Everyone knows that a little sunshine is good for the soul.
Now, it seems it is also good for the body and mind as new research in Australia points to a link between insufficient vitamin D intake (the sun is one of the best sources of vitamin D) and chronic diseases such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia and 16 different types of cancer.
The report, Sunlight Robbery, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, has been greeted with caution by dermatologists and cancer societies whose main message is minimise your exposure to sun by wearing appropriate clothing and using a sunscreen with a protection factor of 15 or higher.
"A balance is required between avoiding an increase in the risk of skin cancer and achieving enough ultraviolet radiation exposure to achieve adequate vitamin D levels," says Oliver Gillie, author of the report.
However, Dr Gillian Murphy, consultant dermatologist at Beaumont Hospital, has a counter argument. "We have quite a lot of studies which show that if you're wearing a sunscreen all the time, you don't appear to become vitamin D deficient. Ninety per cent of skin cancers are caused by the sun, you can't argue with that," she says, ahead of this year's SunSmart campaign by the Irish Cancer Society.
Dr Murphy also says the western diet is well supplemented so to see vitamin D deficiency in Ireland nowadays is unusual. "You don't need to sunbathe for vitamin D, you get it in your milk," she says. However, studies are investigating vitamin D levels in various population groups at different times of the year.
Vitamin D aside, the predominant advice when it comes to avoiding sun burn and decreasing your risk of skin cancer remains clear: cover up, use sunscreen and avoid the sun when it is at its hottest between 11am and 3pm. Sunscreen must be applied regularly and as thickly as the manufacturers recommend, otherwise the protection factor is just an illusion.
Leaflets on the Irish Cancer Society SunSmart campaign are available free in health centres and pharmacies. The Irish Cancer Society national helpline is 1800 200 700.
Sylvia Thompson