Sunday, May 24, 2009

The Sun of Our Health and Fitness

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Living in Gelderland (Netherlands-Germany birder) is warmer than living in the Hague. It’s been almost a month since I was here and my running for three days each week has been consistent. When I ran today, I noticed that people that were also running were with running shorts and racer back running shirts. I was still with sweater and running pants. I realized then that the weather is hotter compared to the previous weeks and when I went home, I also changed to shorts and went out again to work in my garden.

The sun was really hot and I liked it. Living in the Hague did not permit a lot of going out but now that the garden is here, the sun is shining, it would be great to lay down it and be brown again, as brown is my natural color. I feel so pale being in cold every time and always wearing clothes that cover each inch of the skin. I missed my sleeveless and short shorts back in the Philippines.

I was curious what the mighty sun could offer. Thus, I searched around. I understood, from elementary studies that sun offers Vitamin D. However, things might have changed considering a different environment these days: more pollution, more global warming issues, more ozone layer burning, etcetera, etcetera. And indeed I found it! Not only the good stuff but actually more on the negative side of staying under the sun.

I was even surprised to read that even in cloudy day sun can cause damage to us if we are situated in certain locations of this earth. I have not searched yet for Netherlands but for some, the mighty sun can cause cancer of the skin, eye injuries and other illnesses caused by heat. This is of course obvious if we stay a lot under the sun.

What I do is, I run early when the sun is still young and not burning like hell. Then I also have my sun glasses with me all the time. No matter what bad the sun can offer, I still believe that the overall benefit outweigh the negative effects the sun causes. It also feels great when I sweat out with the help of the sun. Personally, I feel more healthy than sweating without it.

What do we do then? Do not stay so long under, moderation is the answer.

4 comments:

Gorgeous MUM said...

Good on you for finding time to do some exercise. At least you get to do other things and not just work. That must be a better place than where you were before, if it's warmer.

Enjoy!

And thanks for the greeting! I always tell the Little One things my online friends say about him. He's fascinated that I know people from all over! Hahaha!

Liza said...

We still need sun exposure even just for 15 minutes, for good skin and anti-aging na rin. Tama ka morning sun nga and not when it's scorching hot. :)

Thanks sweetie for visiting. :)

Filipina Ini said...

@ Gorgeous Mum,

Indeed Sheng. I saved a lot of time now due to the fact that my office is very near plus I use bike to go working so my time is really within my control. I feel so free with this setup.

@Liza,
Well, in Netherlands, any time of the day can be like a morning sun, Liz. Sometimes, if it's cloudy during the day, at 8 pm the first sun peeps out and it's just like the morning sun... ^^

Matt said...

I completely agree with your strategies. It seems like the best approach is often catching the sun while the day is early. I live in Arizona and it can definitely be a scorcher although the heat is dry. As a result, I am familiar with enjoying the sun, although being out there too long definitely has some negative effects. I would highly recommend putting on high SPF sun-tan lotion which will minimize the negative effects of the UV radiation the sun admits. That way you get more of the good (Vitamin C, fun weather, etc.) and less of the bad (potential cancerous effects).