Jennie&Tim on 12/6/2008 at 16:19
At safe levels of course, but to add to all the other research about the positive effects of vitamin D, there's new evidence that it protects against heart failure too. As I have family members with mild congestive heart failure, this interested me very much.
(
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611135038.htm)
All of the various effects that it has would seem to me to strengthen the explaination of why paler skins developed in less sunny climes as our ancestors moved north, which is that we needed more of this vitamin. Vitamin D has many positive effects upon our physiology.
I'd say that the way some tanning salons are promoting it to increase tanning is unethical though. You only need ten minutes or so a day, which is not enough to tan. People might want to consider not slathering themselves with sunblock until they've had ten minutes or so though.
SubJeff on 12/6/2008 at 16:41
Just be sensible, don't get sunburnt, eat right, you'll be fine. You need such a small amount of sunlight for Vit D manufacture that even putting on sunblock won't make any difference. The only people who really suffer deficiency due to lack of sun are women in certain countries who cover from head to toe (face included) whenever they are outside.
frozenman on 12/6/2008 at 16:56
Jennie&Tim, TTLG's own NPR
J&T TTLG's NPR
&TTTLGNPRJ
ChickenMcOwnage on 12/6/2008 at 16:59
Yeah 10 minutes a day, but what if you don't see the sun for 9 straight months? (lousy Seattle)
Gingerbread Man on 12/6/2008 at 17:05
u gonna get rickits lol
ercles on 13/6/2008 at 04:05
Sorry but I thought the concept of clinar variation to explain why people get paler farther away from the equator was already generally accepted, they certainly teach it in high school as if it is accepted fact...
Jennie&Tim on 13/6/2008 at 04:59
Oh yes, but so is evolution; and it's still nice to have more bits of data fall in line with it.
The_Raven on 13/6/2008 at 12:36
You're not one of those "evolution is just a theory" people are you?
Jennie&Tim on 13/6/2008 at 14:12
Quote Posted by The_Raven
You're not one of those "evolution is just a theory" people are you?
A theory is a strong statement about how to explain a large amount of data, nothing is "just" (in a diminuative sense) about a theory, despite the common usage equating it with hypothesis.
Does that answer your question? :cheeky:
