{"id":18,"date":"2020-04-29T16:49:52","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T16:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rashidps.com\/blog\/?p=18"},"modified":"2022-09-26T20:33:31","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T20:33:31","slug":"sun-exposure-aging-skin-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rashidps.com\/blog\/sun-exposure-aging-skin-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Sun Exposure, Aging & Skin Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aging is a natural process of all life and fighting such a fundamental and natural phenomenon might seem futile. What if out of all of the factors that equate to aging, we could isolate the single most important one that makes us look older than we actually are and, maybe, that makes us look old, period?<\/p>\n

Well, as it turns out, more than one peer-reviewed scientific study has already isolated that single target. It\u2019s the one that gives us between \u00a060 and 80 percent of our aged look. And it has been shining in our faces for a long time.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at just one of these studies<\/a>: In 2013, a team of scientists from France concluded that not only is aging most influenced by extrinsic factors \u2014 meaning, external factors that come from outside of our bodies \u2014 but that UV exposure appeared to be responsible for a full \u201c80% of visible facial aging signs.\u201d Other studies rank that number even higher, concluding that up to 90 percent of the aged look of our skin comes about from sun exposure. Excessive sun exposure is also the major cause of the most common form of cancer today (skin cancer) and doctors believe it can be avoided altogether by preventing sun damage.<\/p>\n

The sun gives off two types of radiation that impact our skin: Ultraviolet A (UVA) and Ultraviolet B (UVB). We need to protect ourselves from prolonged exposure to either of them. UVA makes up 95% of the sunlight that reaches our skin and is considered the sun\u2019s \u201csilent killer\u201d as, unlike UVB rays, you won\u2019t feel the effect of UVA rays damaging your skin. These UVA rays are also what a sunscreen\u2019s SPF rating is based on: to safeguard yourself from UVB rays as well, pick up a sunscreen that is also labeled \u201cbroad spectrum.\u201d And keep in mind that it\u2019s not only \u201cwhen the sun is out\u201d that we need to be mindful of sunscreen, rather, it\u2019s any time that daylight is present.<\/p>\n

Of course, the sun is also a prime source of vitamin D, which helps us to protect from various diseases including heart disease, osteoporosis, and three types of cancer, as well as insomnia and depression. Where do we draw the line? Ten to fifteen minutes of sun exposure can give you 10,000 IU of vitamin D that is generally recommended.<\/p>\n

The study by French scientists mentioned above also found that a decrease of just 2% in \u201csun damage percentage\u201d could equate to lowering our visual age by 3 years over a lifetime. Thus, here are some suggestions to help you stay safer, look more youthful, and remain healthy:<\/p>\n