GEORGIE - The sun is back!!

Finally - the time has come for us Blighty dwellers to address our Vitamin D deficiencies!! It’s been a long old winter but I have really felt over the last few days that spring might be on it’s way - I even hung washing on the line today!

Did you know that the sun is CRUCIAL for your wellbeing? The regular emergence of the sun post winter is generally GREAT for you mood - have you noticed how much better you feel that it is back and the temperature is finally warm? Whether you are a sufferer of S.A.D (Seasonal Affective Disorder - a condition that means you get melancholy or worse from lack of warm weather or proper sunlight) or just a little vitamin D deficient, there is NO question, the sun has healing properties. It sends those blues away and makes us all feel a little more alive!

We have heard for years and years about how the sun is bad for us. It is! But it is also good for us, in very small quantities. The skin cancer rates tell us that over exposure to the sun is something to fear, but striking some kind of balance is really important here. Getting a little bit of UVA and UVB at this time of year in particular is crucial for your wellbeing so try and make sure that you get a little bit of sun. Vitamin D is what you get from the sun - a vitamin that helps our bodies absorb and regulate calcium which everyone knows is vital for healthy bone health and can help prevent diseases like osteoporosis. I also think sun is good for you head. It just makes everything a little less grey doesn’t it!

So how do you strike the balance? Well in countries like the UK where the sun isn’t exactly scorching, a doctor would recommend you take a half hour at the least in the spring, autumn and winter months. That means actually taking the time to go out for a walk and let your skin feel a little bit of sun. In the summer, if it is actually hot, then no more then 15 minutes of sun exposure is recommended for obvious reasons. If you are lucky like Zar and live down under where the weather is hot as hell in the summer then you have to be SO much more careful. Zar has said her doctor recommended 10 minutes of sun exposure in the summer and up to 40 minutes per day in the winter. The key obviously is to just be careful. Here is the crux - your body does not get the benefits of vitamin D through layers of clothing or sunscreen, but in hot weather you just can’t chance too much exposure or you will burn and that is an absolute NO NO. (It’s also ageing! God forbid!) So, take the doctors advice. Get a teeny weeny bit of sun on your skin to help your body’s Vitamin D intake. If you do the usual - car, office, office, car and home - try and take ten minutes out at least to just walk or sit in the sun. Then if you continue to stay outdoors, put on your sunscreen so that you don’t burn. My dermatologists recommended I wear a factor sp15 all year round, a sp30 in the summer without fail.

Just as a footnote - you can also help your Vitamin D intake with the following foods, eggs, milk and fatty fish - but even the benefits of supplements pale into comparison with the power of the sun when it comes to getting your D in!!