We lived in the former Soviet Union for a year about a decade ago. It got cold in the winter. I mean really cold. We would bundle up to go out for our daily walk when I would come home for lunch at noon. I was amazed to see rows of old men sitting in lawn chairs in front of Soviet-style apartment buildings. They sat there for about an hour every day sunbathing wearing their boots and underpants and nothing else. I wonder what their vitamin D level was.
Humans have been out in the sun for millenia. Our bodies are designed to convert sun light into vitamin D (which is really a hormone not a vitamin). Now the cosmeceutical industry is trying to convince all of us that sun light is bad. The American Academy of Dermatology has adopted a policy stating that a "comprehensive sun protection program, including avoiding outdoor activities between 10 am and 4 pm when the sun's rays are strongest, seeking shade whenever possible, wearing a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SP) of at least 15 and reapplying it every 2 hours, and wearing sun-protective clothing.
Given that apparently sound advice, after all dematologist couldn't be wrong could they, then why has Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called on the FDA to reveal the findings between a possible link between a chemical found in (yup, you guessed it) most sunscreens (retinyl palmitate) and skin cancer.
According to Dr. Holick vitamin D levels are low in a large fraction of the world's population. This deficiency causes an increase in osteoporosis, rickets, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attacks, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and cancer. May the old guys taking sun the in winter in Tashkent had the right idea.
Want to lear more? I recommend Dr. Holick's book, The UV Advantage. It is a great read. You can pick it up at Amazon for about $10. It's well worth the small investment.
