The answer is….I don’t really know. Certainly, a weak immune function can contribute to skin problems. This same source also says that sunlight on the skin can trigger “immune system cells to come to the skin surface to repair any UV damage that occurs in response to sunlight…If we don’t damage it too much, the skin pretty much takes care of itself.” I like that.

On the other hand, in keeping with the immune balance tenets, one paper suggests that suppression of immune response in the skin after sun exposure may be a good thing. Over-reactive immune response in the skin can lead to various skin problems. Yet on the other hand, too much immunosuppression–perhaps caused by large amounts of UV light that damage the suppressor cells that normally would be suppressing– may lead to malignant and pre-malignant  lesions.

So who the heck knows. I think the better balanced you are, the better your chances to stay healthy in the sun as long as you don’t overdo it.

Agreements

1. Vitamin C is a vitamin for a reason
   It is an essential antioxidant.  And, if something is agreed upon as having “vitamin” status, that means it is essential for normal cell function, growth and development.
2. Vitamin C does a lot of things in the body.
   Take your pick:  Collagen synthesis, brain function, energy conversion, even possible blood cholesterol regulation.
3. If you lack Vitamin C in your diet, you’re in big trouble.
   Fatigue, depression, and connective tissue defects (eg, gingivitis, petechiae, rash, internal bleeding, impaired wound healing) can all be part of a bad day without C. That’s a lot more misery than just scurvy.
   

Myths

1. You can’t go wrong with mega doses of C.
   Dr. MARVIN LIPMAN (Endocrinologist and Consumers Union’s Chief Medical Advisor): “There’s very little evidence available that shows that vitamin C in mega doses is good for anything.”
2. Vitamin C can cause kidney stones.
   The Council for Responsible Nutrition shoots this myth down well. See pages 2 and 3 of this document.
3. Overloading on C can drive away the common cold.
   See video below:


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I remember when I moved to Omaha a number of years ago and had been at a new job at a big company. I was a bit nervous about the new position and the demands that lie ahead.  At one point, I began noticing that I had itchy skin around my arms and shoulders, and it got to the point where I needed to have a doctor give it a look. With some topical creme it subsided within a week or so, but I didn’t know what was going. Was I exceptionally stressed or was I just having a hard time facing reality that I was now habitating with Nebraska Cornhuskers and all their life-enveloping fanatacism?

Well, whether work or the Big Red, stress and immune-overaction is again a possible cause, and it’s clearly illustrated in a new study published this week in the American Journal of Pathology. The study makes the case that undue stress may cause immune cells present in the skin to overreact, causing inflammatory conditions such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.

The evidence just keeps snowballing; out-of-balance immune response is the driver of a lot of crappy health occurrences, some short-lived, some more enduring.

For a news summary of the study, click here.

For an abstract summary from the researchers themselves, click here.