This week's Sun-Herald screams 'Millions at risk'. THE health story of the week is the increasingly common occurrence of vitamin D deficiency.
It's not a new development, although now 1 in 3 of the Australian population, including yours truly, have insufficient levels of this vitamin.
This appears to be the flip side of a very successful anti-skin cancer campaign, such that people are avoiding the sun exposure necessary for the production of vitamin D. The role of vitamin D in bone health is well known but apparently, a deficit of vitamin D has been linked to colon, breast and prostate cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and other diseases.
So it's all about balance, about getting some sun exposure but not sunbaking. Health Psych readers (The flip of slip, slop, slap) already knew that though, didn't they?
