Neon Beach

Sunny news: Research on vitamin D makes doctors consider prescribing sunshine



By MARILYNN MARCHIONE | Associated Press
May 18, 2005

Scientists are excited about a vitamin again.

But unlike fads that sizzled and fizzled, the evidence this time is strong and keeps growing.

If it bears out, it will challenge one of medicine's most fundamental beliefs: that people need to coat themselves with sunscreen whenever they're in the sun. Doing that may actually contribute to far more cancer deaths than it prevents, some researchers think.

The vitamin is D, nicknamed the "sunshine vitamin" because the skin makes it from ultraviolet rays. Because sunscreen blocks vitamin D's production, some scientists are questioning the long-standing advice to always use it.

The reason is that vitamin D increasingly seems important for preventing and even treating many types of cancer. In the last three months alone, four separate studies found it helped protect against lymphoma and cancers of the prostate, lung and, ironically, the skin. The strongest evidence is for colon cancer.

Many people aren't getting enough vitamin D, and it's hard to get from food and fortified milk; supplements are problematic.

So the thinking is this: Even if too much sun leads to skin cancer, which is rarely deadly, too little sun may be worse.

See full story here: http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/13875.html

ChristineE

GREAT ARTICLE!!

Neon Beach

Excellent!! Gotta make copies of that one, I'm going to send the text and a link to the local papers also. See if they have the guts to re-print it........

top250tansyou

I know its kind of off the subject. Has anyone heard the budwieser radio ad about sunscreen? It is funnier than neon on a dog sled. I know we should use it outside but one of the lines goes something like this. Mr sunscreen 80 man just rememeber your protected for 80 times your normal ebdurance. Your even protected in the moonlight and if the sun ever burns out your SPF will still be going strong. YOu have to hear this ad. A beer company making fun of The publics fear of the sun and overdoing the SPF. I love it.

Neon Beach

I'll have to watch for that one.............

ChristineE

Just heard that one on the radio the other day! Halarious!!

Quote:I'm going to send the text and a link to the local papers also. See if they have the guts to re-print it........


Neon, what did you say (type) when you sent the link to the local papers? I sent the link to the local NBC news station, but I'm sure they won't touch it...... I also sent it to the news "doctor" on the ABC affiliate...

Jancy

Darn! I couldn't remember where to find the thread about this article and started a new one. Darn it anyway!