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> But I don't understand why people seem so resistant to the idea that some sun is probably beneficial. The sun ages your skin. It makes you look older. I've k

> But I don't understand why people seem so resistant to the idea that some sun is probably beneficial. The sun ages your skin. It makes you look older. I've known people in their 40's who have avoided sun who look like they're in their late 20's. Their skin is supple, has few wrinkles, and generally looks healthy. My friend is my age, his wife is 10 years older than he. She legitimately looks a good 10 years younger than him thanks to intentionally avoiding the sun throughout her life. I, in contrast, look my age (40's as well), because I've spent a reasonable amount of my life outside. Chores, being raised with an attitude of "don't come back inside until dinnertime", and swimming competitively in the summer. My skin doesn't heal as well, it's less supple (sub-skin features show through more harshly than they used to), and I have a fair share of wrinkles around my eyes and corners of my mouth (charitably referred to as laugh lines). And then there's the extreme sunbathers and outdoor laborers who look like they're in their 70's at 40; who have already had potential cancerous spots on their skin removed. It's simply one of those things where even moderate exposure can do demonstrable damage to your skin. And if not treated quickly, the cancer sun exposure causes can straight up kill you. Finding out that it may also have positive benefits feels weird. It feels like learning that regular exposure to acid has long term health benefits.

debatem1 2y ago
Isn't this basically also true of exercise? Running is great for you, but it puts a strain on the cartilage in your joints which will become slower to heal and faster to harm over time. Still, most people would rather have great pulmonary health and a knee replacement by 70 than nice knees and a bad ticker. Maybe a similar tradeoff here.
- phainopepla2 2y ago
  I believe the consensus is now that running improves joint health in the long term
- foolfoolz 2y ago
  the one reliable longevity increasing action you can take across all humans is eat less calories. eating enough, but overall smaller amounts of calories, leads to longer lifespans in humans. eating too many calories leads to shorter lifespans. eating more calories than “normal,” but working out regularly so you are fit, still leads to shorter lifespans than eating less calories overall. and yes i think most people would rather have the medium life span but a healthy one
- anon373839 2y ago
  > Isn't this basically also true of exercise? Running is great for you, but it puts a strain on the cartilage Well, exercise and running are not synonymous. A lot of people who are very active avoid running for the reasons you mentioned, and don’t require knee replacements.
dullcrisp 2y ago
> Finding out that it may also have positive benefits feels weird. It feels like learning that regular exposure to acid has long term health benefits. How can that be weird? Just about everything can kill you in large quantities but some things are still good for you in the right doses. I’m pretty sure your proteins are made out of acids.
DataDive 2y ago
lets use common sense a bit, humans have evolved while being in the sun, constantly, their skin darkened to protect them as humans moved northward, the exposure to sun was so important that even their skin lost it protective pigmentation to allow more sun to reach the body we are not even remotely close to understanding all the beneficial processes that take place when the sun hits skin thinking that exposure to sun is like exposure to acid shows a complete disconnect from reality, I would urge you to read up on this a lot more - you will find that people who spend time outdoors in the sun are healthier, happier, and live longer. Their outcomes when facing all kinds of cancers are far, far better.
cassianoleal 2y ago
I, on the other hand, am 43 and it's not rare for people to think I'm under 30. I was born and raised in the south of Brazil, an area that was known as one of the worst affected by the ozone layer "hole" in the 90s. I used to spend 3 months per year at the beach, under that extreme sun. The rest of the year was also very sun-rich and a lot of it spent outside. I had my skin burned many times. I know a lot of other people who had similar upbringings and also look a lot younger than their ages.

debatem1 2y ago

Isn't this basically also true of exercise? Running is great for you, but it puts a strain on the cartilage in your joints which will become slower to heal and faster to harm over time. Still, most people would rather have great pulmonary health and a knee replacement by 70 than nice knees and a bad ticker. Maybe a similar tradeoff here.

phainopepla2 2y ago
I believe the consensus is now that running improves joint health in the long term
foolfoolz 2y ago
the one reliable longevity increasing action you can take across all humans is eat less calories. eating enough, but overall smaller amounts of calories, leads to longer lifespans in humans. eating too many calories leads to shorter lifespans. eating more calories than “normal,” but working out regularly so you are fit, still leads to shorter lifespans than eating less calories overall. and yes i think most people would rather have the medium life span but a healthy one
anon373839 2y ago
> Isn't this basically also true of exercise? Running is great for you, but it puts a strain on the cartilage Well, exercise and running are not synonymous. A lot of people who are very active avoid running for the reasons you mentioned, and don’t require knee replacements.

dullcrisp 2y ago

> Finding out that it may also have positive benefits feels weird. It feels like learning that regular exposure to acid has long term health benefits. How can that be weird? Just about everything can kill you in large quantities but some things are still good for you in the right doses. I’m pretty sure your proteins are made out of acids.

DataDive 2y ago

lets use common sense a bit, humans have evolved while being in the sun, constantly, their skin darkened to protect them as humans moved northward, the exposure to sun was so important that even their skin lost it protective pigmentation to allow more sun to reach the body we are not even remotely close to understanding all the beneficial processes that take place when the sun hits skin thinking that exposure to sun is like exposure to acid shows a complete disconnect from reality, I would urge you to read up on this a lot more - you will find that people who spend time outdoors in the sun are healthier, happier, and live longer. Their outcomes when facing all kinds of cancers are far, far better.

cassianoleal 2y ago

I, on the other hand, am 43 and it's not rare for people to think I'm under 30. I was born and raised in the south of Brazil, an area that was known as one of the worst affected by the ozone layer "hole" in the 90s. I used to spend 3 months per year at the beach, under that extreme sun. The rest of the year was also very sun-rich and a lot of it spent outside. I had my skin burned many times. I know a lot of other people who had similar upbringings and also look a lot younger than their ages.