Man bites dog

I thought I was done blogging for the day until I spotted this headline: "Scientists Say Sunshine May Prevent Cancer..."

This is the "man bites dog" of newspaper headlines if I ever saw one ("man bites dog" refers to a journalism adage that "dog bites man" is not news but "man bites dog" is because it's out of the ordinary). I urge you to read the entire Associated Press article if you take the bait and click the link.

Yes, Vitamin D is good for you and yes, you can get it from the sun, but nowhere in the article does it recommend you sunbathe more than the 15 minutes several times a week that other experts have already suggested. Anyway, I like to think that this is a fair and balanced blog here so I recommend that you read the article or at least see the excerpts below:

From the AP story:

So the thinking is this: Even if too much sun leads to skin cancer, which is rarely deadly, too little sun may be worse. No one is suggesting that people fry on a beach. But many scientists believe that "safe sun" - 15 minutes or so a few times a week without sunscreen - is not only possible but helpful to health.

Just my opinion, but if you really need to sunbathe a couple times a week to get sun, you really need to get out more. How many of us don't get enough sun through normal daily activities?

No source (of Vitamin D) is ideal. Even if sunshine were to be recommended, the amount needed would depend on the season, time of day, where a person lives, skin color and other factors. Thun and others worry that folks might overdo it. "People tend to go overboard with even a hint of encouragement to get more sun exposure," Thun said, adding that he'd prefer people get more of the nutrient from food or pills.(American Cancer Society's chief epidemiologist, Dr. Michael Thun)

Can't you just take Vitamin D orally?

But too much of the pill variety can cause a dangerous buildup of calcium in the body. The government says 2,000 IUs is the upper daily limit for anyone over a year old. On the other hand, D from sunshine has no such limit. It's almost impossible to overdose when getting it this way. However, it is possible to get skin cancer. And this is where the dermatology establishment and Dr. Michael Holick part company. Thirty years ago, Holick helped make the landmark discovery of how vitamin D works. Until last year, he was chief of endocrinology, nutrition and diabetes and a professor of dermatology at Boston University. Then he published a book, "The UV Advantage," urging people to get enough sunlight to make vitamin D. "I am advocating common sense," not prolonged sunbathing or tanning salons, Holick said. Skin cancer is rarely fatal, he notes. The most deadly form, melanoma, accounts for only 7,770 of the 570,280 cancer deaths expected to occur in the United States this year. "The problem has been that the American Academy of Dermatology has been unchallenged for 20 years," he says. "They have brainwashed the public at every level."(Dr. Michael Holick)

I actually wish Dr. Holick was correct. If the American Academy of Dermatology had truly succeeded in brainwashing us all to the dangers of the sun, my cousin may still be alive today. If the public is brainwashed "at every level" (whatever that means) why is the number of new skin-cancer cases increasing at a faster rate than any other cancer and why has the rate for melanoma more than doubled from 5.7 to 14.31 since 1973(American Cancer Society)?

I could probably see his point if a significant percentage of the population was hiding out in their homes turning sickly pale and suffering from Vitamin D deficiencies. Based on what I read and see though, the opposite is true. A lot of people still don't get it and I think this is a terrible time to be giving them mixed messages.

I really like the quote at the end of this excerpt:

The head of Holick's department, Dr. Barbara Gilchrest, called his book an embarrassment and stripped him of his dermatology professorship, although he kept his other posts. She also faulted his industry ties. Holick said the school has received $150,000 in grants from the Indoor Tanning Association for his research, far less than the consulting deals and grants that other scientists routinely take from drug companies. In fact, industry has spent money attacking him. One such statement from the Sun Safety Alliance, funded in part by Coppertone and drug store chains, declared that "sunning to prevent vitamin D deficiency is like smoking to combat anxiety."

This sums it up for me:

As for sunshine, experts recommend moderation until more evidence is in hand. "The skin can handle it, just like the liver can handle alcohol," said Dr. James Leyden, professor emeritus of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania, who has consulted for sunscreen makers. "I like to have wine with dinner, but I don't think I should drink four bottles a day."