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Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]

Sunshine shocker

Story here that says that far from being a bad thing, sitting outside in the sun for at least 15 minutes a day is good for you, latest medical findings suggest. It certainly is a bit of a change from the period, I well recall, in the 1990s, when it appeared to be the case that any exposure to sun was fraught with danger as a result of the supposed hole in the ozone layer. I recall the constant worries, fuelled in the press and elsewhere, about skin cancer and the dangers of overdoing the sunshine.

Sometimes you have to just laugh. Of course being exposed to the sun is good for you in moderation! Mankind was not meant to sit indoors or conceal every aspect of the body all the time. Anyone I know who spends the vast majority of his or her time indoors looks, well, unwell, in my opinion. I always make the effort to break out of my office at lunchtime to get what passes for sunshine in this damp country of ours. It is not rocket science.

Coming next: medical experts reveal that regular exercise, eating vegetables and playing sports can do you some good.

5 comments to Sunshine shocker

  • I think it was the Woody Allen film Sleeper where he awakes centuries in the future only to discover that science has proven that cigarettes, whisky and heavy cream are among the healthiest things you can ingest.

  • Hus

    The holes exist at the poles. They’ve been directly observed over the years.

    As to why science does studies like this, well, just because there is some tradition that X is good for you, or Y works such and such a way, doesn’t mean that said tradition is true. As my wife, who is a scientist says, “In a perfect world one assumes nothing.”

  • Sorry, Hus, but your wife is making a living (so I hope) out of assuming nothig. It does not mean that the rest of us do:-)

  • zmollusc

    Where is her proof to back that up?

  • I heard that Cigarettes are bad for you.

    Is this true????