Actress Gwyneth Paltrow — who for years was the poster-child of cosmetic dermatology’s push to keep everyone out of the sun — revealed last week that sun avoidance made her severely vitamin D deficient and that she no longer considers it healthy to stay out of the sun.

Those of us who understand the important role regular sun exposure plays in healthy living replied with a resounding, “Duh!”

“I suffered a pretty severe Tibial plateau fracture a few years ago (requiring surgery) which lead the orthopedic surgeon to give me a bone scan, at which point it was discovered I had the beginning stages of osteopenia,” Paltrow wrote in her weekly blog. “This led my western/eastern doctors in New York to test my Vitamin D levels, which turned out to be the lowest they had ever seen (not a good thing). I went on a prescription strength level of Vitamin D and was told to spend a bit of time in the sun!”

Paltrow even posted the link to a pro-sun column written by her physician, Dr. Frank Lipman, founder and director of the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in New York City.

Paltrow’s announcement is already getting some press — The San Francisco Chronicle ran a column headlined, “Gwyneth Paltrow No-Sun Rule Backfires.” More headlines are sure to follow.

“Hopefully Paltrow’s advice will translate into other public figures taking a more sensible approach to sun care,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. “There’s no doubt that cosmetic dermatology and the chemical sunscreen pharmaceutical industry have led Paltrow and many others astray while the tanning community’s sensible message of moderation and sunburn prevention is being proved to be right.”

To read Paltrow’s weekly newsletter, with a link to Lipman’s column click here.

To read the San Francisco Chronicle’s coverage of Paltrow’s D-Announcement, click here.