Sunshine not essential to get vitamin D

Sunshine has long been seen as essential for the body to synthesise vitamin D. But, according to the official recommendation from the American Academy of Dermatology, one should not try to get vitamin D by seeking out extra rays from the sun. The risk of DNA damage from sun exposure far outweighed the benefits of getting vitamin D - especially when we can just get that compound through food and supplements.

According to Henry Lim, a dermatologist and president of the American Academy of Dermatology, the organisation's position on vitamin D and sunlight was based on a 2014 study that looked at vitamin D blood concentrations and DNA damage in people going on vacations either on the mountains or at the beach.

Although the 71 sun-soaking vacationers did have higher levels of vitamin D after six days of vacation, they also had higher levels of a chemical that indicated that their bodies were trying to repair genetic damage. According to the authors, it is much healthier to get one's vitamin D from foods like egg yolks and fish (or fortified milk or orange juice).

''There are no good studies that show any differences [between getting] vitamin D through the skin, through food, or through supplements,'' says Lim.

Meanwhile, sunscreen SPFs (Sun Protection Factors) are not always what the labels claimed, Consumer Reports, a magazine published by the Consumers Union, a US-based non-profit organisation, has warned. Researchers tested over sixty sunscreens, lip balms, sticks, and sprays to determine the reliability and accuracy of their SPF numbers.

SPF measured sunscreen protection from ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation – the kind that caused sunburn and increased our risk of developing skin cancer, with the higher SPF number, indicating greater protection from UVB rays the sunscreen was supposed to offer.

Of the 62 products tested, 23 had less than half their stated SPFs and more than half of all sunscreens tested by Consumer Reports researchers were found to have a real SPF number that was below what was printed on their labels