Study: Number Of Lives Saved By Sun Exposure May Be 10 Times Higher Than Fatal Skin Cancers

A recent study suggests that the number of lives saved by people who double their sun exposure might be 10 times higher than the number of fatal skin cancers that could result.

The study—conducted by researchers at the Institute for Cancer Research in Oslo, Norway, and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences—focused on the fact that vitamin D is produced following exposure to sunlight.

"The health benefits from some sun exposure are far larger than the risk," says lead researcher Johan Moan. "What we find is modest sun exposure gives enormous vitamin D benefits."

Vitamin D deficiency is a particular problem at northern latitudes—especially during winter—because the sun is weaker. Researchers calculated that, in response to the same amount of time spent outdoors, Australians living just south of the equator produce 3.4 times more vitamin D than people living in Britain and 4.8 times more than people living in Scandinavia.

According to Moan, if the general population of Norway doubled the amount of time spent in the sun, approximately 300 more people would die each year from skin cancer, representing twice the current death rate. However, there would be 3,000 fewer deaths from other types of cancer.

"The current data provides further indication of the beneficial role of sun-induced vitamin D for cancer prognosis," says researcher Richard Setlow, from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Source: NaturalNews.com