Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: Time to get out in the sun

  1. #1
    just me duncan drennan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    2,642
    Thanks
    119
    Thanked 94 Times in 77 Posts

    Time to get out in the sun

    It seems that our anti–sun antics could possibly be harming us....

    For decades, researchers have puzzled over why rich northern countries have cancer rates many times higher than those in developing countries — and many have laid the blame on dangerous pollutants spewed out by industry.

    But research into vitamin D is suggesting both a plausible answer to this medical puzzle and a heretical notion: that cancers and other disorders in rich countries aren't caused mainly by pollutants but by a vitamin deficiency known to be less acute or even non-existent in poor nations.

    --

    A four-year clinical trial involving 1,200 women found those taking the vitamin had about a 60-per-cent reduction in cancer incidence, compared with those who didn't take it, a drop so large — twice the impact on cancer attributed to smoking — it almost looks like a typographical error.

    --

    Authorities are implicated because the main way humans achieve healthy levels of vitamin D isn't through diet but through sun exposure. People make vitamin D whenever naked skin is exposed to bright sunshine. By an unfortunate coincidence, the strong sunshine able to produce vitamin D is the same ultraviolet B light that can also causes sunburns and, eventually, skin cancer.

    Only brief full-body exposures to bright summer sunshine — of 10 or 15 minutes a day — are needed to make high amounts of the vitamin. But most authorities, including Health Canada, have urged a total avoidance of strong sunlight or, alternatively, heavy use of sunscreen. Both recommendations will block almost all vitamin D synthesis.

    --

    "Fifteen hundred Americans die every year from [skin cancers]. Fifteen hundred Americans die every day from the serious cancers."

    Full article on globeandmail.com
    Kinda (potentially) turns conventional wisdom on its head...
    [SIGPIC]Engineer Simplicity[/SIGPIC]
    Turn ideas into products | The Art of Engineering blog

  2. #2
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Durban, South Africa
    Posts
    22,648
    Thanks
    3,304
    Thanked 2,676 Times in 2,257 Posts
    Blog Entries
    12
    Kinda reminds me of salt, and there's probably a whole host of other analogies.

    You've got to have some, but too much will kill you.

  3. #3
    Email problem stephanfx's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    203
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
    I suppose then it is a bad thing that I don't like the sun that much. I have a rather sensitive skin. 10 min in the sun, and I won't be able to sleep for 3 days.

    Oh well, looks like the pills are for me then

Similar Threads

  1. Network, one person at a time
    By duncan drennan in forum Entrepreneurship and Business Management Forum
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 09-Jun-07, 01:18 PM
  2. A time to save.
    By Dave A in forum General Business Forum
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 02-Oct-06, 06:47 AM
  3. What is the meaning of a life time warranty
    By Alan in forum General Business Forum
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 27-Jul-06, 11:26 AM
  4. Time to move on World Cup 2010.
    By Dave A in forum General Business Forum
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 23-Jun-06, 09:50 AM

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •