A respected British oncologist has published an article in The London Daily Mail encouraging moderate indoor tanning as a means of manufacturing vitamin D reliably — adding to the growing list of defectors from Big Dermatology’s anti-sun, “sun scare” dogma.

Professor Tim Oliver, a Medical Oncologist at Barts and the London Hospital, made his statement very clear: “Current medical advice is to cover up in the sun, but I believe the health benefits of exposure to its UVA and UVB rays greatly outweigh the disadvantages, even if that means using a sunbed during winter months,” Oliver wrote. “This is because the body converts sunshine into Vitamin D, a substance that helps build a healthy immune system and strong bones, and may even fight off depression and cancer. Seen the light: Using a sunbed carefully during winter months will boost your Vitamin D levels.”

A growing number of doctors are starting to do the math: You can’t make vitamin D naturally and reliably any other way than by getting regular UV exposure.

“In Britain just after the turn of the 19th Century, children in cities had less exposure to sunlight and became crippled by rickets. It was also discovered that TB — which was commonplace — could be treated with cod liver oil, another good source of Vitamin D, and sunlamps — early versions of sunbeds that provide artificial UV light similar to sunlight,” Oliver continued in his article. “But in more recent years, antibiotic-resistant strains of diseases such as TB are emerging, proving that medicine may no longer be enough.”

In other words: Good day, sunshine.

“In 2009 we are simply not getting enough sunlight to make the Vitamin D we need to stay healthy,” he writes. “Dietary sources of Vitamin D include oily fish, liver, eggs and fortified foods such as cereals, margarine and powdered milk. There are supplements, such as cod liver oil, but it’s almost impossible to get sufficient Vitamin D from diet alone. A person would have to drink ten tall glasses of Vitamin D-fortified milk each day just to get the minimum levels.”

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