Sunshine debate - what debate?

[NIXON, Kanata <Grant>]

It would appear that some extra sunshine, on average, would be "more good

for you" (extra days of life, on average) than "not good for you" (loss of

days of life skin cancers, on average) overall. 



The sunshine studies do not imply that the incidence of melanoma will not

rise in conjunction with increased UV exposure, they suggest that we ought

to get more sun than the current average for better overall health as a

population.



The same sort of argument can probably be made in the case of exposure to

ionizing radiation (i.e., hormesis). A little extra exposure is more likely

to do good than bad. It doesn't necessarily imply that more solid and fatal

tumors will not also develop as a direct result of increased exposure.



So, I see no contradiction in both claims. The old adages "one man's elixir

is another man's poison" and "the dose makes the poison" still apply. The

question is which way the balance tips for the overall population.



Best regards,



Grant

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