Wednesday, September 30, 2009

SUNSHINE: Necessary, or a Necessary Evil?

Woody Allen squints into the bright sunshine that is bathing London in a rare, warm glow and shakes his head in irritation. “I hate sunshine,” he mutters. “It should be raining.”
The 73-year-old film maker is currently making his fourth film in London and rather than the grey skies and rain that he loves, and that have roles in the movie, he has endured days of sunshine and blue skies. “The sun is a very, very big problem,” he says gloomily.
I agree with you, Mr. Allen, and I don't make movies. I simply like cloudy days.
On any given clear summer day at the beach, just look around at all of the sun worshipers; there are many. They're also getting a tan in the backyard, and at the pool. I know more people who enjoy the sun than ones who enjoy cloudy days, as I do.
I didn't always feel this way. Maybe the moderation that has come with age has been a contributing factor, but for me, it's really more pharmacological and physiological than philosophical. And while enjoying cloudy days is a conscious decision, my body has also had a heavy hand in my decision; it doesn't tolerate the sun very well.
In all fairness, though, my body had help in its decision. For more than half of my adult life I have been prescribed long-term medications that have rendered my body highly susceptible to the sun's effects, such as getting a memorable sunburn in about 10 minutes, an inflamatory response in my skin known as dyshydrotic seborrhea with results that last about 2 weeks, burning itching eyes, headache, and more. This is in addition to an instance of either near heat stroke or heat exhaustion a few years ago that seems to have made me even more susceptible since then to heat problems.
Also in all fairness, the sun has its benefits. Researchers have started recognizing the importance of sunlight for a healthy lifestyle, recent studies reveal that sunlight renders many health benefits. Apart from sunlight maintaining temperature and humidity, sunlight plays a significant role in nourishing and energizing the human body. It is also vital in order to get the full nutritional value from food that we consume and it has been proven that getting sufficient sunlight aids in preventing chronic ailments such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), osteoporosis, mental depression, type 2 diabetes, and cancers affecting the bladder, breasts, cervix, colon, ovaries, prostate, and the stomach. To put it more succinctly, sunlight serves as the perfect medicinal pill in promoting a healthy lifestyle. One of the prime benefits of sunlight is that it supplies the body with Vitamin D, which not only promotes the absorption of calcium in the gut but also transfers calcium across the cell membranes. Yeah. This in turn provides strength to the bones as well as contributes for a healthy nervous system by increasing the production of endorphins (Mmm, endorphins) in the brain. Usually, deposits of cholesterol-like substances known as ergosterol can be found beneath the skin, which gets converted into Vitamin D hormones when the sunlight penetrates the skin. However, an average of only 10 minutes of sunlight per day all year round will make sure that we reap the benefits of sunlight and make enough vitamin D. A lack of Vitamin D is associated with a host of autoimmune ailments such as Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and thyroditis, I've read.
Sunlight can also harm the human body. Excessive exposure of the unprotected skin results in erythema (sunburn). As I mentioned certain medications, including tetracyclines, estrogens, antidepressants, and many others increase the skin's susceptibility to sunburn. The body has ways to protect itself from skin damage from sunlight. However, after only 2-3 minutes of exposure to the sun, skin damage begins. Two main structural proteins of the skin, collagen and elastin, begin to break down, ultimately resulting in wrinkles. The skin has the ability to repair itself, but repeated and prolonged exposure to the sun damages the skin permanently. Prolonged exposure to the hot sun or any other heat source may cause heat exhaustion or the more serious heatstroke or sunstroke. By far the most serious ill effect of the sun is skin cancer. It's been said that even one or two blistering sunburns as a child have been associated with an increase in skin cancers.
So, I still enjoy cloudy days most. And if it is also raining I like it even more.
So does Woody Allen, as he had to bring out the artificial rain during filming of his movie. "Ah, that's better," said Mr. Allen with a very rare smile.

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