[ericxb]

Regarding "get outside": take a look at the abstract for the study "Beneficial effects of sun exposure on cancer mortality". It starts with "For more than 50 years, there has been documentation in the medical literature suggesting that regular sun exposure is associated with substantial decreases in death rates from certain cancers and a decrease in overall cancer death rates". http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8475009

[bananas]

Interesting link. Will read that this evening. Thanks for posting.

[sizzle]

thanks for the link. Do you know how much exposure is too much, in terms of developing skin cancer?

[josephpmay]

I have a friend doing research on this. I should caution that you should in no way take this as medical advice, as there are not yet any results, but the current hypothesis is that one's risk of getting melanoma (the main skin cancer that is truly dangerous) is actually less related to how long you stay in the sun and instead more related to whether your sun exposure is consistent (each day) or intermittent (you only go out in the sun a couple of non-consecutive days a week). If this hypothesis is correct, consistent sun exposure is significantly safer than intermittent sun exposure.

If you would like, I can provide links to papers that support this hypothesis.

[sizzle]

I asked because I just started supplementing with vitamin D and forcing myself to get 15 minutes of direct sun exposure every morning since I started working/exercising indoors at home and rarely venturing outside during the work week.

That is something I would like to look into and appreciate a link if not a hassle. That hypothesis could change how I go about my daily exposure. How much exposure do you get if you don't mind me asking?