We are full estate and the sole and the most time available to us they can give us, in addition to the well-deserved rest, important benefits for our health. If we expose ourselves to sunrays judiciously, for example, we will have a greater synthesis of Vitamin D with enormous advantages for our health. If we then expose ourselves to the sun either during the early hours of the morning or in the late afternoon while doing physical activity, we will complete the cycle, giving our body an important boost at the skeletal, muscular, cardiovascular, psychic level as well as our immune system.
A sedentary lifestyle is associated with many diseases: dal overweightobesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes II, cardio and cerebrovascular diseases, cancer, anxiety and depression, which are largely attributable to a chronic inflammatory state linked to a bad lifestyle.
In practice, our body undergoes the action of free radicals deriving from a diet poor in micronutrients, poor quality and high in calories which, together with low physical activity, leads to an increase in adipose tissue, thus favoring an inflammatory state of our body which it predisposes us to many diseases.
Physical exercise, as I always repeat, it has enormous benefits both at the muscle level (opposing, for example, the muscle decline related to both age and a sedentary lifestyle) with an improvement both in body composition even in elderly subjects, and in the cardiovascular level, as well as in the immune function by opposing, for example, the physiological decline in our defenses which occurs with advancing age and which exposes us to a greater risk of infectious and degenerative diseases such as cancer.
We have to ask ourselves, however, what type of exercise can give us these benefits?
We can say that as far as immunity is concerned, we do not benefit from high-intensity physical exercise repeated over time since, for example, it leads to an increase in cortisol which has a depressing effect on the immune response. This is demonstrated in professional athletes (and not only) by the increase in Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) after long-lasting endurance races such as a marathon or high-intensity running. It has in fact been demonstrated that after this type of competition, especially if not managed well both in terms of training and nutrition and supplementation, there can be a substantial increase in upper respiratory tract diseases favored by the immune deficiency linked to sustained physical exercise or, as some recent studies show, that repeated high-intensity physical exercise (typically at the weekend, wanting to make up for everything that one failed to do during the week) can be associated with an increase in cardiovascular disease. If, on the other hand, I manage to do 5 days a week of 20-30 minute aerobic exercise, alternating with daily motor snacks (for example pushups on the arms and legs) and about two sessions a week of stretching and weight training, even when natural, I will have enormous benefits on my body.
In addition to physical exercise, a significant impact on musculoskeletal, metabolic and immune health can be provided by the increased secretion of Vitamin D linked to sun exposure, provided that, as I said at the beginning of this article, this occurs judiciously in the early hours in the morning or late afternoon to avoid the risk to the health of the skin deriving from the action of ultraviolet rays.
Vitamin D deficiency it is widespread due to multiple factors often difficult to explain related to genetic, racial, lifestyle factors and in athletes when carrying out their indoor activity. My Vitamin D is a steroid hormone synthesized in the skin through sun exposure. The diet provides about 10-20% of its daily requirement since a very limited number of foods contain Vitamin D, such as fatty fish (e.g. salmon), mushrooms and, to a small extent, dairy products and eggs.
But what levels of Vitamin D (25 OHD3) do we need to reach to have positive effects on our health?
The scientific literature is now in agreement on the fact that a concentration of 25(OH)D > 50 nmol/L can be defined as good, insufficient (concentration of 25(OH)D between 30 and 50 nmol/L or 12-20 ng/mL ), and deficient (25(OH)D levels < 30 nmol/L or < 12 ng/mL). Vitamin D has beneficial effects on both the skeletal and extra-skeletal levels. There is growing evidence that it regulates many other cellular functions, and its potential effect on skeletal muscle mass and strength is receiving increasing attention. Vitamin D in athletes, but also in healthy active subjects, increases muscle strength and power, has beneficial effects on body composition by improving the ratio between fat mass and lean mass, both through direct and indirect action at the muscle level and an improvement in insulin sensitivity. Optimal levels of vitamin D optimize various endocrine functions such as thyroid and counteract autoimmune diseases such as autoimmune thyroiditis and appear to prevent some types of cancer.
A Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased loss of calcium from bones, resulting in greater bone demineralization and increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures. However, Vitamin D is also a powerful modulator of our immune system, in fact insufficient levels of Vitamin D have been associated with various forms of allergic asthma and a greater susceptibility to infections as has been demonstrated in the recent Covid 19 pandemic where insufficient levels of Vitamin D D were correlated both to a greater risk of Sars COV 2 infection and to a worse course of the same.
It has also been demonstrated, again with regard to the immune action of Vitamin D, how it induces our immune cells to produce cathelicidin, a kind of natural antibiotic and how low levels of vitamin D are associated with deficits in immune surveillance, including a reduction in salivary IgA and an increased risk of long-lasting respiratory infections. In conclusion, we can therefore say that our holidays, in addition to granting ourselves the right rest, allowing us to spend a little more time with family and friends, can also become an important moment to increase our vitamin D deposits and train properly. intelligent to strengthen – in anticipation of the autumn season – our body, both from a muscular and immune point of view.
© Reproduction reserved
Fabrizio Angelini
2023-08-09 17:16:36
#Vitamin #sun #exposure #times #physical #activity #secrets #healthy #summer #Riformista
