Major Cancer Charity to Admit It Was Wrong About Suntanning!

But they still don't have it right. Following their advice will still leave you without enough Vitamin D to prevent chronic diseases, including skin cancer!

by Heidi Stevenson

5 July 2010

Hold onto your hat! Cancer Research UK is about to change its advice on suntanning! After more than 20 years of warning people to avoid the sun's rays as deadly and to coat themselves in toxic sunscreens, the premier cancer charity will soon start advising people that they should catch some rays.

Unfortunately, they can't seem to get it all right. They're still going to tell people to slather the sunscreen lotion on. But, hey! At least they're going to get part of it right. For a change.

The Independent is reporting that they're in possession of a secret report of a plan to change the official advice from avoiding the sun between 11 am and 3 pm, staying in the shade, wearing a hat if the sun is unavoidable, and wearing sunscreen, to getting out there in the sunniest part of the day. The newspaper quotes from the document:

Cancer Research UK's SunSmart campaign encourages people to enjoy the sun safely and avoid exposures that lead to sunburn. However, for most people, sunlight is also the most important source of vitamin D, which is essential for good bone health. It is important to ensure that skin cancer prevention messages are balanced with the need to make enough vitamin D, and reflect the latest scientific evidence.

It isn't yet official, and at least they're moving in the right direction—but they still don't seem to have it all right just yet. They're starting to catch up with those of us who actually pay attention to the evidence! (See Sunlight—Required Nutrient, Not a Health Risk, How to Get Vitamin D Without the Sun, and Vitamin D Cuts Flu By Half: Double Blind Randomized Trial.)

Changing Advice Is Good—But Still Inadequate

Unfortunately, Cancer Research is only touching on how serious adequate sunlight is. The best source of Vitamin D is sunlight, and it's inherent in metabolic processes throughout the body. Lack of adequate Vitamin D is implicated in a host of severe chronic illnesses, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cancer—even skin cancer. It's required in far greater quantities than they're yet admitting.

If you have been following Cancer Research's advice—or that of any official modern medicine health agency—you've actually been increasing your chance of getting skin cancer! Even the updated advice is not adequate to supply your Vitamin D needs:

The time required to make sufficient vitamin D is typically short and less than the amount of time needed for skin to redden and burn. Regularly going outside for a matter of minutes around the middle of the day without sunscreen should be enough.

We humans came from a sun-soaked climate. As we've moved northward, our need for sunlight was increased, thus leading to lighter-colored skin. Throughout prehistory, we spent most of our time outside. We were optimized for optimal Vitamin D synthesis in conjunction with spending our days outside. The new advice simply doesn't take this into consideration.

It takes a significant amount of time in the sun to optimize your body's levels of Vitamin D. In northern elevations, only people who spend major amounts of time outdoors can get adequate Vitamin D from the sun. People with dark skin may not be able to obtain adequate sunlight in the north, which may help explain higher rates of many chronic diseases.

Sara Hiom, Cancer Research's director of health information, states, "The very fact that messages around safe sun exposure times cannot be generalised to the population means that our advice needs to be general and is, and will remain, to enjoy the sun safely, spend time in the shade around midday and know your own skin type."

This is most unfortunate. Most sunscreens contain highly toxic elements, including cancer-inducing chemicals. If Ms. Hiom is correct, then the cancer charity will still promote a cancer-promoting product and won't promote adequate intake of cancer-reducing Vitamin D.

Where's the Apology to the Suntanning Business?

There doesn't appear to be an apology forthcoming to the sunbooth industry, which has recently been under tremendous attack from agencies like Cancer Research. In the search for a scapegoat to blame for the rising skin cancer rate, they've been vilified. While misuse of suntanning booths is likely dangerous—as is misuse of any nutrient—but that does not make them inherently risky. At this point, it doesn't look like these attacks will change anytime soon.

Cancer Research UK—and possibly other agencies—are taking the step of acknowledging the mountain of science documenting how critical Vitamin D and adequate sunshine are, but they still have a long way to go. It would be decent for them to admit that they've been wrong all along, since the truth has been known all along. After all, they have been promoting an anti-sun and inadequate Vitamin D policy that is partially responsible for massive increases in chronic disease.

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