Benefits of sunlight to maintain heart health

Preventing heart disease (cardiovascular) can be done in various ways. Starting from eating foods that are healthy for the heart, regular exercise, to basking in the sun. In fact, what are the benefits of sunlight for the heart? If you are under-exposed to sunlight, what effect will it have on your heart?

Benefits of sunlight for heart health

Your body cannot produce vitamin D naturally. However, you can get it from foods, such as tuna, salmon, egg yolks, beef liver, and yogurt or milk that is fortified with vitamin D.

Unfortunately, relying on food alone to meet daily vitamin D needs is not enough. Nearly 80% of the vitamin D your body needs comes from sunlight.

When you are outdoors, sunlight hits the outer layer of skin (epidermis). The cells around the epidermis contain a pigment or dye called melanin. Melanin is what helps the body produce vitamin D from sun exposure.

Vitamin D is later used by the body to absorb calcium and phosphate to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy. In addition, vitamin D from food and sunlight also provides benefits for maintaining heart health.

More specifically, the benefits of sunlight for heart health include:

1. Reducing inflammation

A 2013 study in the journal Current Treatment Options in Cardiovascular Medicine explains the potential for vitamin D from food and sunlight to protect the heart, namely reducing inflammation.

Inflammation of the blood vessels is one of the causes of heart disease. The inflammation is triggered by high cholesterol levels which then forms plaque and irritates blood vessels.

Without treatment, inflammation can lead to common types of heart disease, such as atherosclerosis. A person with this condition usually experiences symptoms of heart disease such as shortness of breath accompanied by chest pain.

Not only atherosclerosis, inflammation in blood vessels also increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The presence of vitamin D, T cells (white blood cells that function as the immune system) can suppress the inflammatory response so that the condition does not get worse.

2. Preventing an increase in blood pressure

Rat-based research shows the benefits of sunlight which contains vitamin D for managing blood pressure.

Vitamin D can inhibit the production of renin, which is a special enzyme produced by the kidneys to increase blood pressure. When renin production is inhibited, blood pressure will not jump up.

You need to know that uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. This condition can reduce the flexibility of arterial blood vessels in the heart.

The benefits of vitamin D from sunlight and food for the heart have indeed been observed through this study. However, it still needs further research on its effects in humans.

3. Lowering cholesterol levels

High cholesterol levels are a risk factor for heart disease. The reason is, cholesterol can accumulate in blood vessels and form plaque. The presence of plaque makes blood vessels narrow and makes it difficult for oxygen-rich and nutrient-rich blood to flow to the heart or throughout the body.

Well, sunlight that helps the body produce vitamin D actually provides benefits for the heart by converting cholesterol found in the skin into calcitriol (Vitamin D3). Indirectly, this mechanism helps the body lower its cholesterol levels.

4. Maintaining the health of heart cells and blood vessels

Adequate daily vitamin D intake helps maintain the health of heart cells and blood vessels. Vitamin D will bind to special receptors in vessel wall cells to activate nitric oxide (NO) which will dilate blood vessel walls and reduce the risk of plaque buildup.

Vitamin D also makes the heart muscle stronger to pump blood regularly, because nitric oxide reduces the risk of inflammation in the heart that usually occurs due to too much fat buildup.

All of these combinations of vitamin D benefits work together to manage blood pressure to keep it stable. This is important because an increase in blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

The effect of lack of sunlight on the heart

Lack of sun exposure can increase a person's risk of developing heart disease due to insufficient vitamin D.

According to the website of The Royal Women's Hospital, sunlight plays a role in regulating the hormone melatonin. This hormone functions to regulate the body's biological clock, which regulates waking and sleeping hours. If you are rarely exposed to the sun, sleeping time can be messy.

This poor sleep pattern can make your mood unstable. You become more irritable, anxious, and even stressed. This condition can affect your food habits, such as snacking sugary foods that trigger weight gain.

Well, messy sleep patterns, stress, and uncontrolled weight can reduce heart health. If not treated, the risk of various types of heart disease will increase over time. In fact, it also increases the risk of other chronic diseases, such as diabetes.

Tips to maximize the benefits of sunlight for the heart

You can get the benefits of sunlight for the heart in an easy way, namely sunbathing. For the Indonesian region, the sunbathing time recommended by experts is from 10 am to 2 pm.

This time is considered the right time to get the benefits of sunlight while reducing the risk of harmful UV radiation. You can sunbathe for 15 to 20 minutes every day.

If you have dark skin, you can stay in the sun a little longer because there is less melanin (a substance that helps the skin's vitamin D production process).

You don't need to be in the sun for a long time to get the benefits of sunlight for the heart. Too long to spend time doing activities in the sun is at risk of causing even dehydration heat stroke .

Excessive sun exposure can also accelerate skin aging and increase the risk of skin cancer.

The benefits of sunlight for the heart cannot be obtained if you sunbathe by the window without leaving the house. Even if the rays hit your skin, UVB rays (which are needed to produce vitamin D) cannot penetrate window glass. So, you can only get the benefits of sunlight for the heart if you sunbathe directly.

The next tips that you need to remember to get the most optimal benefits of sunlight, try to sunbathe without first applying sunscreen. Wearing sunscreen can inhibit the body's work to produce vitamin D when exposed to sunlight.