Health, human ultraviolet radiation

Ozone is O3. The ozone layer is a region of the stratosphere that contains higher concentrations of ozone than other parts of the atmosphere. The ozone layer is important for human health because it blocks ultraviolet radiation from the sun, and this helps to protect us from skin cancer. Research in the 1970s revealed that several gases used for refrigeration and other purposes were depleting the ozone layer. Many of these ozone-destroying molecules are short alkyl halides known as chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs. 

A molecule made up of three atoms of oxygen. In the statosphere, it occurs naturally and it provides a protective layer shielding the Earth from ultraviolet radiation and subsequent harmful health effects on humans and the environment. In the troposphere, it is a chemical oxidant and major component of photochemical smog. 

Normally, it would seem unusual to expose food to ultraviolet (UV) radiation before trying to isolate a nutrient, but starting in the 1890s reports indicated that once exposed to high levels of sunshine, humans were unlikely to develop rickets. Scientists now know that UV exposure is essential for the body to produce cholecalciferol from cholesterol. See Figure 1 for the structures of cholesterol and cholecalciferol. Cholesterol is the steroid lipid often associated with heart disease when too much is present small amounts of cholesterol are needed to make cholecalciferol and a host of other steroid hormones. Since humans can manufacture all the cholecalciferol needed for good health from exposure to sunshine, vitamin D is commonly referred to as the sunshine vitamin. 

All radiations are Important, but the discussion that follows will be limited to ultraviolet light because of its importance in human health and nutrition. 

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