“I’m a dermatologist. My day job is telling people ‘You’ve got skin cancer. It’s caused by sunlight. Don’t go into the sun.’ I actually think a far-more-important message is that there are benefits as well as risks to sunlight. Yes, sunlight is the major alterable risk factor for skin cancer. But deaths from heart disease are 100 times higher than deaths from skin cancer. And I think that we need to be more aware of, and we need to find the risk benefit ratio: How much sunlight is safe and how can we finesse this best for our general health.” — British Dermatologist and researcher Dr. Richard Weller, whose Ted.com viral video is promoting a new potential benefit of regular UV exposure: natural Nitric Oxide (NO) production in the skin, which some are crediting as a mechanism of why heart disease is less common in sunny climates.

According to Ted.com, “a five-degree change in latitude — between London and Edinburg, for example — shows a nearly 20 percent higher rate of mortality. Weller and his team have been working ever since to crack this mysterious gap, and most recently their research shows it may be related to exposure to sunlight. Nitric oxide (NO), a chemical transmitter produced by the skin and stored in great reserves, is released by exposure to UV rays, and this in turn is very important to cardiovascular health.”

Weller is a senior lecturer in Dermatology at the University of Edinburgh. His two areas of study are the role of NO in human skin physiology and the role of skin barrier function deficiencies in atopic disease.

Click here to see Weller’s video, “Could the Sun Be Good for Your Heart?”

SmartTan.com news articles regularly report medical and scientific information to keep you abreast of current events related to UV light. This information is not intended to be used by any party to make unwarranted health claims to promote sunbed usage. Indoor tanning businesses are obligated to communicate a fair and balanced message to all clients about your products and services including the potential risks associated with indoor tanning. Contact your Smart Tan representative to find out more about what you can and can’t say in your tanning salon business.

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