Sunscreen News

Dr. Weil is offering up some interesting information in his Question of the Day regarding the use of sunscreen. He states that there could be potential risk of depletion of Vitamin D in those who never let their skin see the light of day. Vitamin D is important for many functions of the body, including bone building and immune system function. Here is a snip of what he has to say:

These new findings have led some researchers to suggest that we may have gone overboard by insisting that everyone wear sunscreen whenever in the sun. Even some dermatologists have begun to question whether current sunscreen recommendations should be modified. The problem is that no one is sure exactly how to modify them. So far, I’ve seen no alternative recommendations for sunscreen use. One possibility might be to wait until actually getting in the sun to apply sunscreen, or putting it on 15 minutes before exposure, rather than the recommended 30 minutes.

I know I can burn to a crisp in the Texas sun in 15 minutes, so I am not sure that is the right solution. Maybe the answer is to sunscreen up during the peak sun hours of the day, but be sure to get outside in the sun in the mornings and late afternoons, when you can reap the benefits, but not the dangers. Surely there is a happy medium between skin cancer and rickets!