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- Hacker News
- Does anyone know whether UVA or UVB is more conducive to producing vitamin D naturally? A quick search shows me that it is mainly UVB that's responsible for that, but unfortunately, this is what gets blocked out by glass windows and sunscreen. On the other hand, UVA is what causes early aging.
So this is just an unfortunate situation because I don't think there's a way of just getting UVB into you in a safe way.
by layman51 - The article explains that it is much safer than not getting UVB. Nothing in this universe is completely safe, but the evidence is that getting UVB is bar far safer than not getting itby krupan
- UVB makes it.
UBA denatures it[1], which I thought was how we avoid overdose levels building up in the skin when outside, but can't find a source for that.
Suggested as a reason why fair-skinned indoor workers are getting more melanomas, (ref glass blocking UVB and passing UVA): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03069...
by jodrellblank - Since biological evolutionary forces have forever been fighting the sun are our bodies MORE or LESS suited to dealing with UV damage vs oxybenzone damage? Since oxybenzone can intercalate DNA rungs under extremely high local concentrations (forcing some molecules into cavities), or by photo-oxidation converting to radical cation, or in the presence of ethanol which lowers DNA hydration layers and can widen the inter-pair base gaps, then is it causing MORE DNA damage or LESS DNA damage than the Sun's ultraviolet radiation which can contribute to cancer under real world conditions?by sunnydeedee
- Either way it doesn't matter, use mineral sunscreen. Of course if you use bottom tier sunscreen formulated in the 60s you're asking for troublesby toasty228
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S135382922... this is better source on the underlying studyby _visgean
- Sunlight does way more than just produce vitamin D:
Photo-neuro-immuno-endocrinology: How the ultraviolet radiation regulates the body, brain, and immune system
by pazimzadeh - So everything in moderation? Cool, glad my philosophy still applies.by dntrkv
- Moderation is good, just don't overdo it...
- Extreme tension leads to breakage. Something something in buddhism about not trying to put too much tension in a bow or it'll break.
Also known as the middle way.
Moderation is a great philosophy.
- > Homo sapiens have been around for 200,000 years. Until the industrial revolution, we lived outside. How did we get through the Neolithic Era without sunscreen? Actually, perfectly well. What’s counterintuitive is that dermatologists run around saying, ‘Don’t go outside, you might die.’”
At least in Australia a big difference is that there is a hole in the ozone layer that stone age people did not have. Sun exposure is much more harmful now.
by stevage - > How did we get through the Neolithic Era without sunscreen?
By reproducing at 15 years old long before cancer is a problem? Skin cancer was probably at the very bottom of causes of death back then, by a fat margin.
They also didn't have tooth paste, tooth brush, soap, antibiotics, vaccines, so go ahead and live like a caveman... I'm 100% positive it'll have a negative impact on your lifespan
by toasty228 - >These rebels argue that what made the people with high vitamin D levels so healthy was not the vitamin itself. That was just a marker. Their vitamin D levels were high because they were getting plenty of exposure to the thing that was really responsible for their good health—that big orange ball shining down from above.
Yeah, it's not just UV. Infrared light has beneficial effects on deep tissue, including the brain. There's no way to get that from a pill.
by andai - Related:
Current guidelines for sun exposure are unhealthy and unscientific – research (2019) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31471416 - May 2022 (335 comments)
by dang - The article seems to be a meta analysis of a bunch of conflicting research to support a narrative that we don’t really know shit.
And fair, we don’t.
But a couple of things we do know that weren’t covered - egregiously so - is that aging is UV damage. Sometimes called photoaging, wrinkles, sun spots, discoloration, fine lines, grey hair, all of that shit that you associate with someone visibly looking old is sun damage.
So the picture that the article paints of some pasty nerds in offices shielding themselves from all UV and thus: they might as well be smoking… it doesn’t even touch on why people might be doing this.
Both kurgezadt and veritasium did some really great videos on photoaging and it’s worth checking out if this is new information to you.
by Zenbit_UX - Who cares about your skin looking a little older when it prevents cardiovascular related deaths??by krupan
- I'd rather look old than be one of those lunatics who goes for a summer walk in a longsleeve shirt, gloves, and a hat with built-in veil (a pretty common sight in the Bay Area)by floren
- I've not heard that grey hair is sun damage.
Do you have any sources for that?
by JR1427 - > kurgezadt
I suffered with German too, in fact, still do :)
As a trivia: "kurz gesagt" -> kurz: short, gesagt: said. "sagen" is the verb "to say", "ge"+"t" is to form the past participle. (but not always :)
by aranelsurion - Pro golfers look a good 10-20 years older than their real age sometimes fwiw. In contrast to most other pro athletes in indoor disciplines who generally look better than their age. There's also examples of truckers who spent most of their career with the window rolled down and you can tell straight up what side of the road they drove on.by asdff
- I often embarrass my daughter when she has some new friend over. If the topic comes up, I give a demonstration. I'm 62 and I've never tried to get a tan and work indoors, and I haven't had a serious sunburn in close to 40 years. On the other hand, I lived spent the last 20 years in Austin, TX. I mow the yard and I ride a bike and in the summer months I put on sunblock before doing the bike rides an sometimes mowing.
The exposed parts of my arms look like I'm 62 -- freckles, some age spots, the skin has lost a lot of elasticity. But then I roll up my T-shirt sleeve to expose my shoulder and my skin is like it was when I was 25: not just pale, but no freckles, no age spots, still supple.
by tasty_freeze - I made a small little web app calculator for myself and my family to figure out how long we could stay outside without needing sunscreen based on current UV and skin type. I use it daily in the summer and a couple thousand people use it every month also. You can check it out at https://sunburntimer.com. It's also free and open source software, github link in footer.by jondcallahan
- This is awesome thank you for making this!by hankbond
- Amazing idea! A little Feedback: I tan easily but still have freckles.by rasso
- This is a clever idea.
Unfortunately, UV exposure is cumulative. So your skin is still getting damaged by the UV rays even if you're not getting burnt.
by giwook - Looks like the weather might be a bit off, I imagine from your upstream provider. In Indianapolis, all stats look correct except it says we have thunderstorms. Couldn't be a clearer day and nothing on the radar.by fullykubed
- Awesome project! I wanted its Home Assistant equavelant and there's an official integration for it: https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/openuv/by ahmadalli
- Denver, CO, USA resident here -- this looks _super_ useful and I'm likely to start using it heavily. Our weather here is usually very outside-encouraging (if getting hotter over the years) and our UV is _ridiculous_; I see the index hit 11 and 12 with some regularity. Thanks for the link!by Arubis
- This is neat if you are avoiding the "getting red". My understanding is that the damage occurs with or without the sunburn but maybe this goes without saying.by tuckwat
- It would be useful to have an option to change the time of day, rather than always using the current time; e.g. for planning at night what to do tomorrow.by eurleif