From The Metro:
Grim weather up North may be making men more prone to prostate cancer, new research suggests. Scientists believe a combination of cold temperatures and lack of sun could help explain higher rates of the disease in northerly parts of the world. Poor exposure to the sun's rays can lead to vitamin D deficiency, which may increase prostate cancer risk, it is claimed.
At the same time, cold weather might help to slow the degradation of cancer-triggering industrial pollutants, say US researchers. Cold temperatures were also believed to help the chemicals precipitate out of the atmosphere and fall to the ground...
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Health Scare Story Du Jour
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9 comments:
Hmm, they've been quiet for a while. Perhaps because there are no MPs in situ to ear bend. Note no rent-a-quote from CRUK in that article?
So, bring on global warming, right? It saves lives!
I knew there was a reason I bought that sunbed all those years ago! And I am over 18, honest!
Taking it at face value (difficult, but suspend rationality for a few seconds)...
Isn't it better to have nasty chemicals (sorry, that's a tautology to the loons) precipitated out of the atmosphere so that you don't breathe them?
Dp, I'm afraid not. CRUK couldn't work out exactly what they can use this as an excuse to ban.
JM, TBY, epic fail. Sunshine causes skin cancer; lack thereof causes prostate cancer.
VFTS, epic fail. That would 'poison the water supply threatening thousands of lives'.
MS is also a high latitude illness.
"Sunshine causes skin cancer": could be, but it seems that the serious sorts are caused by sunburn.
Actually the vitamin D thing is genuine. The reason we have white skin is that that mutation, about 50,000 years ago, helped people living in places less sunny than the African savannah we evolved on to metabolise vit D. The fact that we are all descended from that mutant shows how important it is. Because of the Gulf Stream Scotland can maintain a larger population than other places equally far north (Kamchatka, Hudson's bay etc but that means we get even less sun.
This could be solved cheaply & easily by adding vitamin D to staples like milk, bread or salt so naturally politicians aren't interested in doing it.
See http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller25.html
'Cold temperatures were also believed to help the chemicals precipitate out of the atmosphere and fall to the ground...'
I believe it's known as 'rain' in some parts of the world.
Neil C, Yes indeed, Vitamin D defifiency is endemic in many parts of the western world owing to the received wisdom obsession with skin cancer, sun block, covering up etc.
Rickets all round
AC, that's probably a prejudice, but at least it gives CRUK something to work with: "Lack of sunshine COMBINED WITH heavy drinking causes prostate cancer". That's more their style.
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