What do aliens eat?
Do you remember Jaadu from Koi Mil Gaya? The cute alien had superpowers which made Rohit’s (Hritik Roshan) muscles powerful, bones stronger, and healed his dysfunctional nervous system. What did Jaadu eat to achieve such extraordinary abilities? After trying to feed him all types of food he could think of finally Rohit came to realize that the alien only ate sunlight.
yes! Sunlight is the super ‘food’ that we are going to discuss in today’s post.
Health benefits of sunlight
Sunlight has numerous important functions. Exposure to sunlight improves mood by releasing happy chemicals in the nervous system, enhances the quality of sleep, and boosts immunity. The 2017 Nobel prize in medicine was awarded to researchers (Hall, Rosbash &Young) who showed how sunlight controls our daily rhythm.
But by far the most important function of sun rays in our body is the production of Vitamin D. Vitamin D regulates the amount of calcium in the body. Calcium is responsible for strong bones strong teeth, the function of muscles nerves and the heart.
Lack of Vitamin D often remains unrecognized as the symptoms are not very obvious. Vitamin D deficiency produces weakness of bone, fatigue, depression and poorly localized pain.
How is your vitamin D level?
Research says 80 to 90% of the Indian population across all age groups are low on vitamin D. if you are an urban citizen into sedentary work you too are probably suffering from vitamin D deficiency.
The average Indian meal is not high in Vitamin D. Here in Bangalore, every other patient I see is vegetarian, which also increases the chances of deficiency.
What you need to do
While common sense says you must increase your sun exposure, there is a trade-off. Too much sun also increases the risk of skin cancer. The good news is we, the Indians are largely protected from skin cancer because of the increased amount of melanin in our skin. However, it also means that we need a higher amount of sunlight to produce adequate levels of Vitamin D.
Popular belief is to get your sun exposure early in the morning. While the morning light is important for adjusting to daily rhythm, it is now advised to get a shorter period of sun exposure when the sun is shining strong. This is because the longer the exposure to the sun higher is the risk of getting erythema (reddening of the skin) as erythema increases the chances of skin cancer. Short-term exposure to large body areas (face, arms) can produce adequate Vitamin D without creating erythema. Another strategy could be to protect the commonly exposed areas of the face and arms and get the sun rays in less exposed areas like the legs or back.
The recommended duration of sun exposure varies from time of the day, season, skin colour etc. Most researchers have recommended 10 -30 minutes of sun exposure in a day. It is recommended to get sunscreen protection beyond this period. Also, it is important to know that UVB (the kind of UV that makes vitamin D) is completely blocked by clear glass. So if you are sitting by the window for your dose of vitamin D, make sure to open it to get direct access.
If your skin gets red easily when exposed to sun, or you do not have enough opportunity to get good enough sun, contact your dermatologist and consider taking a vitamin D supplement.
Looking at the facts it Rohit’s transformation in the film ‘Koi.. mil gaya’ doesn’t appear too far fetched. Jaadu the alien must have boosted the vitamin D in Rohit’s body! You can do the same, by improving your sun exposure.
How much sun exposure do you have? Do you have any of the above symptoms? Let us know in the comments section.
Keep watching this place daily for easy and effective health tips.
About the author
Dr Subhanjan Das (PT)
BPT, MPT (MSk & Sports), CMP(NZ), Diploma in football medicine (FIFA)
Consultant Physiotherapist of Apollo & Reliva Clinic, HSR Layout, Bangalore
Contact: +91 8967549104
Dr Subhanjan Das (PT) has over 14 years of clinical and 12 years of academic experience. A friendly professional with lots of patience and skilful hands, Dr Subhanjan has worked with thousands of his patients for instant relief of pain and rapid return to activities. He has treated elite athletes for recovery, injury prevention and performance enhancement.
Dr Das is specialized in Orthopaedic and sports physiotherapy and has keeps himself updated with the latest advancements in the field of physiotherapy. He has undergone training on advanced orthopaedic techniques such as Dry Needling, Mulligan Concept, McKenzie method, Pilates, Cupping therapy, McConnel and kinesio taping from the best faculties around the world.
Dr Das has taught in 5 universities across India and has trained physiotherapists in 50+ workshops within and outside India.
Much informative… Had some doubts at the start of the post, which eventually resolved by the explanation later… Thank you👍
Welcome Prajakta
Agreed
This is indeed very useful info
Very useful tips, penned in the best possible way.
Very useful. Meny of us like me had a wrong concept that, we can synthesis more vit-D from
morning sunlight. Thanks for clearly explaining.