Experts have revealed that exposing yourself to the right amount of UV rays and sunshine can actually decrease your risk of developing ovarian, oesophageal and pancreatic cancers by up to an astounding 50%.
Professor Rachel Neale, from the QIMR Berghoffer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane, has found that those who live in areas with higher levels of UV rays have a 30 to 40% lower chance of developing the three types of cancer than those who lived in areas with lower ambient UV rays.
She explains that it is very important to get some sun exposure, especially for those who don’t have enough time to go outside. Not enough sunlight may cause children, especially, to develop rickets – a bone disease that affects infants and youths, and for adults to develop osteomalacia (soft bones).
The Australian Bureau of Statistics found that one in every four Australian adults had a Vitamin D deficiency in 2011-2012.
“Even if it is for only 2-3 minutes per day, it will be enough to get that source of vitamin D,” Professor Neale said, “Exposing more skin in a short period of time is better than less skin in the long run. Go outside and lift your shirt or pants up – show your tummy and legs.”
Vitamin D is well known for it’s role as the ‘sunshine vitamin’, but scientists have recently discovered it’s power as beneficial to the immune system and regulating how cells divide – two things which are vital in the fight against cancer. Evidence that supplements and exposure to the vitamin are hugely beneficial to the body’s fight against cancerous cells is growing, with proof that enough exposure to vitamin D encourages cancer cells to turn into normal cells and enhances how the immune system tackles the disease once it appears.
According to the Harvard School of Public Health across the pond, being ‘D-ficient’ may increase the risk of a host of chronic diseases, including osteoporosis, heart disease, some cancers and multiple sclerosis, and infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and even seasonal flu
