Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

re: Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

Susan Snow — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 14:32:03 GMT

I don't know whether or not I have adequate vitamin D in my body, although I regularly eat foods, such as wild, Alaskan salmon, which contain vitamin D, naturally. But, when I'm in the sun, it is NEVER near or at high noon. I stay out of the sun between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. when the sun is the highest in the sky and the harshest to my skin, which is fair.

The only time I have used sunscreen is when I'm outside during daylight hours all day --such as backpacking, kayaking, and sun. Then, it was a necessity, but that is not a regular occurrence.

Regarding vitamin D preventing cancers: It may prevent certain cancers, but no ALL CANCERS are caused by the lack of vitamin D. Myriad of cancers are caused by environmental poisons (from industries) in the workplace, in consumer products, in our food, water, and air. Fossil fuels contain natural chemicals and heavy metals that build up in food, poison water and air and cause numerous health damage, including cancers...due to the radionuclides in the fuel or the product made from the fuel. This is a given in myriad studies on individual chemicals at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization.

re: Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

BodyDr — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:42:04 GMT

I have had two melanomas. One cutaneous and one ocular. In April I had my eye removed. Do I go out in the mid day sun as you are suggesting, or do I stay in or keep covered during the mid day like my doctors warn me to do. I am not one to follow regular western medicine, but at this point am very confused about my personal protocol. I do exercise in the early morning or after 3 in the afternoon with no protection. OK healers, what are your thoughts?

re: Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

makemesmile — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:09:38 GMT

Please Dr Mercola, can you discuss the problem of Melasma, or Hyperpigmentation, better known as "sun spots"?There are many articles written about the benefits of the sun, but I have not found any information on this very real problem. Since turning 40, I started getting these spots on my upper lip, but now they are all over my face. I wont go outside without a heavy foundation to attempt to cover them up. I know how toxic sunscreen is, so I avoid it. Please discuss what causes this problem and how to prevent it from getting worse and lighten the spots already there. Tradional Dermatologists will only say that they are caused by sun damage and recommend that a heavy sunblock be worn at all times. I have a suspicion that it has to do with a deficientcy of some sort, but I cannot imagine what it could be. I take alot of fish oil, and try to watch what I eat. Any help out there will be much appreciated!

re: Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

kurt_nielsen — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:42:58 GMT

I find it suspicious these days that getting more Sun is healthy when Nasa has seen the planets in our solar system heat up including the Sun. Coming up is Solar Maximum "solar cycle 24", reaching its peak between 2010 to 2012. This maximum could be the strongest in 400 years since record keeping began. To find out about this concern google "Earthfiles" or "solar cycle 24". There are videos on this subject that will show in the search results.

I am concerned that strangely enough we are informed that it's good to get sun now at a time when satalites are about to fry and intense radiation could pass through our atmosphere and fry us!

re: Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

gregly — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:44:49 GMT

D3 - Cholecalciferal is preferred for supplementation for sjmple D deficiency. For cases of metabolic diseases or D processing defects (sarcadosis, granulomas, cancers, hyperactive parathyroidism,e etc), prescription forms may be necessary under the care of a knowlegeable physician. Beware if any doctor prescribes calcitriol without any underlying D-associated metabolic disorder. From the www.vitamindcouncil.org website:

"Calcitriol Contraindicated in VDDS Ergocalciferol has been used safely by physicians for years for a variety of indications. Unfortunately, when doctors don't prescribe ergocalciferol, they sometimes prescribe calcitriol or newer analogs of calcitriol, costing thousands of times more than cholecalciferol. Calcitriol, and its analogs, are contraindicated in vitamin D deficiency because they may cause hypercalcemia and they fail to address the real problem: low stores of 25(OH)D. Cholecalciferol repletes the vitamin D system by filling up your vitamin D tank with 25(OH)D, the vitamin D fuel. Vieth RThe pharmacology of vitamin D, including fortification strategies.In: Feldman D, Glorieux F, eds. Vitamin D, Chapter 61, in press, 2nd ed. Academic Press, San Diego.

Giving calcitriol, or its analogs, for vitamin D deficiency is like shooting ether into your engine to keep your car running. In addition, they pose a significant risk of hypercalcemia (high blood calcium). If you have a simple vitamin D deficiency and your doctor insists on prescribing calcitriol or an expensive analog of vitamin D (other than cholecalciferol or ergocalciferol), find another doctor.

re: Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

gregly — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:37:50 GMT

From www.vitamindcouncil.org:

"Maintaining 25(OH)D Levels If you are suffering from any of the diseases associated with vitamin D deficiency you need to be under the care of a knowledgeable physician. Your physician needs to replete your vitamin D system with sunlight, artificial light, oral vitamin D, or a combination of the three, while treating your vitamin D deficiency illnesses using conventional means. Regardless of the method used, we believe your physician should be certain your 25(OH)D levels are maintained between 35–65 ng/mL.

For those who do not fear the sun, judiciously expose as much skin as possible to direct midday sunlight for 1/4 the time it takes for one's skin to turn red during those months when the proper ultraviolet light occurs at one's latitude (usually late spring, summer and early fall). Do not get sunburned. Vitamin D production is already maximized before your skin turns pink and further exposure does not increase levels of vitamin D but may increase your risk of skin cancer. Black patients may need five to ten times longer in the sun than white patients, depending on skin type. After several months of judicious sun exposure, a 25(OH)D level should again be obtained to ensure levels between 35–65 ng/mL.

Several artificial light sources are commercially available that provide the proper wavelength for vitamin D production. Sperti makes a good UVB lamp and even has data available on the vitamin D production of its sunlamps. As far as vitamin D supplements are concerned, we believe cholecalciferol is the preferred oral form of vitamin D, as it is the compound your skin makes naturally when you go in the sun. It is more potent and perhaps even safer than the synthetic analog, ergocalciferol, in more common use. Vieth R, Chan PC, MacFarlane GDEfficacy and safety of vitamin D3 intake exceeding the lowest observed adverse effect level.Am J Clin Nutr. 2001 Feb;73(2):288–94. Cholecalciferol is 1.7 times more efficient at raising 25(OH)."

re: Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

MrsMcBear — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:37:09 GMT

I live north of Seattle where sunshine can sometimes be a precious commodity (although we're having a pretty nice stretch right now...). What about the super-bright light therapy lamps for Season Affective Disorder? When you sit under those lamps, does your body produce vitamin D? If so, it would be a good way to get D without sunburn. (I, too, am very fair.)

re: Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

creezoo — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:09:55 GMT

I'm convinced that we need Vitamin D to avoid cancer, but what about evidence that parasites, candida, also cause cancer? I'd like to know more about this...

re: Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

Zenchild — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:08:42 GMT

What if we have moles or large, dark freckles, and we're ouside without protection? Will the sun cause damage to these spots? Is it nessesary to cover these with something when going out (be it natural etc.)? I was just curious. I've been going outside without sunscreen for the past two weeks and haven't burned despite my paleness, but I was wondering if the sun is still exaserbating the potential danger of my moles/freckles.

re: Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

paulabob — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:49:18 GMT

I'm wondering, for those of us who are fair, are we making adequate vitamin D? Talking to the neighbor for ten minutes at noon will cause me a sunburn. So I CAN'T spend time in the sun without burning. I swim with my kids at 4:30 with sunscreen on, and freckle but don't burn when avoiding earlier sun.

I also have an inherited dry skin condition which is where the keratin in the skin forms more slowly. So my skin is naturally dry and must be covered in lotion to prevent dryness. I've always wondered if that had something to do with how quickly I burn.

I'm 38 and have plenty of sun damage - little crusty white spots on my arms and legs that my doctor says was caused by the sun.

re: Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

Alicia80 — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 18:53:24 GMT

I am allergic to almost all supplements and pills. I tried the Omega 3 capsules ordered from Australia and after a few day my stomach was upset. There is not much sun my yard and at 78 I avoid the beach, How do I get enough Vit. D?

re: Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

moo_203 — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:04:33 GMT

is it true that the sun depletes your body of folate as well as increase vitamin D production? i have read that in more then one article and hope dr. mercola will weigh in on that .

re: Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

BeeGirl — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:57:41 GMT

3. Supplementing with vitamin D not only increases your
absorption of calcium but will also increase your absorption of lead,
arsenic, and cadmium if your levels of calcium, magnesium, and
phosphorus are inadequate. So, if you are going to take a vitamin D
supplement, be sure that your intake of these nutrients (from either diet or supplementation) is also sufficient!

re: Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

BeeGirl — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:53:13 GMT

1. Vitamin D deficiency can result from disorders that limit its absorption, conditions that impair conversion of vitamin D into active metabolites, such as liver or kidney disorders, or, rarely, by a number of hereditary disorders.
A critical determinant of vitamin D3 production in the skin is the presence and concentration of melanin.
Vitamin D requirements increase with age, while the ability of skin to convert 7-dehydrocholesterol to pre-vitamin D3 decreases.In addition the ability of the kidneys to convert calcidiol to its active form also decreases with age, prompting the need for increased vitamin D.

re: Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away

BeeGirl — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:51:41 GMT

2. You can only make vitamin D from UV-B. While UV-A is present all day long, UV-B is only present at mid-day, unless you live in the tropics. So, if you are sunning for vitamin D, you need to do it at mid-day (between 10 am and 2 pm). If you sun yourself before or after that time, you will get a sunburn (from UV-A) before you get enough UV-B to maximize vitamin D production.
Even during those hours, how much vitamin D you can produce depends on your skin type, your age, your latitude, your altitude, how much of your body is exposed, etc. But get this: For less than $200, you can buy a UV_B meter that will actually calculate how many IU of vitamin D3 you are producing per minute!
To maximize vitamin D levels, don't take a shower or get in the pool for an hour after sun exposure. Right after you are exposed to the sun, the vitamin D is still in the oils in your skin and can be washed away before it is absorbed into the blood.