I first heard of POMC from Dr. Jack Kruse on Rick Rubin's podcast a few years ago. To me at the time it was just some guy making some crazy, but interesting, claims about light and the role it plays in our body. Fast forward two years, I've started a company based around a philosophy that completely changed the trajectory of my life. It was until today that I realized it has it's roots back to Dr. Jack. In this article I share some of the foundational science as to why I became a Sun Enthusiast.
What is POMC?
POMC is a gene that is stimulated by UVB light reaching your skin. When it is stimulated, it produces the POMC protein which is broken down into many peptides that perform different functions in your body. Most notably:
- ACTH
- α-, β-, and γ-MSH (Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone)
- Β- endorphin
D'Orazio J, Jarrett S, Amaro-Ortiz A, Scott T. UV radiation and the skin. Int J Mol Sci. 2013 Jun 7;14(6):12222-48. doi: 10.3390/ijms140612222. PMID: 23749111; PMCID: PMC3709783.
How does it work?
UV light, UVB inparticular stimulates the release of POMC. One of the products of POMC is ACTH. ACTH is used to produce Alpha MSH, Alpha MSH is anti-inlfammatory, antimicrobial (fights viral and bacterial pathogens), and increases skin pigmentation (get that nice tan). There is also evidence that it decreases food desires in the brain.
Another byproduct of POMC is Beta Endorphin. Which is an opioid-like chemical, it makes you feel good. It’s highly addictive. I interpret this as a built in reward system for getting UVB light. Why would your body produce feel good hormones for something supposedly harmful to it? The POMC pathway can be found in Cartilaginous fish (sharks) and tetrapods (4 limbed animals, dogs, zebra, humans are all examples of lower classifications). The evolutionary spilt between these two groups is prosed to be over 400 million years ago, suggesting the POMC pathway has been preserved for that insanely long time.
What to do
This whole POMC process is initiated by cellular damage from UV radiation. As a result, DNA mutations (skin cancer) can occur. I think of this very similarly to going to the gym. Muscles grow through a process of damage and healing of muscle tissue. Here, UVB is the dumbbell and your skin is the muscle. Based on my research and how I understand and implement this into my life, healthy lifestyle choices lower your risk for problems in this pathway. There are three pillars in my life, nutrition, exercise, and spending time outside. None are as good independently as they are together. Read our blog on building a natural sun resistance and you’ll get a full breakdown of the process I follow. All of our Daybreak products are formulated to include vitamins and minerals from the earth that mitigate and heal skin damage. This is not to say our products stop skin cancer. That’s insane. They contain zero chemicals or fillers, aimed to enable your body to perform at it’s highest level. To go back to our gym analogy, Sunbutter is like pre workout, fueling you to get the best out of your sun session and Essential Moisturizer is like a protein shake giving your body what it needs to recover.