Moderate exposure of skin to solar radiation can be beneficial for some people helping them to generate Vitamin D, which protects from certain forms of cancer and other diseases.
The study carried out by American and Norwegian scientists indicated that the benefits of radiation can outweigh the risk of developing skin cancer.
“It has been known for a long time that solar radiation is the main cause of skin cancer”, said Richart Setlow, the biophysicist from Brookhaven National Laboratory of the Energy Department of the United States.
The group supervised by Setlow was the first to discover that the ultraviolet and visible light are the leading causes of malignant melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer.
Therefore, scientists recommend against excessive exposure to sunlight.
However, Setlow added that at the same time the radiation is the source of Vitamin D in human beings, and it protects against several types of cancer and probably other diseases.
The scientists examined the incidence of cancer and survival rates in different latitudes, and came to the conclusion that as a result of greater exposure to the sun Australians who live near the equator produce 3,4 times more Vitamin D that the inhabitants of the United Kingdom and 4,8 times more than Scandinavians.
“There is a clear North - South gradient in the generation of Vitamin D, and those living in the northern latitudes produce less vitamin D than those living near the line of Ecuador,” said the scientist.
Scientists also found that the incidence of other types of cancer (of colon, lung, breast and prostate) also increased following the gradient North - South.
However, when the survival rates of these cancers were analyzed, it was discovered that those who live in Southern Latitudes were much less likely to die of cancer that people from the North.
“This information indicates the role of Vitamin D when it comes to cancer,” concluded the scientists.
However, they still insist that the radiation is dangerous and in order to combat it one has to combine the sunscreen with continuous exposure to Vitamin D.
Vitamin D is also found in many products, including cod oil milk and dietary supplements. Comprar Viagra.
