Neon Beach

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Hot debate over rays
Feb. 24, 2006. 01:00 AM


Cancer, dermatology and nutrition researchers are struggling to decide how much vitamin D we really need.

After years of telling us to shun the sun, it's now clear we are all lacking in the nutrient we get from its rays.

The Canadian Dermatology Association cautions against using tanning beds, but about 95 per cent of them do provide ultraviolet B light required to make the vitamin.
And 15 minutes in the full sun with bare skin would allow us to make about 10,000 international units of vitamin D.

"I think that's more beneficial than not having it," says Toronto vitamin D researcher Reinhold Vieth. "The risk, in terms of skin cancer, is not that high if you have a moderate amount."
The debate is over the potential risk of skin cancer versus potential benefits of vitamin D.

Most of us are overtly deficient in the winter, which could be remedied by getting more sun during the warmer months since it is stored in the body and used when needed. But skin-cancer campaigns have encouraged us to cover up.

"If you're being conservative with the amount of ultraviolet light that you get, you're not going to do your skin much harm," Vieth says.
If everyone gets enough sun in the spring, summer and fall, that's 90 per cent of the vitamin D we need all year round, says expert Michael Holick of Boston University.