Sun exposure is the main source of vitamin D, which reduces the risk of colon, breast, prostate, and other cancers, writes Professor Cedric Garland at the University of California.

New doctor recommendations include no more than 15 minutes of sun exposure daily over 40 percent of the body, other than the face, which should be protected from the sun.

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Dark-skinned people, however, may need more exposure to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D, and some fair-skinned people shouldn’t try to get any vitamin D from the sun. The easiest and most reliable way of getting the appropriate amount is from food and a daily supplement, say authors of a new research.

Vitamin D deficiency may account for several thousand premature deaths from colon, breast, ovarian and other cancers annually.

The study also found that residents of Northern countries and people with higher skin pigmentation were at an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency. This is because solar UVB is needed for the human body to make vitamin D. The increased skin pigmentation of African-Americans reduces their ability to synthesize vitamin D.

“African-American women who develop breast cancer are more likely to die from the disease than White women of the same age,” said Garland.

“Survival rates are worse among African-Americans for colon, prostate and ovarian cancers as well.”

Even after adjustments that removed the effect of socioeconomic status and access to care, people with darker skin were shown to have substantially worse cancer survival rates, a difference that the authors link with the decreased ability of blacks to make Vitamin D. 

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