The Truth About Sunlight, Cancer and Vitamin D

Some facts are correct, some are not, and the conclusions are murky.

The association of Vitamin D as a cancer-preventative has numerous scientific literature backing it including this paper that has additional references.

When he goes off into sunlight, and the associated Vitamin D, helping with all kinds of diseases and colds, then that goes way too far and is not supported by strong evidence in all of his examples.

I think a much more valid summary would be that quite a few people have Vitamin D deficiency and that they need to either take a Vitamin D3 supplement or spend 15-30 minutes in the sun a few days a week in the summer without sunscreen (or in the winter in the south, but in the north more exposure time is needed during the winter). He is correct that those with darker skin need more exposure if they don't take supplements (unless they live in intense sun areas).

He is incorrect to assert that if you spend more than this relatively small amount of time in the sun that you don't need sunscreen or clothing or otherwise avoiding such sun or tanning booth exposure. Your body will only produce as much Vitamin D as it needs and any additional sunlight just increases the risk of damage from the UV. UV damages organics and produces free radicals. Anti-oxidants combine with such free radicals to prevent damage, but this is a race and having more UV increases the statistical odds of getting cancer, aged skin, etc.

He is also incorrect in implying that you only risk skin cancer if you burn, but not if you tan.

So while it is true that having better nutrition is healthier, it is not true that one can spend as much time in the sun or in tanning salons as they like so long as they have adequate Vitamin B and related nutrition. What he said in the beginning about there being multiple factors is correct, but just because you improve your odds of better health with better nutrition doesn't mean that you don't decrease such odds with excessive UV exposure. Even studies of Vitamin D deficiency show a 50% reduction in melanoma when Vitamin D and calcium are at proper levels, not a 100% reduction.

Remember that evolution influenced skin color (melanin amount) over time based on where people lived so that those in very intense sunny areas through most of the year (such as near the Equator in Africa) had darker skin that produced Vitamin D more slowly and tended to block UV more to prevent damage. Those in northern climates had pale skin to absorb more UV to produce more Vitamin D since sunlight was more scarce. In our modern world where people move around to different areas, then they can get too little or too much UV absorbed with the associated problems of too little Vitamin D or too much UV damage. Proper nutrition helps to minimize the damage, but does not eliminate it.

As for why dermatologists and other doctors are so focused on skin cancer, it is mostly because non-melanoma skin cancer is the number one cancer in the U.S. which accounts for about half of all cancer diagnoses or about 2 million per year. Not all untreated non-melanoma skin cancer is fatal (about 0.1% for basal cell carcinoma and <1% for squamous cell carcinoma), but some is and left untreated can lead to significant local destruction and disfigurement and there is no way of currently knowing which will be so all are treated (removed). Lifetime cancer risk for the much more serious melanoma is around 2% while dying from it is less than 0.5%.

From a practical point of view, the main effect from UV exposure is aging skin since the tanning effect can be uneven and long-term exposure can weaken connective tissues. The main driver for sunscreen protection is probably more for maintaining "youthful" skin than it is for preventing dying from skin cancer. Given how relatively long such skin problems take to develop, it is most important to not overdue UV exposure when one is younger. This is similar to not smoking when one is younger. If one wants to do such habits with far less of an effect on one's health, then do them when you are much older. I think a lot of young people following Mike Adams' advice (i.e. go ahead and use tanning beds) are going to regret how their skin looks when they get older, even if they have proper nutrition which is often not the case. I frequently refused to wear sunscreen as a child, sometimes burned/peeled but mostly tanned, and now have skin that my dermatologist calls "scary".
 
The first sensible thing said on the video was "sunlight alone doesn't cause skin cancer" and that was a few minutes in. I didn't watch much further than that, I admit, but I thought the video was dangerously confusing so far.

He starts off by disparaging the idea of "one thing, one effect", and I can sort of agree with that. With most forms of cancer there are only risk factors, not direct cause and effect. He then says "what if I told you that sunlight doesn't cause skin cancer?" - that's one thing, one effect in reverse, and makes no sense to me whatsoever.

I don't know the risk factors for all the different kinds of skin cancer, but I thought it was fairly conclusive that sunlight was a risk factor for melanoma. 2% lifetime risk for melanoma doesn't seem like bad odds unless you are one of the 2% - my sister is, and my father was (he was one of the 0.5% :cry: ). He never sunbathed in his entire life, but he did spend a lot of time walking up mountains as a young man, presumably with his shirt off. I suspect that genetics trumps nutrition any day.

I get my boys to wear UV protective tops when in the pool - better protection than suncream and doesn't mess with the chemicals. We're all very pale skinned, so I don't think we need much exposure to make our vit D.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I wasn't expecting such a detailed analysis(chem geek). I can agree with your strong point where too much UV exposure will do damage. Too much of anything, even seemingly harmless, can inflict damage.

One subject that Mike Adams speaks about that has not been commented on so far is the safety of the ingredients in sunscreens. I'm no scientist but I don't like what I've read about these ingredients.

I do not use any sunscreen on my skin. I do use a 15 SPF lip balm and develop dry irritated lips year-round if I don't.

Today I spent almost 8 hours in full sun(shorts, no shirt) and did not "burn"(very slight hint on shoulders which will be gone in the AM)...although I do have a dark tan at this point. I do use several dietary supplements. The most important supplements I use are Green Vibrance (2 to 4 serving/day), a very good "multi" (currently using Controlled Labs Orange Triad) and fish oil ( Controlled Labs). I use others including 2 to 4 grams of Ascorbic Acid/day which I feel also helps to combat sun exposure. I've been doing basically this same "suntan protocol" for 25 years and so far I haven't had any obvious skin problems. I do not however expose my skin to an all day duration on a regular basis.
 
As for safety, there are several sites that rate that and relative presumed efficacy. See the Environmental Working Group (EWG) site as one example. Now the Skin Cancer Foundation disputes some of the hazard ratings such as those for oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate based on FDA Final Regulations on Sunscreens but I even remember my wife's dermatologist years ago telling her not to go into the sun after using retinol. The EWG site is well-referenced to scientific literature, though does lean to the side of caution.
 
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