Sun, cancer and vitamin D: American Academy of Dermatology releases position statement
Monday, December 8th, 2008
by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
The benefits of vitamin D are many. Fighting off rickets, osteoporosis, cancers, type 2 diabetes and heart disease are just a few. Used to, everyone got enough vitamin D from sunshine. But, now, there is a problem. Skin cancers, including the deadly melanoma, are on the rise, and UV sunlight is a major risk factor. We don’t know how much sun we can get, if any, without an increased risk. We are also not sure how much vitamin D is ideal, but the trend is for more.
What is a person to do?
