sun exposure, vitamin D

As I prepare to "get into" cycling, one of my nagging concerns was sun
exposure. For some years now I've bought into the modern conventional
wisdom, which says there's no such thing as good sun exposure. It ages
the skin, it causes skin cancer, etc. This was a special concern to
me, since I had a large mole years ago which was judged to be
pre-cancerous, and the doctors ended up taking a lemon-sized chunk of
tissue out of my chest just to make sure it didn't spread! I never had
any recurrance of the cancer, but I still have this large, ugly, and
sometimes itchy scar to remind me.

So here I am thinking. . . How can I have fun cycling and get
much-needed exercise without exposing myself to bad old Mr. Sun? Do I
wrap up like a mummy? In the Texas summer? Ha! I don't think so.

Then I saw this article:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050521/D8A7MPFG0.html

Long, great article. Go read it! But here's the short version:

* Many people are defient in vitamin D -- which your skin synthesizes
using the UV rays from sunlight.
* Vitamin D appears to prevent many kinds of cancer.
* The vast majority of skin cancers aren't life-threatening. The kind
that vitamin D prevents are quite serious.
* Melanoma -- the most dangerous form of skin cancer -- can be induced
from repeated sunburns, but there's little evidence to show that normal
sun exposure causes it.
* Vitamin D could prevent up to 30 deaths for each one caused by skin cancer.

Vitamin D is hard to get from food. Supplements are inexpensive and
can be effective (vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol, is best), but you may
have to take four pills a day to get the cancer-preventing benefits.
It's easier to just spend a few minutes in the sun every day, the
synthesis of vitamin D in your skin can occur quite rapidly.
(Apparently supplements should be mainly useful for older persons,
dark-skinned persons, or those who live at high lattitudes, or as a
wintertime boost.) Overdosing on vitamin D is very, very hard to do.

With sun exposure, moderation is the key. Your liver can tolerate a
modest amount of alcohol, and you skin can take a reasonable amount of
sun. Don't use it as an excuse for binging! If you burn, that is too
much.

Now I have another excuse to get out and ride. I'm happy!

--
Tony Belding, Hamilton Texas

Tony Belding wrote:

As I prepare to "get into" cycling, one of my nagging concerns
was sun exposure.

Well it should be, you living in Texas.

Then I saw this article: =20
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050521/D8A7MPFG0.html
=20
Long, great article. Go read it! But here's the short version:

Here's the *really* short version: the theory expounded by a professor=20
at Harvard University encouraged one dermatologist from New York (Allan=20
Halpern), another from Boston (Michael Holick), and another from=20
Pennsylvania (James Leyden) to make public statements that sun exposure=20
can do more to prevent cancer than to cause it. Overlooking the=20
controversy for now, the "burning question" is: are you going to take=20
advice about sun exposure from a bunch of Northerners??

I live in southern Nevada, and I challenge any and all of them to=20
accompany me on a nice little ride across my town any time between now=20
and the end of August, me with sunscreen and them without, of course. It =

was 102=C2=B0F here yesterday and today, so I think it will be fascinatin=
g to=20
hear what they have to say about sun exposure after a proper dose of it.

I use sunscreen whenever I am outdoors, and even so I developed skin=20
cancer three years ago that required a substantial piece of my nose be=20
cut off. I had to laugh at the reporter's statement about Vitamin D; if=20
she thinks "supplements are problematic", I can't imagine what she=20
thinks about reconstructive surgery.

--=20
"Bicycling is a healthy and manly pursuit with much
to recommend it, and, unlike other foolish crazes,
it has not died out." -- The Daily Telegraph (1877)

On 2005-05-22 01:17:30 -0500, LioNiNoiL_a t_Y a h 0 0_d 0 t_c 0 m
said:

I live in southern Nevada, and I challenge any and all of them to
accompany me on a nice little ride across my town any time between now
and the end of August, me with sunscreen and them without, of course. It
was 102°F here yesterday and today, so I think it will be fascinating
to hear what they have to say about sun exposure after a proper dose of
it.

I'm sure it wasn't 102 all day. UV exposure tends to be low in the
morning hours, same time when temperatures are mild. That's when I
expect to do the most of my summertime riding. Remember the part about
moderation?

From the article:

No one is suggesting that people fry on a beach.

Even if sunshine were to be recommended, the amount needed would depend
on the season, time of day, where a person lives, skin color and other
factors.

"I am advocating common sense," not prolonged sunbathing or tanning
salons, Holick said

In other words, they aren't saying you need long hours of exposure
under the summer sun in Nevada. They are saying that *some* sun is OK
and probably beneficial for many people. It makes sense to me.

--
Tony Belding, Hamilton Texas

"LioNiNoiL_a t_Y a h 0 0_d 0 t_c 0 m" wrote in
message news:%tVje.21914$gp.20753@fed1read03...
Tony Belding wrote:

As I prepare to "get into" cycling, one of my nagging concerns
was sun exposure.

Well it should be, you living in Texas.

Then I saw this article:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050521/D8A7MPFG0.html

Long, great article. Go read it! But here's the short version:

Here's the *really* short version: the theory expounded by a professor
at Harvard University encouraged one dermatologist from New York (Allan
Halpern), another from Boston (Michael Holick), and another from
Pennsylvania (James Leyden) to make public statements that sun exposure
can do more to prevent cancer than to cause it. Overlooking the
controversy for now, the "burning question" is: are you going to take
advice about sun exposure from a bunch of Northerners??

I live in southern Nevada, and I challenge any and all of them to
accompany me on a nice little ride across my town any time between now
and the end of August, me with sunscreen and them without, of course. It
was 102°F here yesterday and today, so I think it will be fascinating to
hear what they have to say about sun exposure after a proper dose of it.

I use sunscreen whenever I am outdoors, and even so I developed skin
cancer three years ago that required a substantial piece of my nose be
cut off. I had to laugh at the reporter's statement about Vitamin D; if
she thinks "supplements are problematic", I can't imagine what she
thinks about reconstructive surgery.

Edward Dolan writes:

I wonder why your text is smaller than what is normally seen here on this
newsgroup? I have reformatted the size so I can see what I am doing. I am
assuming this will be sent in plain text and will appear as all other posts
appear, and not one size smaller.

Exposure to the sun is an unmitigated disaster, at least it is for me. I am
not only a Northerner, but of Irish descent and I do not believe anyone ever
even sees the sun in that perpetually rain and mist shrouded land. Any sun
at all and I will burn and look like a lobster within an hour. Yes,
sunscreen will work, but it is a nuisance to have to keep applying it all
the time as I perspire a lot when I am riding a bike. The only thing to do
is to cover up. Think like an Arab. Those people over there know all about
the sun and the heat. They wear loose fitting clothing and cover themselves
from head to foot. That is what I do too when I ride my bike in the noon day
sun.

Even so, I have gotten skin cancers on my arms and the back of my hands. It
was the basal cell kind of cancer, but you have to worry about the squamus
cell type of cancer too, which is much more dangerous because it can spread.
When I ride my bike in the summer sun, I am a sight to behold. I don't care
if it is 100 degrees. I am covered up from head to toes. I wear long sleeve
shirts and long pants - always! I wear hoods to protect the back of my neck
and I wear a long bill on my helmet to keep the sun off of my face. I wear
gloves that completely cover my hands. I love the sun, but it does not love
me back.

Cancer is not fun. You do not get it right away. Instead, it creeps up on
you and it may take you 20 years to get it. But get it you will eventually
if you ride your bike in the noon day sun without covering up. However, if
you are relying on sunscreen be sure to get it with the very high numbers. I
would never trust any sunscreen myself.

When others ask me if I am crazy for riding like how I do, I reply that
would rather get heat stroke than burn (skin cancer). I once got a burn so
bad on my legs that I thought I would have go into the hospital. The size
and extent of the blisters were amazing.

Bottom line - beware of the sun! It is not your friend!

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

"Tony Belding" wrote in message
news:2005052205161416807%zobeid@techiecom...
On 2005-05-22 01:17:30 -0500, LioNiNoiL_a t_Y a h 0 0_d 0 t_c 0 m
said:

I live in southern Nevada, and I challenge any and all of them to
accompany me on a nice little ride across my town any time between now
and the end of August, me with sunscreen and them without, of course. It
was 102°F here yesterday and today, so I think it will be fascinating to
hear what they have to say about sun exposure after a proper dose of it.

I'm sure it wasn't 102 all day. UV exposure tends to be low in the
morning hours, same time when temperatures are mild. That's when I expect
to do the most of my summertime riding. Remember the part about
moderation?
[...]

Only mad dogs and Englishmen venture out into the noon day sun. However,
that is often the time of day that I find myself riding my bike, especially
when I am on a tour. I think an American of Irish descent, namely me, must
be either a mad dog or an Englishman at heart.

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota