ICAM News

The Benefits of Sunshine

 

I hate winter. The only good thing about winter is that I don’t get any mosquito bites. Of all the things I enjoy most about summer, sunshine is what I miss most. If you are thinking that I am “solar-powered”, you probably are somewhat right. The BBC-Science and Nature tells us that the sun’s energy output is estimated to be 386 billion, billion megawatts, and arrives here in ultraviolet radiation, UVC being the most dangerous. No wonder getting out into the sunshine has been described as an experience that could be good, bad, or ugly. There is, however, an answer on the horizon as researchers at the University of California in the March 2007 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggested that vitamin D, in combination with 10 to l5 minutes of sun, and a healthy diet could reduce colorectal cancer by two-thirds. The BBC also says that a two-week Mediterranean holiday gives the equivalent of a whole year of exposure to the sun in the U.K. But enough said…. I need to sign off for now so that I can escort my husband on vacation somewhere sunny and warm, to research this further, of course.

 

Val Hadwen
Library Technician

 

References:

www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/sunshine
www.cbc.ca/news/background/health