Nothing is more valuable to us on Earth compared to the Sun. Without the Sun’s warmth and light, the Earth would be a dormant ball of ice-coated rock. The Sun keeps the seas warm, stirs the atmosphere, generates weather patterns, and provides energy to the growing green plants that further give food and oxygen for life on Earth. So it’s hard to undermine the importance of sunlight.

For example, our body is also meant to be in the Sun, and exposure to sunlight during the day is crucial to our wellbeing. Therefore, it is suggested to take at least 10-15 minutes of daylight daily.

importance of sunlight and 4 benefits of Vitamin-d

In this blog, we will cover a wide array of questions like

• The importance of the Sun,
• Benefits of Vitamin -D
• Why its Vitamin -D deficiency is so rampant in India

Importance of Sunlight

When natural sunlight hits the skin, it triggers the body’s production of vitamin D. Vitamin D is also known as “the sunshine vitamin.”

Sunlight Produces Vitamin-D in our Body

It is a vital component for overall health; it defends against inflammation, reduces high blood pressure, helps muscles, develops brain function, and may even guard against cancer.

Low vitamin D levels cause heart disease, prostate cancer, and dementia. With its contrast to India

Why is vitamin D deficiency rampant in India?

Vitamin D deficiency prevails in epidemic proportions all over the Indian subcontinent among the general population. In India, food items such as dairy products are extensively eaten. However, they are rarely sustained with vitamin D.

Indian socio-religious and cultural traditions do not promote sufficient sun exposure, thereby opposing the possible benefits of abundant sunshine. Therefore, subclinical vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in both urban and rural areas.

In India, Vitamin D deficiency is likely to play an important role in the very high prevalence of rickets, osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and infections such as tuberculosis.

Tanner skin has a large melanin content, which works as a natural sunscreen. Therefore, darker skin produces a significantly lesser amount of vitamin D when compared with the individuals with fairer skin, such as Caucasians.

Thus, for Indian skin tone, the minimum “direct sun exposure” daily requirement is more than 45 minutes to bear face, arms, and legs. Atmospheric pollution of metropolitan India also factors in concerning vitamin D levels.

More factors contributing to Vitamin-D Deficiency in India 

The extreme discomfort of the scorching heat associated with most sunny days of Indian summer and the undying desire of most Indians to attain a fairer skin complexion instantly extinguish any willingness to sun exposure, and a person’s primary focus is on finding ways to avoid the Sun, at all costs.

In the blazing heat of India, these two concerns score very high, and the quest for vitamin D sufficiency always takes a backseat.

Therefore, in the Indian scenario, vitamin D sufficiency cannot be attained by depending on adequate sunlight exposure.

In summary, Sun exposure is by far the best way to boost vitamin D levels, particularly because very few foods contain significant amounts.

Benefits of Vitamin -D

1) Healthy Bones – Vitamin D plays a significant role in regulating calcium and maintaining phosphorus levels in the blood. These factors are essential for keeping strong bones. In addition, people require vitamin D to allow the intestines to stimulate and absorb calcium and develop calcium that the kidneys would otherwise eliminate. Vitamin D deficiency in children can cause rickets – responsible for a critical bow-legged appearance due to the weakening of the bones. Similarly, in adults, vitamin D deficiency exhibits osteomalacia or softening of the bones— resulting in poor bone density and muscular weakness.

Healthy Bones

2) Reduce Depression – Some research has shown that vitamin D can play an important role in regulating mood and warding off depression. In one study, scientists discovered that people with depression who took vitamin D supplements marked improved symptoms. In another study of people with fibromyalgia, a condition that causes widespread muscle pain and tenderness, researchers found that vitamin D deficiency was more common in those experiencing anxiety and depression.

3) Better sleep – Vitamin D deficiency can affect your sleep. Morning sunlight exposure is associated with more satisfying sleep and health. Getting fewer morning lights could make it more difficult to fall asleep and wake up at preferred times. Sunlight directly affects the brain’s pineal gland. It’s the gland that produces melatonin, a powerful antioxidant important for sleep quality and helps prevent depression. 

4) Boost Immune system – Vitamin D helps our immune systems stay balanced during the cold and flu season. Vitamin D receptors and stimulating enzymes on all white blood cells cover to keep the immune system healthy is very complex because the immune system has to be perfectly balanced. If there is enough stimulation, autoimmune diseases can begin. If there is insufficient immune system activity, frequent infections can happen. Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to low vitamin D levels, associated with worsening autoimmune diseases. Low levels of vitamin D are not the underlying problem of the autoimmune disease, but insufficient vitamin D levels can worsen autoimmune disease states.

Healthy women reflect bacteria attack with punching—concept illustration about boosting Immunity with Exercise.

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