Sunshine keeps you healthy

Spring sunshine lifting your spirits? Well soaking up some rays could also be boosting your immune system.

Sunshine News LL
Sunshine News LL
(Image credit: Rex)
Natalia Lubomirski
By
published
in Features

Spring sunshine lifting your spirits? Well soaking up some rays could also be boosting your immune system.

After a very long winter a spot of sunshine is sure to raise anyone's spirits. However it could also be boosting your immune system.

Research has shown that vitamin D, most of which is produced when our skin is exposed to sunlight, performs a vital role in activating our white blood cells that protect our bodies from infections, food poisoning and even cancer.

It has been reported on the Mail Online that this discovery could aid in the development of vaccines, and could even shed new light on illnesses brought about by immune system malfunctions, such as multiple sclerosis.

It has been well documented that vitamin D, also found in oily fish and eggs, is important for calcium absorption and bone health, but scientists had not realised the crucial role it plays in the immune system.

The vitamin activates dormant white blood cells to seek out and destroy infections, while other white blood cells allow the immune system to build a memory of this infection, enabling it tackle the infection more quickly the next time round.

So what are you waiting for girls, dig out those bikinis and soak up those rays! (In moderation, of course.)

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH NEWS

Natalia Lubomirski
Natalia Lubomirski
Natalia is a health journalist with 14 years experience in the publishing industry. She has worked for a number of well known magazines and websites including Marie Claire, Woman&Home, Top Sante, Boots and The Telegraph.  She likes to think she practices what she preaches when it comes to health and fitness. Her athletic prowess began early. A keen fencer for 13 years, she wielded an epée for Olympic Team GB during her teenage years. She likes to think she made sword-fighting cool before Game of Thrones came along! While working on her sporting performance with the team, she also participated in a lot of nutrition and psychology training, When it comes to time off, you’ll most likely find her up a mountain somewhere. It seems holidays have become a time for climbing several thousand feet, rather than chilling out. She’s now hiked eight of the major mountain ranges across four continents – including the Appalachians, the Smokies, the Sierra Nevadas (she spent her honeymoon hiking to the top of Half Dome), as well as hitting the summits of Snowdon, Pen-Y-Fan (Brecon Beacons), Table Mountain in South Africa, the Blue Mountains in Australia and the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. She’s also passionate about all things health, particularly vaccinations, and will happily jump on her soap box at any given opportunity to talk about their benefits to anyone who will listen!
Latest