The Dallas Morning News started the July 4 weekend by telling its readers, “Don’t run from the sun’s vitamin D benefits, experts say” — an extraordinary headline that once again shows that the public message about regular UV exposure is coming back to center.

“Here’s a worry to cloud your carefree Fourth of July weekend fun: Is that sunblock you’re slathering on to protect you from skin cancer actually making you prone to other diseases from a shortage of Vitamin D?” the paper wrote in a story that appeared July 3. “The best answer that medical experts can offer today is: maybe. But if you pay attention to your outside time and what you eat, you can have your sunblock and D it, too.”

The story stopped short of properly quantifying that experts now say vitamin D requirements need to be raised as much as 10 times their current levels — a new standard that could only be reached naturally with regular sunlight exposure.

“That’s just a matter of doing the math,” Smart Tan Network Vice President Joseph Levy said. “And that’s a case we can show the media.
It’s inevitable.”

The story did quote Dr. Jo Ann Carson, professor of clinical nutrition at UT Southwestern Medical Center, whose recommendations for vitamin D intake included drinking milk and getting short periods of sun exposure.

To read the story click here.