On this European day for the prevention of stroke, good news has just been announced by a team of researchers from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The results of their study presented at the International Investigative Dermatology conference in Edinburgh show that exposure to the sun can produce nitric oxide, a chemical compound that lowers blood pressure and therefore the risk of stroke.
In addition, sun exposure improves overall health because the benefits of lowering blood pressure far outweigh the risk of developing skin cancer. In fact, high blood pressure causes 80 times more deaths than skin cancer. The authors of the study therefore concluded that exposure to the sun could help lengthen lifespan.
However, it is obviously always recommended to expose yourself to the sun sparingly, to avoid the hottest hours, between noon and 4 p.m. and to protect yourself with sunscreen and covering clothing. But with the gloomy weather which currently reigns in France, the risks of solar overexposure are quite reduced …