Jeremy C Kester

I decided the other day that I was going to “get as much Sun as possible” from now on. Not being a doctor or anything, I can’t speak authoritatively on the health benefits of such an activity, however I do know enough to acknowledge that it has a positive effect on our physiology as well as our psychology.

One of the primary reasons I chose to do this was after hearing a report that a lot of people are operating on a vitamin D deficiency. (I’ve linked an article I found to verify to some degree what I heard.) It made me realize that in some ways I had been neglecting some aspects of my own health.

For one, I avoid sunlight. Having fair skin and being brought up in the age of “you must wear sunscreen at all times or you’ll get skin cancer!” always gave me pause. I also burn easy… not too easy, but give me 15 to 20 minutes and I am then a lobster.

It seemed funny, considering sunscreen wasn’t around until sometime in the 1900’s. What did humanity do before that? Did we all get skin cancer and die? Either way, whether there is a plausible relationship between any sun exposure and skin cancer, I began to understand that avoiding it altogether was preventing my body from having the opportunity to produce vitamin D. I figure that during spring to fall, when the whether is nice enough that I don’t have to bundle up, I am going to pop outside for some sunlight at least for 5 to 10 minutes at a time, if not longer… provided I don’t burn.

Given the thoughts about vitamin D, I also realized that I haven’t been taking any supplements. If someone’s diet is robust and full of nutrient dense foods, they may not have the need to take, say a multivitamin. My diet? Eh… let’s just say that besides that I fast intermittently, only eating most days within an 8 hour window, what I eat is often questionable. I know I haven’t been getting the vitamin intake I should be. To change that, I grabbed a simple multivitamin and started taking it at dinner.

This was all sparked by the idea of getting some Sun. And some other nice things started the moment I decided to just hang out outside: my son decided to eat breakfast outside and bird-watch with me, we opted to start a vegetable garden and planted food, and we found ourselves more relaxed for the rest of the day.

Whether won’t always cooperate, I am certain, as rain soaked everything overnight. But I still went out, stepped in my dogs gift… and took some cool shots in the morning light as I drank my coffee in the yard.

Note: these pictures are 100% mine. Please do not replicate without permission.