Scaring ourselves out of the sun may be fueling epidemics of
cancer and autoimmune disease. Here’s a classic example: There
is no such thing as a safe tan, U.S. and British researchers
said on Thursday. They said in their review of published studies
that tans and skin cancer both begin with DNA damage caused by
exposure to ultraviolet light but many people, especially the
young, ignore or are unaware of this danger in a quest for a
bronzed body. Humans developed over many centuries working,
playing, and living outside, under the sun. About 40 years ago,
we went inside, put on sun screen and hats when we’re outside,
because science told us we were killing ourselves with skin
cancer. But guess what? We’re killing ourselves with all kinds
of cancers, because hiding from the sun has created an
unprecedented epidemic of vitamin D deficiency–so much so that
Rickets has returned in the children of dark skinned mothers
(who are also not out in the sun). Our food supply doesn’t have
nearly the sources of vitamin D to