Sunlight increases risk of melanoma but decreases risk of other, more deadly cancers. If you’re going to get, say, 3 times your usual daily sunlight exposure, then sunscreen is probably a good idea, but otherwise it’s healthier to go without. I’d guess a good heuristic is to get as much sunlight as your ancestors from 1000 years ago would have gotten.
Among Caucasians in the United States, cancer mortality for several prominent cancers, including cancer of the breast, prostate, and colon, shows a striking latitudinal gradient, with increased mortality rates among individuals residing in the northern states compared with individuals residing the southern states.
Devesa SS, Grauman MA, Blot, WJ, Pennello GA. Hoover RN, Fraumeni JF. Atlas of cancer mortality in the United States: 1950 to 1994. NIH Publication No. 99–4564, 1999.
This whole article is worth reading, and has a number of counter-intuitive findings.
This is something I’d eventually like to look into. Do you know which cancers sunlight protects against? Might sun exposure after one has applied sunscreen provide some protection against these cancers?
Sunlight increases risk of melanoma but decreases risk of other, more deadly cancers. If you’re going to get, say, 3 times your usual daily sunlight exposure, then sunscreen is probably a good idea, but otherwise it’s healthier to go without. I’d guess a good heuristic is to get as much sunlight as your ancestors from 1000 years ago would have gotten.
I’ve got your citations.. right here
This whole article is worth reading, and has a number of counter-intuitive findings.
I’ve seen so many claims about the benefit or lack thereof of sunscreen. Do you have a citation?
This is something I’d eventually like to look into. Do you know which cancers sunlight protects against? Might sun exposure after one has applied sunscreen provide some protection against these cancers?