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Can Sunshine Prevent Multiple Sclerosis

24th May, 2011 - Posted by health news - No Comments

We’ve invested the past few decades discussing how important it is to stay out of the sun. We recognize exactly how real skin cancer is as well as the risks associated with it so we do everything we can think to do to keep it from happening to us. We buy the highest SPF sunscreens we could locate and then slather on layers and layers of it. We have on big floppy hats. We wear long pants along with sleeves even during the hottest months of the year. We try and stick to the shady areas—some people have even taken to carrying parasols around with them to keep the sun from ever making contact with their skin. Now we are beginning to realize that sunlight can actually help us. Can the sun really help you? Learning how to lose weight fast can be difficult since there is so much info out there.

A new study has been performed and it demonstrates that people who allow some time in direct sunshine aren’t as likely to get MS as the people who do everything they can to keep out of the sun. Originally the analysis was to see how Vitamin D impacted the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. Eventually it became apparent, however, that it was the Vitamin D our bodies generate as a response to exposure to the sun’s rays that seems to be at the root of the issue. Losing weight can be a difficult task if you are not prepared.

We’ve known for a very long time that sunlight and Vitamin D can slow down the way the immune system plays a role in MS. This distinct study, though, is targeted on how sunlight affects the people who are starting to experience the very earliest of MS symptoms. The actual objective is to observe how sunlight and Vitamin D may affect the symptoms that are now known as “precursors” to the actual disease symptoms.

Unfortunately there are not really a lot of ways of really quantify the hypothesis of the study. The study really wants to demonstrate whether or not exposure to the sun’s rays can actually prevent MS. Sadly, researchers have came to the realization that the only method to prove this definitively is to monitor a person for his entire life. This is only way that it is possible to calculate and fully grasp the levels of Vitamin D that can be found in a person’s blood before the precursors of the disease show up. The way it stands now, and has stood (widely recognized) for a long time is that people who live in warm and sunny climates and who get more exposure to direct sunshine are less likely to develop MS than those who live in dark or cold climates and get very little exposure to the sun.

The fact that the danger of acquiring skin cancer goes up proportionally to the amount of time you spend in direct sunlight (without protection) is also a problem. So, if you try and prevent one disease, there’s a chance you’re helping to induce the other one. Of course, skin cancer—if caught early on—has an increased possibility of being cured. MS still isn’t curable.

So should you improve your exposure to the sun so that you don’t get MS? Talk to your physician to figure out if this is a good idea. Your physician will consider your current state of health and fitness, your health history and even into your genetics to help you figure out if you even sit at risk for the disease at all. From here your doctor will be able to make it easier to choose the best course of action.