Summer Suits: Vitamin D, so necessary for calcium to “stick” to the bones, is available by sunbathing. This unique relationship also has summer suits secrets, we tell you.
Your bones like summer as much as you do, or more. And reasons are not lacking for this, since every time we sunbathe internal processes are started with beneficial effects for the organism: the structure of the skeleton is strengthened, pain decreases, and general well-being increases.
1. Helps Keep Bones Strong
The sun’s first contribution is due to vitamin D and its ability to promote the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, essential substances so that the bones do not weaken.
While you need between 20 and 30 minutes of sun in winter, during the summer an exposure of between 10 and 15 minutes is enough. Enough time to guarantee the minimum amount of vitamin D you need to strengthen your bones.
2. Reduces Discomfort and Relieves Pain
According to a new research issue in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, the same vitamin D that we produce “under the sun” can decrease pain among those who have some prior deficiency of this micronutrient.
The same work warns that more research would be necessary to obtain firm conclusions.
If you have chronic pain, vitamin D can be a good ally. This is stated by the authors of a study published in Therapeutic Advances Musculoskeletal Disease.
It is suggested that including vitamin D supplements in the diet could help gain quality of life. This is because this nutrient can activate specific mechanisms that can contribute to reducing the sensation of pain.
Proper hydration is essential to keep your joints well lubricated.
Thanks to the sun, we get most of the vitamin D we need. Now, through the food, you can complete the daily dose for the proper functioning of the body. There are tiny foods that contain vitamin D.
The best dietary source is found primarily in wild bluefish, oysters, shrimp, organic eggs, and mushrooms. Remember that to metabolize it correctly; you need proper magnesium levels, a mineral that you will find in broccoli, bananas, or almonds.
3. The Sun Improves Movement for Summer Suits
The heat, especially the one we feel when sunbathing, contributes to improving fluidity in the joint path.
This improvement is more evident if you suffer from osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. However, your stiffness may not respond to these diseases, since if it does not last more than 15 minutes, the joint will surely not be inflamed.
- To alleviate stiffness, the origin of its appearance must be sought. Now stretching exercises and a hot shower in the morning can help prepare your joints for day-to-day life.
- Physiotherapy can help. Of course, treatments should always be recommended and applied by a professional.
4. Shapes the Joints for Summer Suits
If your knee “cracks” or you hear a snap in your jaw, there is no need to worry in principle. By themselves, these noises do not indicate a problem.
However, it would be convenient for an expert to confirm that there is nothing behind this “crack.” In any case, your joints’ health requires minimal exposure to the sun and proper internal hydration.
Vitamin D prevents osteoporosis. Without it, calcium and phosphorus are not fixed in the bones.
Another positive effect of the summer months is that, in general, we hydrate more than during the rest of the year. Good because we drink more water or juices or eat more fruits, gazpachos, or cold soups.
This increase in the body’s water levels and its positive effects on the joints is related to cartilage, the composition of which is mostly water. If you don’t drink enough, that bone structure will be damaged.
5. Produces Pleasure and General Well-being
The organism has a source of well-being that is triggered for different reasons. These are endorphins, also known as the hormones of happiness.
- Dr. David Fisher, a researcher at the Harvard Medical School (USA), experimented with mice to confirm the theory that exposure to the sun increases endorphin levels.
- The scientist applied mice a daily dose of ultraviolet light for 6 weeks, the equivalent of what a person would receive in the sun at noon for 20 or 30 minutes. When the experiment ended, endorphin levels were measured, and an increase of 30% and 50% was observed.
6. Do You Have Enough Vitamin D
- If you have trouble concentrating, feel unusually fatigued, or have bone pain, your vitamin D levels may not reach the recommended minimums for optimal health.
- Confirming it is easier than you think. It is enough to do a blood test and assess a substance called 25-Hydroxyvitamin D formed in the liver from vitamin D.
- The deficiency usually has its origin in habits such as that we spend less and less time outdoors and more indoors or at the office or use more sunscreen than we did a few years ago.
