“There has been nothing definitive on the relationship between vitamin D and cancer survival. There isn’t even agreement on how much vitamin D to recommend. What we do know is that UV rays are carcinogens — they cause cancer. Period. If you’re looking for an extra dose of vitamin D, there are safer ways of getting it — either through diet or vitamin supplements.”

Dermatologist Dr. April Larson of Dixie Dermatology in St. George, Utah — a cosmetic dermatology practice that sells $85 microdermabrasions and $125 cellulite treatments.

Larson is in complete denial.

1. She couldn’t be more wrong about vitamin D. There are 30 random controlled trials and thousands of other studies connecting vitamin D deficiency with higher cancer rates for most internal cancers and there is an established mechanism explaining why this works. In contrast, most melanoma studies (and there are only a few dozen of them) show that those who get LESS UV exposure — not more — are at increased risk and there is no agreed-upon mechanism by which UV and melanoma are connected. Even dermatology researchers are careful to point out that any relationship melanoma has with UV is complex, and some in dermatology believe that there isn’t a relationship at all.
2. There is NO disagreement that we aren’t getting the vitamin D we were intended to get all along. The only thing vitamin D researchers don’t agree on is how much vitamin D to put in foods because natural levels — those that would be obtained if we all lived and worked outdoors in naturally sunny climates — are not obtainable through diet and no one knows how to gauge unnatural dietary supplements to compensate for this without the possibility of causing vitamin D toxicity in a small percentage of the population.
3. Larson’s statement — “What we do know is that UV rays are carcinogens — they cause cancer. Period.” — is pure ignorance. UV exposure is natural and intended and to say that UV causes damage and should be avoided is like saying that water causes drowning and therefore we should avoid water. It’s a gross misrepresentation of the relationship.