Protect yourself from the sun's rays

Italiano

To enjoy a trip to the mountains, choose a day with good weather or wait for it to arrive. With the sun you can see better the terrain where you walk, admire the view, the temperature is generally higher, which at medium-high altitudes does not bother, all factors that reduce the danger in the mountains. However, there are not only advantages, because prolonged exposure to sunlight has harmful effects on the skin. In addition to the effect of heat, the action of ultraviolet (UV) rays generates sunburn and erythema, premature onset of wrinkles and other signs of skin aging, skin cancer. It is necessary protect yourself from the sun's rays, seek the shade, slip a shirt, slap a sunscreen, wear a hat and sunglasses.

Ultraviolet (UV) rays

Solar radiation is classified according to its characteristic wavelength. In addition to visible light (perceived by the human eye), infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) rays are distinguished. UV rays are able to reach the dermis, producing an effect on the tissues and the metabolic system. Ultraviolet rays are made up of 3 categories of radiation, UVA, UVB and UVC, which are also present with overcast or cloudy skies.

UVA rays promote the release of melanin and are responsible for tanning; they do not create particular discomfort immediately but their negative effect can also manifest itself years later. UVB rays are potentially more harmful and carcinogenic than UVA; UVC rays are the most dangerous radiation but shielded from the ozone of the earth's atmosphere.

What affects UV exposure?[^]

• Time of day: UV rays are strongest in the middle of the day, between 10 am and 4 pm.
• Season of the year: UV rays are stronger during spring and summer months. This is less of a factor near the equator.
• Distance from the equator (latitude): UV exposure goes down as you get further from the equator.
• Altitude: More UV rays reach the ground at higher elevations.
• Cloud cover: The effect of clouds can vary, but it's important to know that UV rays can get through to the ground, even on a cloudy day.
• Reflection off surfaces: UV rays can bounce off surfaces like water, sand, snow, or pavement, leading to an increase in UV exposure.

UV Index gives you an idea of how strong the UV light is in your area on any given day, on a scale from 1 to 11+. A higher number means greater risk of exposure to UV rays and a higher chance of sunburn and skin damage that could ultimately lead to skin cancer. The UV Index is part of many weather forecasts.

Along with the strength of the rays, the amount of UV exposure you get also depends on the length of time your skin is exposed, and if your skin is protected with clothing or sunscreen. People who live in areas with year-round, bright sunlight have a higher risk of skin cancer. Spending a lot of time outdoors for work or recreation without protective clothing and sunscreen increases your risk. Children need special attention. They tend to spend more time outdoors, can burn more easily, and may not be aware of the dangers.

Sun protection

Staying and seeking shade is the best way to limit UV exposure. If you are going to be in the sun, “Slip! Slop! Slap!® and Wrap” is a catchphrase that can help you remember some of the key steps you can take to protect yourself from UV rays: Slip on a shirt, Slop on sunscreen, Slap on a hat, Wrap on sunglasses.

Long-sleeved shirts, long pants cover the most skin and are the most protective. Dark colors generally provide more protection than light colors. A hat with at least a 2- to 3-inch brim all around is ideal because it protects areas that are often exposed to intense sun, such as the ears, eyes, forehead, nose, and scalp. A cap with a visor protects the front and top of the head but not the neck or the ears, where skin cancers commonly develop. UV-blocking sunglasses are important for protecting the delicate skin around the eyes, as well as the eyes themselves. Large-framed and wraparound sunglasses are more likely to protect your eyes from light coming in from different angles.

Sunscreen is a product that you put on your skin to protect it from the sun’s UV rays. But it’s important to know that sunscreen is just a filter – it does not block all UV rays. Sunscreen should not be used as a way to prolong your time in the sun. Even with proper sunscreen use, some UV rays still get through. Sunscreens are available in many forms – lotions, creams, ointments, gels, sprays, wipes, and lip balms, to name a few. When choosing a sunscreen, be sure to read the label, without neglecting the deadline.
Sun protection factor (SPF): the SPF number is the level of protection the sunscreen provides against UVB rays, which are the main cause of sunburn. A higher SPF number means more UVB protection (although it says nothing about UVA protection). For example, when applying an SPF 30 sunscreen correctly, you get the equivalent of 1 minute of UVB rays for each 30 minutes you spend in the sun. Other properties of a sunscreen are water resistance, broad spectrum (reduces both UVA and UVB rays).

My experience

In my long activity of hiking in the mountains I am very careful to protect myself from the sun. I have rarely burned myself, and only on the exposed skin of one shirt that is shorter than another. I expose the skin to the sun gradually, especially when I bare my shoulders with a sleeveless tank top. In case of redness, in the evening I apply a soothing after-sun cream that moisturizes the skin. I don't like standing still in the sun and I try to avoid it as much as possible even when I walk, avoiding the hours when the sun is high on the horizon. It is not only the UVA and UVB rays that bother me but also the increased temperature. Furthermore, the sun, in addition to being harmful to the skin, is the enemy of the venous insufficiency in the legs that I suffer from.

My first trick is to spread the sunscreen well on the exposed skin, without forgetting my ears and nose. Out of habit, I buy a Nivea, Protect & Hydrate sun milk, with a blue or light blue jar, my favorite color, and a yellow cap. I choose a sunscreen with a protection factor that is probably too low, 6, or one with FSP 15 when I go to high altitudes, both in summer and in winter. I spread the cream on my legs even when I'm wearing long pants, rightly so, because clothes don't provide total protection. The thighs are a delicate point for me, with high temperatures I suffer from allergy with ugly red spots, probably a form of erythema.

I love to go up in summer from Pasturo to Alpe Cova to find a lower and more pleasant temperature, to be in the midst of nature and because the trail, the old via 33 of the CAI, is in the woods, shaded. Beyond the 1300 meters of the locality, the trees thin out, above the Pialeral there is no shelter from the sun and you can only hope for the low clouds that often hide the Northern Grigna. On the bench of the Brioschi Refuge, after the long climb it is enchanting to admire the panorama of the villages of Valsassina, Pasturo, Barzio, Cremeno, Moggio, and the Orobie mountains, on the right the Grignetta, with the water of the lake. After having repeated the operation of spreading the sunscreen on the skin, which is not missing in my backpack, with a white hat on my head and wrapped in dark glasses, I do not cover myself with a long-sleeved shirt and a blue towel on bare legs for the temperature too cool but to protect me from solar radiation, which at 2400 meters during the central hours of the day is exaggerated. I notice that I am surrounded by hikers who do not do the same, exposing their skin to the sun with negative consequences on their health.

References

1. "How Do I Protect Myself from Ultraviolet (UV) Rays?". American Cancer Society. Retrieved 6 April 2022.

Sports nutrition and hydration

Italiano

Practicing sports, running or even just walking consumes much more calories and water than a basal condition (rest) or a sedentary activity. During a one-day mountain hike, you can consume four times more calories and lose up to 1 liter of water per hour on the hottest days! Sweating has the function of thermoregulation, cooling the body from the heat produced by the muscle mass during activity. The main energy during the effort of walking, which is a medium to long duration aerobic type of exercise, comes from carbohydrates. For the body to remain in good working order, it is necessary to drink to replenish the consumption of liquids, take in the mineral salts that are lost, and maintain an adequate glucose level. The balance of the integration is generally negative and the recovery process must continue in the following hours and days.

Hydration

Our body is made up of more than half of water. 75% of muscles and organs are made up of water, 10% of adipose tissue, 3% of bones are water. There is water in the cells and they are surrounded by water.

Fluids are lost through diuresis, with sweat, breathing, perspiration and faeces. A loss of water produces dehydration, the first symptom of which is thirst. If we continue not to drink, the color of the urine becomes darker, and there is dryness of the throat. The loss of 1-2% of body fluids can lead to a decrease in physical performance, dizziness and headache in an individual. If dehydration is more important, fatigue, tiredness, irritability, nausea, decreased physical strength and appetite can occur. Cramps in the limbs may appear due to the lack of water, salts and sugars, in extreme cases may lead to collapse.

To keep the water balance balanced, you need to drink to cool the body. Excess heat depends on the intensity of the effort, the temperature and humidity of the environment, and is dispersed more with breathable clothing. To quench your thirst, you generally drink a liquid with a good taste, which does not cause gastrointestinal discomfort, not carbonated, without caffeine and alcohol, and not that promoted as energy drink, with a small amount of sodium and electrolytes.[^] One proof that when we sweat we emit sodium chloride (table salt) is the taste of the skin. During a sporting activity you drink water, but tea with or without sugar, classic isotonic drinks or diluted fruit juice are also fine. Mineral salts are inorganic materials (free of carbon) which play a fundamental role in the functioning of living beings; they are not produced by the body and can only be taken from the outside (science calls them essential). To be quickly absorbed, the water must be moderately chilled (about 10°), and contain a minimum quantity of carbohydrates (5-8%).

How much should you drink during the excursion? Mainly you have to drink regularly because the loss is constant, and before you feel thirsty, it is generally sufficient to drink a certain amount (200-250 ml) every quarter of an hour or twenty minutes. A good idea is to start the excursion with an optimal water balance, drinking more than normal in the hours before departure and up to half a liter 15-30 minutes before.

Diet

Carbohydrates are the body's main fuel. Carbohydrates, also called carbohydrates (from the Greek "glucos" = sweet) are substances formed by carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, with a hydrogen-oxygen ratio 2: 1 (as in water), empirical formula C_m(H₂O)_n[^] (with m equal or different from n, for simplicity I consider them equal). Carbohydrates are called saccharides, monosaccharides (n=1), disaccharides (n=2), oligosaccharides (n between the values 2 and 9), polysaccharides (n>=10). Monosaccharides are glucose, fructose, and galactose; disaccharides are sucrose, lactose, maltose. Oligosaccharides are maltodextrins. Monosaccharides and oligosaccharides are simple sugars, while polysaccharides are complex sugars. Polysaccharides are starch, fiber, glycogen.

During intense physical activity, our body almost exclusively uses glucose to meet the increased energy demand, as it is absorbed quickly, while fructose is absorbed more slowly. Oligosaccharide molecules take longer to be available as energy in the form of glucose because they have to be digested by the stomach. Pasta is an excellent source of complex carbohydrates, which are an energy reserve for an even longer time, stored in the liver and muscle tissue as glycogen. For this reason, in long-lasting activities, athletes eat foods rich in complex carbohydrates three to four hours before the competition.

Protein is an important part of a training diet and plays a key role in post-exercise recovery and repair. Protein needs are generally met by following a high-carbohydrate diet, because many foods, especially cereal-based foods, are a combination of carbohydrate and protein.[^]

Conclusion

Sports nutrition practices improve sports performance and should be part of the hiker's knowledge base, as useful and necessary as physical preparation and excursion preparation.

In the morning of a medium or long duration excursion it is good to have a breakfast rich in sugar, milk, juice or yogurt, accompanied by cereals, biscuits, bread with jam, which are the foods that we find on the prepared table of a mountain refuge.
During the hike, you drink water at regular intervals to prevent dehydration. It is eaten to maintain a sufficient glucose level that the metabolism transforms into energy, easily digestible foods that contain simple sugars, apples, figs, raisins, dehydrated fruit, chocolate, dry biscuits, ham sandwich or with jam or bars to replace them. If the walk takes place in the afternoon, you certainly don't go after a binge at lunch, nor after drinking alcohol.

Without studying or consulting on nutrition and hydration, I went to the mountains for years, thinking about how much to drink rather than following a diet for athletes, as sugars in my pocket only goleador candies flavored with coca-cola and Lupo Alberto at a cost of 10 euro cents each. I learned that in the evening after the excursion I am really hungry (one day without eating!) and with the desire for my favorite dish, pasta with tomato sauce. The hunger continues into the following day. By walking regularly it is evident that you will eventually also burn your reserves, fat and protein, with a decrease in excess weight, and it means being in shape. My real concern is running out of water and even exceeds the choice of shoes, don't forget cap and sunscreen.

On the Grignone on the Pasturo side in Valsassina you will no longer be able to stock up on water beyond the level of the Pialeral. I traveled the High Crossing of the Grigne almost always on the hottest days of the year, escaping from Milan with expected temperatures of 33-34 °C. The route is challenging and long even when you are trained, and a liter and a half of water in your backpack is not enough; the fatigue and thirst in the last stretch, whether it was in sight of the Brioschi Refuge or the descent to Piani di Resinelli, I still remember today that I write.

References

1. "Fluids and Hydration". Usada. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
2. "Carbohydrate". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
3. "Sporting performance and food". Better Health Channel. Retrieved 1 April 2022.