Contents:
- Medical Video: The Healing Power of Sunlight
- Benefits of sunlight for bones
- How long do you have to sunbathe to strengthen bones?
- A high-vitamin D food source
Medical Video: The Healing Power of Sunlight
You don't need to bother looking for ways to maintain bone health. Just sunbathe in the direct sunlight for a few minutes every day. Many studies report that the benefits of sunlight can not only strengthen bones, but also avoid you from the risk of fractures. Indeed, what does sunlight have to do with bone health?
Benefits of sunlight for bones
The benefits of sunlight help the body produce vitamin D automatically, by changing cholesterol under the skin to calcitriol (vitamin D3). The vitamin will then be directly channeled to the liver and kidneys to then be circulated throughout the body through the bloodstream. Even more than 80 percent of the vitamin D that the body needs comes from sunlight.
Vitamin D is one of the bone-forming nutrients. The main role of vitamin D in the body is to help absorb calcium and phosphorus into the bones. This effect ultimately helps overall bone growth and strength.
Vitamin D deficiency makes the body quickly lose these two important minerals, so this makes your bones fragile, easily broken, and at risk of osteoporosis. Vitamin D deficiency also makes the body's immune system not work well, causing an increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis (chronic arthritis) which also affects bone health.
In many cases, people only realize osteoporosis after a bone has broken. If your bones are already fragile, even just coughing or sneezing can break your ribs and a vertebral segment or get injured.
How long do you have to sunbathe to strengthen bones?
Based on the Nutrition Adequacy Rate (RDA), the average vitamin D needed by the body is 15 mcg per day. While for people aged over 65 years generally need more intake, which is around 25 mcg per day.
Because of the risk of skin cancer, there are no official recommendations for how much or how long you should be exposed to sunlight. But according to the World Health Organization (WHO), you only need to be exposed to morning sunlight at least 5 to 15 minutes at least two to three times a week without using sunscreen, especially for those of you who have pale white skin. The duration of this sunbath is enough to cover most of your daily vitamin D needs
For the territory of Indonesia, the recommended sunbathing time is from 10am to 2pm.
A high-vitamin D food source
If you are among those who spend more time indoors, you can get around your vitamin D intake from certain food sources. Some foods that are rich in vitamin D include fatty fish (such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines, and herring), egg yolks, red meat, and so on.
If necessary, you can also take supplements to help meet the needs of this vitamin. However, before taking any supplements, you should consult your doctor first to get the right dose according to your needs.
