA, Líria Alves de. "The sunbathing vitamin"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/quimica/a-vitamina-banho-sol.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
