On pages 50-52 the relationship between vitamin D, cholesterol levels, and sunlight were all discussed. It was stated that vitamin D is a unique type of vitamin because it can actually be naturally made within the body given the right amount of exposure to sunlight. This process is made possible with cholesterol in the body as the system portrays Big Idea 2 (Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis) as cholesterol is converted vitamin D.
However, too much of something is not always a good thing, and such is the case for sunlight. Although sunlight and cholesterol levels have an inverse relationship, too much exposure to UV radiation from the sun can actually be damaging in the sense that it can lead to things like skin cancers and spina bifida in newborn infants. In your personal opinion, which extreme seem to reflect off of your lifestyle choices? Which would you then prefer? Do you think that it's a matter of regulating the intensity and amount of too little or too much sun that causes such problems? If so, what would be the fine balance in your opinion, especially if there are other means for the body to gain vitamin D (and what are those other means)?
(Lois Kim, lokim3@students.d125.org)
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ReplyDeleteAccording to a lot of research and the points made by Dr. Moalem, the amount of vitamin D we make can be closely influenced by the amount of exposure we have to the sun. If i look at my lifestyle choices, i would probably be in the category with higher cholesterol and lower vitamin D. Since I'm at school most of the day and the rest of the time is spent in doors, I doubt that my vitamin D production is at its optimal level. Even when I am being physically active, it is usually inside a building, so I am outside very little during the school year.
ReplyDeleteIf i had to choose between over-exposure to sunlight that causes various various diseases such as skin cancer or under-exposure that leaves me with a vitamin D deficiency, I would choose under-exposure. Cancer is life threatening and a horrible condition that I would not want to experience, but not enough vitamin D is significantly less dangerous. I could also just drink more milk or take supplements, so I would have the best of both worlds:no cancer and no vitamin D deficiency.
Dr. Moalem mentions various pieces of evidence that establish a connection between vitamin D production and sunlight exposure, so i would say that having the right amount of vitamin D (but not overexposure to sunlight) is very much up to us controlling the amount of sunlight exposure we get. Our society has become primarily indoors and not exposed to sunlight. An article from the NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/health/27brod.html?_r=0) talks about how vitamin D is becoming a very popular supplement. They claim that vitamin D deficiencies are very common, most likely due to the fact that we live in a sedentary and indoors society. As a result, vitamin D has become the "most talked about and written-about supplement of the decade". So while exposure to sunlight is a possible way to maintain an optimal vitamin D production, this has become difficult due to our lifestyles. Going into the future, i see the vitamin D supplement industry growing even further as more and more people work indoors, so it will become less a matter of getting enough sunlight and more of a matter of taking a pill in the morning.
Prince shared that he thinks that his body produces enough vitamin D due to his exposure to sunlight. This is a great way for people to maintain a good balance of vitamin D if they have the time to go outside and feel like doing so. The balance of the vitamin D problem seems to be getting enough vitamin D from sunlight while being careful enough that you aren't over exposing yourself to the UV radiation that can cause cancer after too much exposure. Prince also mentioned that drinking milk is another way to have vitamin D in your body. I agree with him, and these are both great suggestions. I would also add that (as I said earlier) most people that can't find the time to go outside or are lazy or perhaps hate the sun (you know who you are) would be perfect candidates to take a vitamin D supplement. The supplement industry has grown 3 times since 2007- from $23.7 billion to $61 billion in the US economy (http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Industry/Supplements-industry-worth-61bn-to-US-economy). According to the growth in the supplement industry, many people are beginning to see the value in taking supplements to get vitamins/nutrients/minerals that they don't get from their diet and lifestyle. I would agree because i think that taking supplements to have a proper balance in your body is a good alternative to natural ways of getting these nutrients.
(Mikhail Iouchkov - mikhailiouchkov@gmail.com)
In my personal opinion, my lifestyle choices seem to be based more of the "outdoor person" and I get enough sunlight when I go out for run or to play some ball in the park. Dr. Moalem described two major lifestyles in relation to how most be obtain their daily dose of vitamin D. He first described how humans have the ability to use ultraviolet B from the sun for converting our own cholesterol into vitamin D.(pg 51) The produced vitamin D will be used by the body for ensuring the growth of healthy bones in children and maintaining healthy bones in Adults. It can also be used for the proper functioning of the heart, the nervous system, the clotting process, and the immune system.
ReplyDeleteWithout sufficient vitamin D, we are prone heart disease, arthritis, psoriasis,mental illness, and even diabetes. Not enough of this vitamin also leads to rickets. But apart from the production of vitamin D, the conversion of cholesterol to this vitamin by our skin also could aid in the prevention of heart attack by reducing the amount of cholesterol we have in our bodies. But on the other hand, too much exposure to ultraviolet B could destroy your folic acid within your body leading to diseases such as spina bifidia.
But I personally prefer going out in the sun more than staying indoors because this information has proven to me that, there are more biological benefits for going outside than the risk of getting overexposure to UVB. I also believe that unlike Mikhail, the amount of melanin within my skin gives me a natural advantage to be relatively more protected against UVB overexposure than him. According the the “Skin Cancer Foundation”, the human skin has three layers consisting of the epidermis, the dermis, and fat. Cells in the epidermis produce melanin which provides us with our skin and eye color. The more the melanin produced in a person, the darker their skin tone becomes. Melanin produced can served as a sun protection factor(SPF) especially for African-Americans who have a SPF of 13.4, compared to 3.4 in caucasians (http://www.skincancer.org/prevention/skin-cancer-and-skin-of-color). This relates to Big Idea 1: The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life because the darker skin of people with African descent can account to the intense sunlight their ancestors had to endure in Africa. So individuals with higher SPF had the favorable trait which would have helped them to reduce their risk of skin cancer, and they would have eventually outlived those with lighter skins and reproduced. But there are people who do get too much exposure to sunlight such as young teenagers wanting to tan over the summer. Such an action must done with caution by doing it maybe twice a week instead of everyday. I would personally discourage the use of tanning beds. The UVA and UVB rays emitted by these machines have a higher potential for causing radiation in the skin compared to natural sunlight which could cause melanoma(http://www.skincancer.org/news/tanning/tanning-beds-who-issues-official-warning). For people who want a tan, I suggest regulated amounts of exposure to natural sunlight so they can get a tan and obtain enough vitamin D also. Another means of getting sufficient vitamin D is by drinking milk which already fortified with it or as Mikhail stated, by taking supplements.
(Prince Morkeh pmorkeh4@students.d125.org)