Recent studies that have been made in order to understand how to protect our skin against the sun and how quickly skin cancer develops have revealed good and bad news. No one has even doubted about the benefits of vitamin D some time ago and its positive effect on our well-being, bones, blood pressure. In addition, it was announced that this vitamin helps to prevent various forms of cancer, such as breast, prostate and others.
The bad news is that experts from Detroit announced that they have found that people with high levels of vitamin D in their blood are at a higher risk of developing non-melanoma skin cancer. However, it is not clear whether the excess of vitamin D was produced by sun, x-rays, ultraviolet radiation or food additives.
Vitamin D is produced in the body after spending long periods of time in a direct sunlight, so the essence remains the same – people must continue to limit the time spent in a sun exposure and protect their skin. The optimal level of vitamin D in the body is from 50 to 80 nanograms per milliliter. Vitamin D levels can be detected with blood tests. Many people believe that they often lack of vitamin D and start using special supplements.
However, Nutrition Institute of Laval University, Quebec, have approved finding of German and British scientists – three pieces of dark chocolate a day at least can protect our skin from harmful sun rays. This theory states that the antioxidants in chocolate improve blood flow to the skin and help to protect it against harmful ultraviolet rays.
Besides, there is some good news for coffee lovers as well. Scientists have found that coffee can even help to prevent several forms of cancer, including skin cancer. The study found that coffee blocks the
ATR enzyme that activates ultraviolet rays what may lead to cancer.