I explain how: Sunbathing in the summer with common sense.
Spain is one of the countries with the most hours of sunshine per year. It is estimated that we can enjoy it up to a total of 3,200 hours.
Unfortunately, there are very few people who do not take advantage of the health benefits of the sun. The news about the hole in the ozone layer and the powerful cosmetic industry have done the rest.
Historically, being white was synonymous with good social status, while blue-collar workers would unintentionally turn brown. Now the tables have turned completely. Being brown has become a symbol of leisure and the good life.
One of the concerns related to the sun is skin cancer, which appears with modernity.
With skin cancer, a cause-effect relationship has been demonstrated, directly related to the types of sun rays UVA and UVB. Each has a different effect on our skin:
- UVA is directly associated with skin cancer or melanoma and is the most dangerous.
- UVBs are the ones that burn us, that is, the ones that make us brown by stimulating the production of melatonin.
The problem is that UVB rays are what our body needs for vitamin D production.
As for some sun creams, they only protect against UVB rays and allow UVA rays to pass through, and since we do not get burned, all they do is allow us to be exposed to the most dangerous rays for longer periods of time, preventing us from synthesizing Vitamin D by blocking UVB rays.
Therefore, it may be that the onset of skin cancer is not only sun exposure.
There may be other factors such as sunscreen, which can reduce Vitamin D synthesis by up to 95%. With a factor 30, for example, we are not allowing absolutely no vitamin D to enter our body.
Of course there are many skin types, some more sensitive than others, but no one should be deprived of a few minutes of quality sun exposure, which is estimated to be from 12:00 to 14:00. There is no need to go to extremes.
