Here Comes the Sun, or Heavy D

For years we've heard that sun exposure is potential deadly. Stay out of the sun. Use SPF 5000 to block every particle of anything that might possibly be emitted by the sun. If you have to, find a friendly vampire and let nature take its course. Then you won't need to worry about it. Recently some members of the medical community have announced that most of us are deficient in Vitamin D, which apparently provides protection from various cancers. Including skin cancer. I'm so confused. So maybe you should get a little sun, like 10 minutes a day. Or maybe you can get your D through supplements. But one expert says most of those don't provide D10 which is what you really need. What the heck are we supposed to do now? Set a timer for 10 minutes then slather on the 'screen?

Let's hope the dermatologists and nutritionists and all the other 'ists' duke it out soon and give us a definitive answer. In the meantime, here are some articles on the subject to assist you in making an informed decision. All of the articles are available through EbscoHost Health Source Consumer Edition. You can access this from home through our databases. You'll just need your Des Moines Public Library card and your PIN (last four numbers of your phone number) to get in.

Yale Cancer center experts warn that, despite new data, increasing sun exposure is not the way to decrease breast cancer risk .M2PressWIRE, 05/12/2008

The vitamin D debate. By: Petrou, Ilya. Dermatology Times, Feb2008, Vol. 29 Issue 2, p76-81, 2p;

Sun exposure. By: Roehr, Bob. Dermatology Times, Mar2008, Vol. 29 Issue 3, p20-20, 1p;