A Canadian news organization has published a report suggesting that sun avoidance causes more cancers than overexposure to the sun and that staying out of the sun is a huge public health mistake.

“When’s the Last Time You Spent Time in the Sun?” Dr. Joseph Mercola, founder of health education web site Mercola.com, asks in an essay published by The Canadian. “This is an important question to answer, because vitamin D from sun exposure is the best way to optimize your vitamin D levels and thereby reduce your risk of a wide range of diseases.”

Mercola continues, “Unfortunately, it’s been suggested that only about 30 percent of Americans’ circulating Vitamin D is the product of sunlight exposure, which is an unfortunate byproduct of public health agencies’ misguided advice to stay out of the sun to avoid cancer (when in fact vitamin D from sun exposure will prevent cancer). Another obvious reason is the majority of us work indoors, and when not working, do not spend enough time enjoying outdoor recreation.”

And, unlike dermatology’s contention, it’s not just incidental exposure that Mercola says you need.

“Occasional sunlight exposure to your face and hands is insufficient for vitamin D nutrition for most people,” he says. “To optimize your levels, you need to expose large portions of your skin to the sun, and you may need to do it for more than a few minutes. And, contrary to popular belief, the best time to be in the sun for vitamin D production is actually as near to solar noon as possible.”

To read the full essay click here.