sparks
12-20-2006, 12:55 AM
Ya know, sometimes I think we've gone too far with the use of sunscreens. I remember when I was a kid, my Mother used to say "go outside and play and get yourself some sunshine". That was then, and the use of sun block is the norm now-a-days. And most people now have a vitamin D deficiency. Guess Mom was right?
CHICAGO - An abundance of vitamin D seems to help prevent multiple sclerosis, according to a study in more than 7 million people that offers some of the strongest evidence yet of the power of the "sunshine vitamin" against MS.
The study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
"If confirmed, this finding suggests that many cases of MS could be prevented by increasing vitamin D levels," Ascherio said.
Still, he said the findings don't prove that a lack of vitamin D can cause MS, so it's too preliminary to recommend that people take vitamin D pills to avoid the disease.
Vitamin D also is found in fortified milk and oily fish, but it's hard to get enough just from diet. Sunlight is the biggest source of vitamin D, which is needed for strong bones. Other studies have linked high levels of vitamin D in the blood to lower risks of a variety of cancers.
Ascherio said there's some evidence that its incidence is increasing in sunny regions including the South and West, possibly because people are avoiding the sun or using sunscreen to protect against skin cancer.
Some doctors think those practices also have contributed to vitamin D deficiencies in adolescents and young adults.
"There's no question that vitamin D deficiency is an epidemic in the United States," said Dr. William Finn, a vitamin D expert at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The MS study "is just one more reason to pay attention to it."
I remember reading several years ago that the best practice is to not use sunscreen for a half an hour to an hour then apply liberally after the body has soaked up some rays.
Full story here (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061220/ap_on_he_me/vitamin_d_ms)
CHICAGO - An abundance of vitamin D seems to help prevent multiple sclerosis, according to a study in more than 7 million people that offers some of the strongest evidence yet of the power of the "sunshine vitamin" against MS.
The study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
"If confirmed, this finding suggests that many cases of MS could be prevented by increasing vitamin D levels," Ascherio said.
Still, he said the findings don't prove that a lack of vitamin D can cause MS, so it's too preliminary to recommend that people take vitamin D pills to avoid the disease.
Vitamin D also is found in fortified milk and oily fish, but it's hard to get enough just from diet. Sunlight is the biggest source of vitamin D, which is needed for strong bones. Other studies have linked high levels of vitamin D in the blood to lower risks of a variety of cancers.
Ascherio said there's some evidence that its incidence is increasing in sunny regions including the South and West, possibly because people are avoiding the sun or using sunscreen to protect against skin cancer.
Some doctors think those practices also have contributed to vitamin D deficiencies in adolescents and young adults.
"There's no question that vitamin D deficiency is an epidemic in the United States," said Dr. William Finn, a vitamin D expert at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The MS study "is just one more reason to pay attention to it."
I remember reading several years ago that the best practice is to not use sunscreen for a half an hour to an hour then apply liberally after the body has soaked up some rays.
Full story here (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061220/ap_on_he_me/vitamin_d_ms)