Welcome
Hello Friends.
Thanks for tuning in to Twelve Minute Health Bits. This is your host, Christen Hull, providing health and wellness support for the 21st century. We will be talking about using simple methods from today and centuries ago to keep our bodies healthy. Our goal is to daily stay “Above the Wellness Line.” In this podcast I will be giving you tips and tricks on how to daily make small changes to your life in order to keep your body well.
Episode 12 - The Sun, Vitamin D, and Sunscreen Concerns
Now that we are in full fledged summer mode, it is a great time to talk about sunscreen, vitamin D, and all the things to keep us healthy. Vitamin D is a vital nutrient necessary for the immune system to function properly. We can and should supplement vitamin D, but getting it naturally from the sun is absolutely the best form. So, I am going to tell you something you may not be used to hearing! Put away the sunscreen laden with toxic synthetic chemicals, take your sunglasses off, and enjoy a bit of natural sunlight.
Before we dive into some of the research behind this, let’s grab an essential oil to help us concentrate and keep an open mind as we learn new ideas. Cedarwood is incredibly high in sesquiterpenes which supplies oxygen to the brain. This in turn can help your brain remember information and may improve your long term memory. If you have cedarwood essential oil, put a drop on the pad of your thumb, press your thumb to the roof of your mouth, and hold it there for a couple of seconds. If you do not have cedarwood, try this same thing with frankincense. The roof of your mouth is a quick pathway to your brain.
Vitamin D Deficiency and Daily Supplemental Dosage
Now that we have applied our essential oil, our brain is ready to absorb this crazy information that we should put away our sunscreen and sunglasses. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to many health issues including osteoporosis, rickets, obesity, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, cancer, psoriasis, diabetes, lupus, asthma, and many others (Hoffer & Saul, 2008, p. 134-138). The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin D is concerningly low, especially for individuals who do not get regular vitamin D from sunlight. Modern clinical studies have shown that we need significantly more vitamin D than what is recommended. The current RDA is 200-400 mg depending on your age; however, in the natural health world, it is recommended to supplement 1,000-4,000 mg daily if you are not regularly in direct sunlight. If you are in direct sunlight on a regular basis, it is still recommended to supplement 1,000 mg per day for optimal health. Vitamin D is fat soluble, so it does collect in our cells and does not flush out like vitamin C. However it is okay to arm your body with much more than 200-400 mg per day as suggested by the FDA. In some cases, people whose bodies are distressed, are able to safely dose up to 10,000 mg per day when necessary.
Personal Story
Several years ago, I was working with a natural health practitioner who gave me what she called a vitamin D “Z-Pak.” I was fighting off something as severe as pneumonia. The “Z-Pak” had me taking 50,000 mg of vitamin D for five days. I was able to fight off the infection naturally and actually felt better just a couple days after starting the high dose. I coupled the vitamin D supplementation with vitamin C and it was a match made in heaven! No prescription antibiotics were necessary, no side effects from the supplements, and a full recovery. You definitely would not want to take a high dose of vitamin D like this every day for the rest of your life, but a high dose for a short amount of time can be beneficial when fighting something off.
Supplement Absorption
When we talk about vitamin D supplementation, we want to make sure we are getting vitamin D in the proper form. When conventional vitamin supplements are taken alone, a mere 15% of bioavailability is absorbed. When supplements are coupled with essential oils, it increases their bioavailability by up to 60-80%! That means, from a conventional supplement you are absorbing only approximately 15% of the nutrients and then excreting the remaining into the toilet. Adding in the pure-therapeutic grade essential oils increases how much you are absorbing to 60-80%, a 45-65% increase.
There are two forms of vitamin D, D3 and D2. They differ by a single carbon atom. Studies show that D3 is utilized by the body much more efficiently (Hoffer & Saul p. 134). When looking for a vitamin D supplement always look for a D3 supplement coupled with essential oils for better absorbency.
Supplementing Vitamin D into our Diet
When determining if you need to supplement vitamin D, check out this 2020 study published in the U.S. Library of Medicine. In short, they found that people suffering from low levels of vitamin D were also at higher risk for complications from COVID-19 and other illnesses.
An inadequate supply of vitamin D has a variety of skeletal and non-skeletal effects. There is ample evidence that various non-communicable diseases (hypertension, diabetes, CVD, metabolic syndrome) are associated with low vitamin D plasma levels. These comorbidities, together with the often concomitant vitamin D deficiency, increase the risk of severe COVID-19 events. (Biesalski, 2020, p. 17)
Looking at everything going on in the world, what do you think would happen if all elderly in nursing homes, children, and adults were given at least 2,000 mg of vitamin D per day. I would love to see the results! Please, make sure your friends who are older are supplementing with a good, quality vitamin D supplement, it is especially important for them right now.
Sun and Vitamin D
Okay let’s get back to talking about the sun. I am not telling you to take off your layers, never put on protection, and bake in the sun all day long burning your skin to a crisp. This would absolutely be absurd, and irresponsible. Doing this repeatedly would more than likely lead to some sort of skin cancer. This is not the idea! I do want to encourage you though to spend a bit of time, every day, (maybe 20-30 minutes) where you are out in the sun uncovered. This will allow the vitamin D to soak into your skin and more than likely will not harm your skin.
Now if you are outside for more than 20-30 minutes, please use a quality sunscreen with ingredients that do not harm your body or the coral reefs and lakes, or wear clothes that cover your body. The reason for this is because most sunscreens contain synthetic chemicals that are incredibly toxic, killing our coral reefs and harming human bodies.
Sunscreen
According to the Environmental Working Group, all non-mineral sunscreen chemicals can be measured in urine and blood samples of the body after just one use. Synthetic chemical filters in most store bought sunscreens may include oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate, and octinoxate (The Trouble With Ingredients in Sunscreens., n.d.).
Oxybenzone is an ingredient that blocks ultraviolet (UV) light from your skin. It may do a great job of blocking the UV light, but it does not do a great job of supporting your endocrine system. Oxybenzone is actually an endocrine disruptor. Basically this means it can affect sperm counts in men; lethargy in men, women, and children; and other hormonal issues, as well as possible cancer (Wildeck, 2020). I will not go into all of the synthetic chemicals found in traditional sunscreen, but please do research on the ingredients. If interested, check out the blog section of my website to see which sunscreens I have found to be the healthiest, and most effective, while supporting a healthy environment. Please, just remember that choosing a quality sunscreen is so important for your long-term health and wellbeing. Those synthetic chemicals might not affect you immediately, but they do add up and build up in your system leading to negative health effects in the long run.
If these synthetic chemicals build up in our systems as humans, imagine what they do to our oceans and lakes? In Hawaii, scientists found that the ingredients oxybenzone and octinoxate lead to bleaching of coral reefs, and also coral death. In May of 2018, Hawaii passed a bill that bans the use of these two chemicals in sunscreens (Hawaii bans sunscreen ingredients that harm coral reefs, 2018).
Sunglasses
Getting some vitamin D from the sun is healthy, but obviously we do not want to let our skin burn. However, a little bit each day is actually a good thing! What about sunglasses? Should we really be covering our eyes with black lenses to block out all of the sunlight? Blocking all of the sun’s rays can affect your hypothalamus negatively because you are not allowing any of that natural vitamin D to enter into your brain through your eyes which could lead to depression. Again, moderation is necessary. Just like with the sunscreen, it is important to be mindful and wear sunglasses if you are out in the sun for long periods of time. Leaving your eyes uncovered for short amounts of time throughout the day is definitely helpful, but do cover your eyes if you are out all day.
Closing
Finding the perfect supplements is so important my friends! Taking them consistently is just as important. I love learning more about how to help our bodies function at optimal levels using supplements, oils, and a healthy diet. I also love learning that bodies can and will heal when given the proper tools. They were designed by a loving God to do just that! Exodus 15:26 says, “He said, ‘If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.’” Our positive affirmation of the week is, “My body is getting stronger every day.”
Thanks so much for tuning in! I truly appreciate you and your diligence to take care of your health naturally. Please message me with any questions you might have about any of the information I shared today. If you have an idea for an upcoming episode, please send it my way, I would be happy to explore the topic. If you appreciated this information, please share it with others. As always, if you are interested in joining my wellness team, please message me and I would be delighted to give you more information.
Products Featured on Today’s Broadcast
Visit www.twelve-stones.net to place an order
Essential Oils
Cedarwood
Frankincense
Supplements
Vitamin C (Super C and Super C Chewable)
Vitamin D (Super D)
Contact me on how to find the specific sunscreen we discussed today
Conclusion
Hey Friends.
Thank you for tuning in to this resource from Twelve Stones Health and Wellness with Christen Hull. If you have an idea for an upcoming episode, send it my way, I would be happy to explore the topic. If you are interested in more information on becoming a member of Young Living and receiving the benefits of synthetic chemical free living in your home, please talk to the person who shared this podcast with you or, visit my website at www.twelve-stones.net. If you find this resource helpful, I encourage you to enjoy and share this podcast. Please do not alter the content in any way or charge for this resource.
References
Biesalski, H. K. (2020, August). Vitamin D deficiency and co-morbidities in COVID-19 patients – A fatal relationship? NFS Journal, 20, 10-21. doi:10.1016/j.nfs.2020.06.001
Hawaii bans sunscreen ingredients that harm coral reefs. (2018, May). Retrieved from Environmental Working Group website: https://www.ewg.org/successes/2018/hawaii-bans-sunscreen-ingredients-harm-coral-reefs
Hoffer, A., & Saul, A. W. (2008). Orthomolecular medicine for everyone: Megavitamin therapeutics for families and physicians (1st ed.). Basic Health Publications.
Saul, A. W. (2012). Doctor yourself: Natural healing that works (2nd Rev. ed.). Basic Health Publications, Inc.
The Trouble With Ingredients in Sunscreens. (n.d.). Retrieved from Environmental Working Group website: https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/the-trouble-with-sunscreen-chemicals/
Wildeck, T. (2020, February 11). What is oxybenzone and why it is bad for you(and the outdoors). Retrieved from The Dyrt website: https://thedyrt.com/magazine/lifestyle/oxybenzone/
