Sunlight May Improve Melanoma Survival

www.healthday.com...

Sunlight happens to be the best source of Vit D. Ironic, isn't it?

The prevention of skin cancer, sun screen, is also blocking vitamin D synthesis. So, take your pick.

-Dev

[edit on 28-9-2009 by DevolutionEvolvd]

The article states:

"Vitamin D is naturally present in few foods, and some researchers recommend supplements containing as many as 2,000 International Units (IU) of vitamin D for many people, and even more for those who are obese.

The current recommendations, however, are 200 to 600 units a day, depending on age."

There has been a lot of research regarding how many various illnesses and disorders are caused by Vitamin D deficiency. I've read elsewhere that the 200-600 IU per day is WAY low, you can take up to 10,000 IU daily safely. I take around 4-8000 IU of Vitamin D3 a day.

Here's a great article about the different types of diseases that research has shown related to Vitamin D deficiency:

articles.mercola.com...

Well, this is not really "new" in that it has been known for a long time that the sun was the best "source" for vitamin D. But what is being brought to "light" are all the diseases that are linked to vitamin D deficiency.

Also getting enough sunlight wards off depression.

The sunshine vitamin may protect against a host of diseases, including osteoporosis, heart disease, and cancers of the breast, prostate, and colon. What's more, sunlight has other hidden benefits—like protecting against depression, insomnia, and an overactive immune system.

I think the trick is trying to get enough sun for vitamin D, but not so much that you end up with skin cancer. Another words, get sun, but not so much that you actually burn. If I remember correctly the suggestion is about 10 min of sun a day. This depends on if you are a "fair skinned" person, or if you are older, as when you are older your body has a harder time producing vitamin D.

But don't despair, if you just can't stand the sun, say your a vampire type person , then drink plenty of milk, or eat plenty of fatty fish, or take vitamin D supplements.

Thanks for the info DevolutionEvolvd, I appreciate it. and Orion65, I also agree with what you said, and I also think that the suggested doses for vitamin D may be found to be too low.

Harm None
Peace

[edit on 29-9-2009 by amazed]

reply to post by Orion65


Current recommendations are so low due to worries of poisoning. Though Vitamin D is fat soluble, recent studies have demonstrated that 1000-2000 IU's is perfectly healthy and very beneficial.

Thanks for the link.

-Dev

There was a thread that was full of Vitamin D research. I can't seem to find it.

Dr. Michael Eades has composed a great blog post on the topic.

Does this guy understand that ultraviolet B (UVB) rays are what both make vitamin D and burn the skin? If you put on sunscreen that blocks UVB, then you block the production of vitamin D. Pretty much completely. Even weak sunscreens with an SPF of 8 block 95 percent of vitamin D synthesis. So greasing up with sunscreen is definitely not going to have you “swimming in vitamin D.”

In fact, if you’re not careful, you’ll end up more prone to the worst kind of skin cancer: melanoma. Why? Because a sunburn is nature’s way of telling you you’re getting too much sun. Unless you’re a moron, you get out of the sun before you get badly burned. With graduated sun exposure you develop a tan, which prevents burning because the tan blocks the UVB much like a sunscreen does. But the tan blocks UVA also. UVA is the wavelength that doesn’t really burn but does stimulate the melanocytes (the pigment producing cells), which can cause melanoma. If you slather on the sunscreen and stay out in the sun all day, you don’t get burned, but you do get a ton of UVA, which, until fairly recently, wasn’t blocked by sunscreen. Now sunscreens contain agents that block both UVB and UVA, but no one knows yet whether these will prevent melanoma in the long run.

The paradox of melanoma is that this cancer typically develops as a response to too much sun but people with chronic sun exposure incur it less frequently than those with sporadic sun exposure. This paradox can be easily explained. Those who are out in the sun a lot develop a tan. The tan blocks UVA, so there is less of the simulation for melanoma. Those who go into the sun occasionally – office workers who vacation at the beach for a week – use sunscreen and stay out too long, receiving way too much UVA. UVA that increases the risk for melanoma.

Vitamin-D-Bate-D-Bunked

Great blog post and explanation.

-Dev

[edit on 29-9-2009 by DevolutionEvolvd]

Originally posted by DevolutionEvolvd
reply to post by Orion65

 

Current recommendations are so low due to worries of poisoning. Though Vitamin D is fat soluble, recent studies have demonstrated that 1000-2000 IU's is perfectly healthy and very beneficial.

Thanks for the link.

-Dev

You're welcome, I've been reading so much information about preventing the swine flu that it's evolved into researching various supplements and vitamins. (I work in the medical field so this stuff is of interest anyway.) But even before the swine flu hoopla I was taking Vitamin D at 2-4000 IU daily. I get the 2000 IU per dosage supplements, I know that the more you weigh the higher the dose you can take. I weigh about 125 lbs and haven't had any problems at the dosage I'm taking, the docs I work with think it's fine. (That's the perk, free medical care and advice. But I look into a lot of natural medicine for my own knowledge because I believe in prevention vs cure whenever possible.)

I think that a lot of the research that is coming out related to Vitamin D deficiency and the connection to disorders is really eye-opening. The melanoma topic is of interest to me because I have a close friend who was diagnosed with this and it subsequently spread to her lungs and brain.

The evidence is just pouring in on the benefits of Vitamin D and the perils of a deficiency. The reports are being corroborated by multiple different journals.

Apparently, optimum vitamin D levels contribute to fat loss.

-Dev

Originally posted by DevolutionEvolvd
The evidence is just pouring in on the benefits of Vitamin D and the perils of a deficiency. The reports are being corroborated by multiple different journals.

Apparently, optimum vitamin D levels contribute to fat loss.

-Dev

That's great - if I lose 5 pounds I won't be disappointed.

Can we agree that there is such a thing as too much sun?

reply to post by Phage


Actually, I saw a lady at a pool in Phoenix once who looked pretty close to that photo.

I can definitely agree - I used to work in dermatology and have seen many advanced melanomas, not a pretty sight.

[edit on 29-9-2009 by Orion65]

reply to post by Phage


Come on, phage. Next time, put a sign next to a link that may cause one to slightly throw up in one's mouth.

Here's a recent abstract on Vitamin D and cancer prevention. A systematic review of multiple epidemiological studies:

The number of studies reporting beneficial effects of sunlight and vitamin D on several types of cancer with a high mortality rate is growing rapidly. Present health recommendations on sun exposure are mainly based on the increased risks for skin cancer. We reviewed all published studies concerning cancer and sun exposure and vitamin D, respectively, excluding those about skin cancer. Most identified ecological, case-control and prospective studies on the incidence and mortality of colorectal, prostate, breast carcinoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma reported a significantly inverse association with sun exposure.

The results of the included studies on the association between cancer risk and vitamin D were much less consistent. Only those studies that prospectively examined the 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum levels in relation to risk of colorectal cancer are homogeneous: they all reported inverse associations, although not all reaching statistical significance.

The results of the intervention studies are suggestive of a protective role of high doses of vitamin D in cancer, but they have been criticized in the literature. We, therefore, conclude that there is accumulating evidence for sunlight as a protective factor for several types of cancer. The same conclusion can be made concerning high vitamin D levels and the risk of colorectal cancer. This evidence, however, is not conclusive, because the number of (good quality) studies is still limited and publication biases cannot be excluded. The discrepancies between the epidemiological evidence for a possible preventive effect of sunlight and vitamin D and the question of how to apply the findings on the beneficial effects of sunlight to (public) health recommendations are discussed.

Vitamin D and the Prevention of Cancer

(my emphasis)

-Dev

Edit to add Link

[edit on 29-9-2009 by DevolutionEvolvd]

[edit on 29-9-2009 by DevolutionEvolvd]