D_Malik comments on Open Thread - Aug 24 - Aug 30 - Less Wrong

7 Post author: Elo 24 August 2015 08:14AM

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Comment author: D_Malik 25 August 2015 04:08:43PM 0 points [-]

Sunlight increases risk of melanoma but decreases risk of other, more deadly cancers. If you're going to get, say, 3 times your usual daily sunlight exposure, then sunscreen is probably a good idea, but otherwise it's healthier to go without. I'd guess a good heuristic is to get as much sunlight as your ancestors from 1000 years ago would have gotten.

Comment author: Tem42 26 August 2015 11:37:45PM 1 point [-]

I've got your citations.. right here

Among Caucasians in the United States, cancer mortality for several prominent cancers, including cancer of the breast, prostate, and colon, shows a striking latitudinal gradient, with increased mortality rates among individuals residing in the northern states compared with individuals residing the southern states.

Devesa SS, Grauman MA, Blot, WJ, Pennello GA. Hoover RN, Fraumeni JF. Atlas of cancer mortality in the United States: 1950 to 1994. NIH Publication No. 99–4564, 1999.

This whole article is worth reading, and has a number of counter-intuitive findings.

Comment author: [deleted] 26 August 2015 04:54:41AM 0 points [-]

I've seen so many claims about the benefit or lack thereof of sunscreen. Do you have a citation?

Comment author: Fluttershy 25 August 2015 08:22:23PM *  0 points [-]

This is something I'd eventually like to look into. Do you know which cancers sunlight protects against? Might sun exposure after one has applied sunscreen provide some protection against these cancers?

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