- Pale-faced Britons who do not get enough sun during the
winter months are left with insufficient levels of vitamin D, increasing
their risk of cancer, diabetes and bone diseases, experts said
yesterday.
-
- Grey skies and short days from October to March mean
60 per cent of the population are deficient in the vitamin by the end of
the winter, a government survey has shown. Experts have called for urgent
consideration to be given to fortifying staple foods such as bread and
milk, or boosting levels of the vitamin in supplements.
-
- Vitamin D, produced by the action of sunlight on the
skin, is the only vitamin that humans make themselves and is essential
for the health of the skin and bones. Graham Bentham, professor of
environmental
sciences at the University of East Anglia, said vitamin D was important
in preventing a wider range of diseases than had previously been
thought.
-
- "We know its role in preventing rickets in children
and osteomalcia in adults [which causes weak bones]. But there is
accumulating
evidence that it is also protective against some cancers - of the colon,
breast, prostate and ovary - and against autoimmune diseases such as
multiple
sclerosis and Type 1 diabetes. It may also reduce blood pressure, which
would help prevent heart attacks and strokes."
-
- Recommended levels of the vitamin have not been set
because
it has been assumed that casual exposure to sunlight would produce
sufficient
amounts. But that assumption had never been scientifically studied and
was now being challenged, Professor Bentham said. "The survey showed
that a substantial proportion of the population have levels of vitamin
D by the end of the winter that are insufficient. They are not low enough
to cause osteomalcia but they may be bad for the bones and increase the
risk of other diseases."
-
- The simplest way of creating vitamin D is to go out in
the sun but Professor Bentham, speaking after a briefing on vitamin D
organised
by the Science Media Centre, said that was a "very damaging
idea".
-
- "We know there has been a rise in skin cancer
because
many people are going out in the sun too much. We need to work very
carefully
with the cancer charities to get a balanced message across. It is a bit
odd to ask people to binge on the sun in the summer to get them through
the winter," he said.
-
- Another option was to eat more oily fish - such as
salmon,
trout and sardines - which is the richest natural source of the vitamin.
Margarine and breakfast cereals are fortified with vitamin D in the UK
but there could be a case for fortifying milk, as in the US, and bread,
Professor Bentham said. However, some people were sensitive to the vitamin
and could be at risk.
-
- Professor Brian Wharton, of the Institute of Child Health
in London, said there were reports of rickets making a comeback, especially
among Asian and African-Caribbean children.
-
- He said an overreaction to "cover-up" campaigns
against skin cancer was partly responsible for the lack of vitamin D.
"There's
no doubt that if you wear sunscreen, vitamin D conversion goes down,"
he said. "I'm certainly not promoting sun 'bingeing' but we do need
some sensible use of the sun, and we've been swinging too strongly against
it."
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reserved
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- http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/
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