Being out in the sun (without sunscreen!) is vitally important to your health, because the sun gives the body ample amounts of Vitamin D. I am no where near an expert on this topic, but the more I cruise the internet the more I start to hear of Vit D being the next super vitamin. People who get enough Vit D (through the sun...try not to cheat with supplements) are less prone to cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, tooth decay, arthritis , and, important for athletes, obesity. A leading expert in the field is quoted as saying
"The sun is as vital to your health and well-being as food, shelter, water and oxygen."
--Dr. Michael Holick, The Vitamin D Solution
You might be saying "but Coach Nack, I've been told that sun exposure increases the threat of skin cancer. Is that true? If so, are you telling me to go in the sun without sun block?" My answer: yes to the first, and then read this blog post by Dr. Michael Eades to the second. I will not be able to explain it well enough, but basically, yes, the sun does cause skin cancer when exposure is too great, but not getting enough exposure to the sun can be more damaging to the skin and other vital organs of the body.
Dr. Michael Eades generally spends his time in the study of consumption of macronutrients (protein, fat, and carbs) and is highly respected by many (including me) for the work that he has done on un-demonizing fat, and advocating we be smarter about carbohydrate consumption. Check his stuff out here. The post linked to in the previous paragraph is a bit lengthy, but skip around to important parts, or read the whole thing. It is pretty good. The best part I felt was the summary of the lives of a young girl living at the equator compared to a young girl living in the US or Europe. Basically, the girl living further north will have a more comfortable life with more material possessions than her equatorial counterpart, but the equatorial girl will be much less susceptible to a host of diseases so common in our world.
Now this is a track blog, so how does this relate to track. Well, I believe the healthier we are the better athletes we will be. So finally: get out and enjoy the sun. It just might make you a better athlete in the end.
This has turned out much longer than I wanted it to be. Hopefully I will get back to some more frequent posts. I was afraid that my recent change would alienate the few readers I have, so I would love to hear from you in the comments, even if you just say "hi", so I know that you are still around. I hope to continue this blog with just a few site modifications, and those will come shortly. I have an interview for the head girls track position at CVHS today, and any changes will be made from there.
Thanks for reading,
Nack
