Do you get enough sun?

For years all we have heard about is sunscreen and skin cancer. I have several family members that have already had cancerous skin spots removed. However, the consequence of always using sunscreen is at least two-fold. One, sunscreens are filled with harmful ingredients. Two, as a nation, we are now vitamin D deficient.




Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to 17 varieties of cancer as well as heart disease, depression, osteoarthritis, muscle weakness, diabetes, autism, decreased immunity and more. Research indicates that we really need a minimum of 400 IU daily and some research indicates up to 5,000 IU of vitamin D daily. Even though milk is now called “Vitamin D milk,” you would need 50 glasses of milk to get that much. Another problem is that most foods are not very rich in vitamin D. However, 20-30 min of sun exposure can produce 10,000 IU Vitamin D.



There are some pretty hefty studies going on concerning vitamin D. The American Academy of Pediatrics has already recommended all breastfed infants be supplemented with vitamin D, and rumor has it that the government is considering increasing the RDA.



How do you reconcile that with the dangers of the sun? Well, for our family, I only use sunscreen if we are going to be out for more than 30 minutes. I do not put sunscreen on 30 min before sun exposure as advised. We put it on after we have been in the sun. I encourage 15-30 min of outdoor play at a time every day if possible (balanced with 100% humidity for much of the year where we live). We go for walks often.

The power of sun

Photo credit

Did you know that the sun is one of the most powerful and popular items mentioned on cloth diapering forums? It often comes up on a daily basis (yes, I know I am a dork for reading cloth diapering boards). Every couple of days or so someone complains again about getting all the stains out, or a particularly stubborn stain. Time and time again, others chirp in about the sun.

Not only does the sun have powerful bleaching properties, it also has powerful antibacterial properties. On the off chance your baby gets a diaper rash (esp bacterial or yeast), the sun is often all you need to rid your diapers of any culprits. It really takes first hand experience to be quite amazed. I had diapers that I knew the sun would not turn white, but it did!! I had diapers that just had little smudges that I didn’t even care about, but they were absolutely pristine after leaving them in the sun (yes, I described a diaper as possibly being pristine).

Cloth diapers have a pretty high resale value (50-80%) and often times moms will carefully describe if the diapers have been sunned or not before selling. It’s widely accepted that the sun is one of the most powerful cleaning tools. It is best to lay the diapers out wet and let them fully dry in the sun. If you have a particularly stubborn stain you can also use a little lemon juice (wash the diapers again afterwards). However, the sun has always taken care of every stain by itself for me. It also works in as little as 1-2 hours if you’re in a hurry, and it works on cloudy days, too

In summary, some of the benefits are:

--NO energy (but your own)

--gets rid of odor

--gets rid of stains

--gets rid of bacteria

--conversation starter