U.K. says time in sun vital for vitamin D

LONDON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- British health advocates say they recommend short spells in the sun, at midday and without sun cream, to assure the body gets enough vitamin D from sunlight.

Vitamin D keeps bones strong and in good health and protects against conditions like osteoporosis. The recommendation comes as many medical experts say fears of skin cancer have made people too cautious about being in the sun, the BBC reported Thursday.

Cancer Research U.K. and the National Osteoporosis Society are among the organizations recommending "little and frequent" spells in summer sunshine several times a week.

"Total sun protection with high factor sun cream on all the time is not ideal, in terms of vitamin D levels," Professor Rona Mackie, from the British Association of Dermatologists, said.

"Some of the messages about sun exposure have been too negative," she said. "U.K. summer sunshine isn't desperately strong. We don't have many days in the year when it is very intense.

"What's changed is that we're now saying that exposure of 10 to 15 minutes to the U.K. summer sun, without sun cream, several times a week is probably a safe balance between adequate vitamin D levels and any risk of skin cancer," Mackie said.