How much sunlight do you need

"Singapura oh Singapura. Sunny island, set in the sea."

Those are the words of a old-time song about Singapore. Being on the equator, there are some great benefits like -- lots of sunshine! There are also some problems like -- lots of sunshine!

To some, sunshine is tan giving, energy boosting and refreshing.

To others, sunlight is wrinkle-causing, cancer-risking, and sunburn-inducing.

So what is it? Here are some tips to help you maximise your benefits from sunlight without the "side effects".

Tip 1: You NEED sunlight. The sun helps us produce vitamin D in its best possible form. I recommend vitamin D to many of my personal training and fitness bootcamp clients because it is a wonderful nutrient that has great benefits for you.

•Better immune system health to prevent annoyances like the flu
•Fewer allergies and autoimmune diseases because vitamin D helps to make sure your own immune system does not attack your body with "friendly fire"
•Fat burning because it helps your thyroid to boost your metabolism
•Reduced risk of diabetes because of better blood sugar management
•Reduced risk of most cancers because vitamin D presses the "self destruct" button of cancer cells called "tumour necrosis factor alpha"
•Muscle building because vitamin D improves testosterone levels naturally
An interesting point is that EVERY kind of tissue in our body has vitamin D receptors. That means that correct vitamin D levels boost ALL areas of health.

The best way to get vitamin D is by exposing yourself to sunlight. Even the best quality supplemental vitamin D is not as good as the vitamin D produced in our own bodies when we are exposed to sunlight.

In fact, Dr. Michael Hollick, probably the world's No. 1 expert on vitamin D, has researched and found out that vitamin D produced from skin exposure to sunlight lasts longer (2x or more) in our blood as when it is taken as a supplement.