A conversation with Uwe Riedmann on a groundbreaking report on the health benefits of UV exposure and why current public health recommendations may need reconsideration, also discussed in the context of the latest ESA position paper.
What does it take to leave everything behind and start fresh on a sunlit island in the Mediterranean? In this very first episode of Sunny Podcasts, I talk with Annette Eccles, who boldly left the US to build a new life on Crete.
Human skin colour is not just a matter of aesthetics – it is a record of thousands of years of evolution, in which sunlight and nutrients such as folate shaped our health and survival.
Pigmentation genes are now one of the fastest-growing areas of research. Just three decades ago, our knowledge of skin colour was very limited – it was believed that only a few single genes were responsible for it.
Skin color is the result of a brilliant survival strategy – for thousands of years, pigmentation adapted to the amount of sunlight in the environment.
Today, however, our lives look very different from the past – we spend most of our time indoors, with very little contact with natural sunlight…
Skin colour is the result of a brilliant survival strategy, encoded in our bodies over thousands of years. Skin pigmentation is no accident – it is nature’s precise response to the amount of light in our environment.
Cardiovascular diseases are responsible for as much as 32% of all deaths worldwide, making them the leading cause of mortality globally. For years, UVA radiation has had a bad reputation. And yet, it is precisely this type of light that has a beneficial impact on the heart.
In recent years, sun protection has gained huge popularity. At the same time, more and more people are seeking a more balanced approach – one that combines care for the skin with the benefits of light exposure.
Now, during the season of sun, sea, and suntans, it’s a great time to get to know your skin type. Your skin phototype determines how long you can stay in the sun, what kind of protection you need, and… how your body will react to those first rays of light.
In daily weather forecasts, information about the so-called UV Index appears more and more often. But what exactly is the UV Index? How should it be interpreted, and why is it worth paying attention to – not only in summer?
Before soaking up those first rays of sunshine, it’s worth asking yourself: is my skin ready for the sun? Proper preparation is not just about aesthetics, it’s primarily about health and comfort, also mental.
As Dr. Holick puts it: “We were designed by nature to be exposed to sunlight daily—not just for vitamin D, but for a whole range of processes that support our health and vitality.”