Sun 'helps people stay young'
Sunshine can make vitamin D
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Thursday, 08, Nov 2007 03:07
Researchers at King's College London, found that the vitamin, which is mostly created by sunshine, may play an important role in protecting people against certain diseases as well as slowing down ageing.
They studied the telomeres of 2,160 women aged between 18 and 79 years, parts of the DNA which are a biological marker of ageing - as people age telomeres get shorter.
Writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the research team states that women with high levels of vitamin D had longer telomeres, a sign of being biologically younger and also of being healthier.
They say this suggests that vitamin D may help to slow down the process of DNA ageing and therefore the whole ageing process.
Lead researcher Dr Brent Richards described the results as "exciting".
"This could help to explain how vitamin D has a protective effect on many ageing related diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. Further studies are required to confirm these findings."
Professor Tim Spector, head of the twin research unit at King's College London and a co-author on the study added: "Although it might sound absurd, it's possible that the same sunshine which may increase our risk of skin cancer may also have a healthy effect on the ageing process in general."
Commenting on the study Henry Scowcroft, senior information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: "Vitamin D can come from two sources. We can absorb it from our food, but most of it is made in our skin during sun exposure. Several lines of evidence now suggest that this vitamin can help prevent disease and is necessary for good health, and this paper is another small piece in this particular scientific jigsaw puzzle.
"But although vitamin D might be able to protect our telomeres, one sure-fire way to damage them, and cause premature skin ageing, is to over-expose our skin to the sun.
"Any sun exposure carries with it the risk of skin damage that can also lead to cancer. It's worth remembering that it doesn't take much time in the sun to make vitamin D, and always less time than it takes to redden or burn."