See you at the beach

I love Summer. I love getting sandy and salty at the beach, feral at a picnic or indulgent at a long BBQ lunch. Rolling home in a sunny daze I'll jump in the shower, cover myself in rich body lotion, change into the comfiest thing within my lazy reach and curl up with a magazine or book. That feeling right there is the best. It's like I've been bear-hugged by Mother Nature and everything is right again in the world.

A part of that feeling is, controversially, being kissed by the sun. I understand Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world - we need to wear sunscreen every day and not pursue a tan at a risk to our health. But I also think the sun's rays are vital to our wellbeing and shouldn't be shunned altogether. Here's why:

* Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium, helps regulate cell growth, boosts fertility, relieves PMS, assists with weight loss, reduces asthma symptoms and protects against radiation.
* Vitamin D may also prevent cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, rickets, osteomalacia, osteoporosis, arthritis, hypertension, heart failure, TB, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Crohn's and Alzheimer's.
* Studies have shown that vitamin D actually protects the skin against UV damage, reducing the amount of DNA damage caused and the number of sunburnt cells.

My advice? Strip off (just a little) and get ten minutes of blissful sunshine - without sunscreen - every day. There are plenty of food products in the supermarket fortified with vitamin D but they come nowhere near close to nature's perfect dose. See you at the beach.