Sensible Sunning
Summer is coming, and so is the annual ritual of spending time outdoors by the beach or the lake. And of course most people follow the modern ritual of going into the sun covered by a plastic goo called . . . sunscreen! How ever did we get to a notion that the sun, that life-giving element, is our constant enemy? While it is true that even the best thing can at times be detrimental (think King Midas), the negative aspect of sunning has almost obliterated its positive side in the public mind today.
Sunlight is required for the internal production of vitamin D. Surprising amounts of research are now showing that a deficiency of that vitamin is associated with a large number of disease states, including osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, and many different kinds of cancers including those of the breast, colon, ovary and kidney. Studies have also found that lack of vitamin D is implicated in the tendency of older people to fall.