EDINBURGH,
Scotland, Friday May 10, 2013 – The health benefits derived from exposing skin
to sunlight may far outweigh the risk of developing skin cancer, according to
scientists.
Edinburgh
University research suggests sunlight helps reduce blood pressure, lowering
heart attack and stroke risks and even prolonging life.
Researchers
said that until now vitamin D production had been considered the sole benefit
of the sun to human health. But UV rays have been found to release a compound
that lowers blood pressure.
Production
of the pressure-reducing compound, nitric oxide, is separate from the body's
manufacture of vitamin D, which rises after exposure to sunshine.
During
the research, dermatologists studied the blood pressure of 24 volunteers under
UV and heat lamps.
In
one session, the volunteers were exposed to both UV rays and the heat of the
lamps. In the other, the UV rays were blocked so that only the heat affected
the skin.
The
results showed that blood pressure dropped significantly for an hour after
exposure to UV rays, but not after the heat-only sessions. Scientists said that
this suggested it was the sun's UV rays that brought health benefits.
The
volunteers' vitamin D levels remained unaffected in both sessions.
Researchers
said more studies would be carried out to determine if it is time to reconsider
advice on skin exposure to sunlight.
Dr
Richard Weller, a senior lecturer in dermatology at Edinburgh University, said:
"We suspect that the benefits to heart health of sunlight will outweigh
the risk of skin cancer." The work we have done provides a mechanism that
might account for this, and also explains why dietary vitamin D supplements
alone will not be able to compensate for lack of sunlight.
"We
now plan to look at the relative risks of heart disease and skin cancer in
people who have received different amounts of sun exposure.
"If
this confirms that sunlight reduces the death rate from all causes, we will
need to reconsider our advice on sun exposure."(BBC News)
SOURCE: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/684290.html
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