Sun increases vitamin D supply
Get out and play a little
By BARBARAANDERSON Fresno Bee

The sun is a hot topic with doctors this winter.

What's causing the fuss? Recent studies suggest people may need more sun exposure for their health, which conflicts with long-standing warnings to stay out of the sun or use sunscreen to prevent skin cancer. Those advocating for more exposure to the sun say it takes a moderate amount of sunlight to produce healthy levels of vitamin D -- the "sunshine vitamin." The body produces the vitamin from ultraviolet light.

But dermatologists say people might do themselves more harm than good if they're not careful.

"I'm absolutely mortified that this has come up," said Dr. Jane Kardashian, a Fresno, Calif., dermatologist who treats people for skin cancer.

Kardashian said increasing time in the sun puts people at greater risk of sun cancer. Most people in the San Joaquin Valley get enough sunshine to produce vitamin D, she said, and deficiencies most likely are the result of dietary problems rather than from a lack of sun exposure. Vitamin D can be obtained through fortified milk, cheese, yogurt and fatty fish, among other foods, and by taking supplements.

But the sun is the major source of vitamin D. And two studies made public this month add to a growing body of work that says people may not be getting enough of the vitamin to reap its health rewards.

Vitamin D has long been associated with helping to build strong bones.

But now researchers say it may prevent deaths from internal cancers, such as those of the colon, breast, lung and prostate. They also speculate could help prevent heart disease and stroke.

A study published last week in the online "Proceedings of the National Academy of Science" concludes that sun exposure may help cut cancer deaths.

The study, by Norwegian scientists and the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, found survival rates for internal cancers were better for people living in sunnier climes.

In the Jan. 9 issue of "Circulation," the journal of the American Heart Association, researchers who looked at 1,739 people from the Framingham Heart Study said vitamin D deficiency is associated with cardiovascular disease. They call for more study to determine whether eliminating vitamin D deficiency could prevent the disease.

Scripps Howard News Service