Spring Break Florida- Vit D

I have just returned from SE Florida where I spent Spring break with my family. It was so good to soak up the sun and the warmth and jump in the Atlantic ocean where the water temp was 71 degrees!!!
Typical during spring we saw temperatures jump up and down from day to day with thunder storms passing through dumping buckets of rain followed by sun minutes later. This didn't stop me and the family from swimming as much as possible and allowing our pasty white NW glow to turn pink in the soothing rays of the sun.
I'm telling you all this not to make you envious but to get to the point about sun exposure, vitamin D and skin cancers.

"Avoiding Sun as Dangerous as Smoking"

That was the headline of a journal report that I read while kicking my Vit D machine into high gear.
Have we become so afraid of the sun to the point that we are damaging our health? I think so.
Check out some the findings of this study that followed nearly 30,000 women over 20 years.

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• Nonsmokers who stayed out of the sun had a life expectancy similar to smokers who soaked up the most rays.
• Women who seek out the sun were generally at lower risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diseases such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and pulmonary diseases, than those who avoided sun exposure.
• "We did find an increased risk of...skin cancer. However, the skin cancers that occurred in those exposing themselves to the sun had better prognosis."!
• When smoking was factored in, even smokers at approximately 60 years of age with the most active sun-exposure habits had a 2-year longer life expectancy during the study period compared with smokers who avoided sun exposure.
• "From Irish studies we know that vitamin D deficiency makes melanomas more malignant," Dr Lindqvist said. "This is in agreement with our results; melanomas of [those not exposed] to the sun had a worse prognosis."
• Women with more pigmentation would be particularly well-served to stop avoiding sunshine.

This study was supported by the Clintec at the Karolinska Institute; ALF (Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Region Skane); the Swedish Cancer Society; and the Swedish Medical Research Council. Funding was also received from Lund University Hospital; the Gustav V Jubilee Fund; the Gunnar Nilsson Foundation; the Kamprad Foundation; and the European Research Council. The authors declared no relevant financial relationships.
J Intern Med. Published online March 16, 2016.

Another thing to note. Sunscreen does not prevent skin cancer - believe it or not there has not been any study to prove that the use of sunscreen decreases skin cancer rates. Why? Because we use it wrong. Using sunscreen so you can stay out in the sun longer is engaging in risky behavior. If you are going to be stuck out on a boat or cannot avoid the rays for hours on end have a hat, other clothing that covers you, and yes then sunscreen may have a place.