The sun of a scientific study has broken through the clouds of the cancer specter.
A decent daily dose of vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, has been shown to reduce cancer risk by about 60 percent, according to a major American study that has been embraced by the Canadian Cancer Society.
Yes, folks, it seems sunshine is good for us after all, just as our grandparents said.
The human body naturally produces vitamin D through exposure to sunlight, and scientists believe up to 90 percent of a person’s vitamin D comes via exposure to the sun.
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Those who don’t get enough sun can take supplementary vitamin D in pills.
When it comes to health, doesn’t it seem as though everything old is new again? We were once told to cover up, wear sunscreen, limit our intake of dairy products due to fat content, eschew fish because of potential mercury content and reduce red meat consumption due to cholesterol.
Now it appears the incidence of many cancers and possibly even such nasties as multiple sclerosis, juvenile diabetes and osteoporosis, can be reduced by getting some sun and eating delicious, vitamin D rich foods.
Furthermore, the study could indicate the higher North American cancer rate is due to limited sun exposure by virtue of our latitude and the fact that so many jobs – farming being an exception – limit people’s exposure to the outdoors.
Rarely a week goes by without news of some unscientific diet fad said to improve health. If one were to adapt meals accordingly, there would be a lot of wasted groceries in the fridge. No, it’s best to take fads with a grain of salt – though not too many grains, since it’s bad for you.
Scientific studies endorsed by the cancer society, however, are a ray of sunshine. In that vein, allow us to wax lyrical on the subject of this recent study. Sing it to the tune of the late John Denver’s Sunshine On My Shoulders:
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine could just keep me cancer free
Sunshine in a tablet is so lovely
Sunshine has become my cup of tea.
If I had a day to review food trends
I’d wonder how it got to be this way
When sun and fat and milk became the bad guys
And offbeat diets came to rule the day
Sunshine on my skin can keep me healthy
More sunshine in my world will make me smile
Sunshine in the summer is so lovely
And in the winter it will come in vials.
