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The Jewish Chronicle

Enter the bronze age: safe in the sun

May 31, 2012 15:28
Scarf print trousers, bralet top, denim jacket, all at River Island

ByJan Shure, Jan Shure

1 min read

For 30 years, the orthodoxy across northern Europe has been that sun exposure is bad for health. For almost 20 years, official UK policy – cheered on by dermatologists, cancer charities and beauty editors — has been to caution against sun exposure by covering up with lightweight clothing and/or high-SPF suncream and a hat.

The consequent, near-ubiquitous sun-phobia in the UK, seems to be based on a misguided deduction that if sunburn and overexposure are bad for you, then absolutely no sun exposure must be really good for you.

Er, not true. Because, according to America’s Vitamin D Council which has been looking, since its inception in 2003, at the link between vitamin D deficiency and disease, without adequate exposure to sunlight we are at greater risk of a whole slew of diseases including, ironically, some cancers.

To make sense of the conflicting advice it is probably best to adopt the old adage: all things in moderation.