Importance of Vitamin D in body
Vitamin D is essential for health, especially bone health and immunity. It is synthesized basically when sunlight interacts with the epidermal cells in the skin through UVB radiation. There is more or less overwhelming evidence that vitamin D might also play a protective role in preventing certain cancers, including skin cancer. Vitamin D regulates various cellular processes, including differentiation, apoptosis (programmed cell death), and the modulation of the immune system, all of which are important in preventing tumorigenesis. Recently published case-control and experimental research studies suggest that vitamin D diminishes the onset of non-melanoma skin cancers, basal cell carcinomas, and squamous cell carcinomas by DNA damage repair following UV exposure.
Can Vitamin D prevent cancer?
According to Dr Aravind Badiger Technical Director BDR Pharmaceuticals, “Vitamin D, we all know, is formed in the body as a result of sun exposure, and it counts as one of the simplest chemical compounds produced by the human body in response to sun-induced skin damage, promotion of the immune system, and inhibition of cancer cell proliferation. While the exact nature of the antineoplastic activity of vitamin D is still under vigorous investigation, the prospects that maintenance of vitamin D status might lead to reduced risk of skin cancer are rather promising.”
However, the balance between the advantages of vitamin D protection and the continued application or use of sunscreen is a true debate. A generally accepted but by no means universally accepted scientific answer is that sunscreen is perhaps the best way to prevent skin cancer by protecting the skin from damaging UV radiation. Block or absorb UVB rays to rectify the most damaging effects of sunscreens on different skin types responsible for DNA damage. Broad UV barriers minimize odds of skin-related issues long enough that sunscreens with active chemical ingredients—mineral sunscreens such as zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, and chemical filters—are made available.
Can sunscreen prevent vitamin D absorption?
One concern, however, is that sunscreens may suppress the skin’s ability to produce vitamin D, which is synthesized due to the very action of UVB rays. Although sunscreen is known to operate by blocking the skin’s absorption of UVB rays, studies indicate this condition does not produce a drastic negative effect on the synthesis of vitamin D when used properly. Sunscreen, when applied properly and reapplied at reasonable intervals, may diminish vitamin D production but will not suppress it completely. Indeed, short amounts of sun exposure—a brief walk outdoors in the sun, for example, are usually long enough for the body to synthesize enough vitamin D without appreciable increase in the risk of skin cancer worldwide.
How to combat vitamin D deficiency?
Individuals at risk of developing vitamin D deficiency, especially those with limited sun exposure and living in sunlight-challenged areas, supplementation is still the best option. In order to keep the body’s vitamin D to its normal level without requiring people to spend long times in the sun, pharmaceutical companies manufacture vitamin D supplements. These are just suitable for those who cannot obtain enough vitamin D from food or natural sunlight—anyone who has darker skin tones or who is almost always indoors.