By Jo Stuart

I arrived home early Tuesday morning. The flight returning was not nearly as pleasant as that going to the States. First of all, the plane was full. At least Economy was full; Executive Class had only about three people in it. Recently I have made this rather Quixotic decision to do a good deed when the opportunity presented itself. This time I said I would give up my aisle seat to a young couple who was very upset because they had been assigned separate seats and were complaining to all the flight attendants (and probably the pilot, too, since they were holding up our take-off). So I got to endure an overnight flight in a middle seat.

Everyone was sleeping except me and a very large man who spent the night standing in the area by the toilets. I thought it was because his seat was too small, but maybe he was just airsick. On one of my excursions down the aisle to get my circulation going, I was sorely tempted to ask him if I could have his aisle seat. Sometime during the wee hours the plastic glass of water on the tray of the woman next to me tipped over and spilled all over her and half over me. She spent the rest of the night sitting on her Ladies Home Journal and fanning her jeans with the airline’s safety instruction folder. I thought this was a great opportunity for Lacsa to do some fine public relations by putting someone into the nearly empty Executive Class; Lacsa didn’t see things my way.

Once home in my apartment, I intermittently napped and ate. I thought again that it would be interesting to research the idea that when one basic need is frustrated, we substitute another. In this case I couldn’t sleep so I was eating whatever I could find in my bare refrigerator and cupboard.

It takes me about three days to unpack and get back into my regular routine. It was not until I saw three of my little sparrows keeping dry on my balcony while the rain came streaming down that I felt like I was in my apartment.

The next day I had to replenish my cupboards. I had clipped an interesting column written by Drs. Joe and Teresa Graedon (he, a pharmacologist and she a medical anthropologist) in the Pasadena newspaper. It was entitled, “Prudent exposure to sunlight may be good.” We all know what that means – medical science is changing its mind again. In this case a Dr. Edward Giovannucci, in his keynote speech to the AMA for Cancer Research, said that exposure to the sun might prevent 30 cancer deaths for every one caused by skin cancer. It’s the vitamin D, stupid. Most people don’t get enough of it – and certainly in countries where people stay indoors and in cars most of the time, they don’t.

This new information pleased me because I have long thought that sunscreen does more harm than good, and that exposure to the sun in Costa Rica has probably helped prevent osteoporosis in both men and women. (Vitamin D is also necessary for the absorption of calcium). It will be interesting to see if the increased use of cars in this country is going to affect the health of the people on yet another front. Of course, as in most situations, moderation is important.

We actually need more than twice the currently recommended 400 International Units IUs) of vitamin D daily. Sunshine is important because it stimulates the production of Vitamin D in the skin. High SPF sunscreen reduces the amount of vitamin D the skin can take in. One can overdose on vitamin D taken orally, but the skin only makes as much as the body can use.

Armed with this knowledge I headed for the Auto Mercado without sunscreen – which I normally am, anyway. On my way home in a taxi with my 18,000 colones worth of groceries (about $37 — more than I have ever spent at one time), the warm pillowed breeze coming through the open window of the taxi felt like a caress. That is when I really felt I was back home in Costa Rica.

Jo Stuart is the author of the popular book about life in Costa Rica entitled, “Butterfly in the City.” To order a copy of her wonderful book please contact her at: jostuart@amcostarica.com