Consensus vitamin D position statement
Wednesday December 22, 2010
A recent consensus statement on vitamin D provides the “unified views” of seven major organisations in the UK. These are Cancer Research UK, the British Association of Dermatologists, Diabetes UK, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the National Heart Forum, the National Osteoporosis Society and the Primary Care Dermatology Society.
The position statement outlines the following benefits of vitamin D and the need for sun safety:
• Everyone needs vitamin D, which is essential for good bone health.
• There is currently no standard definition of an ‘optimal’ level of vitamin D.
• The evidence suggesting that vitamin D might protect against cancer, heart disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and other chronic diseases is still inconclusive.
• Sun exposure is the main source of vitamin D, but excessive sun exposure is the main cause of skin cancer, including melanoma.
• Enjoying the sun safely, while taking care not to burn, can help to provide the benefits of vitamin D without unduly raising the risk of skin cancer.
• It is impractical to offer a one-size-fits-all recommendation for the amount of sun exposure that people need to make sufficient vitamin D, because this varies according to a number of environmental, physical and personal factors.
• The time required to make sufficient vitamin D is typically short and less than the amount of time needed for skin to redden and burn. Regularly going outside for a matter of minutes around the middle of the day without sunscreen should be enough. When it comes to sun exposure, little and often is best, and the more skin that is exposed, the greater the chance of making sufficient vitamin D before burning. However, people should get to know their own skin to understand how long they can spend outside before risking sunburn under different conditions.
The position statement can be downloaded at: http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/prod_consump/groups/cr_common/@nre/@sun/documents/generalcontent/cr_052628.pdf
