We’ve invested the past few decades talking about how important it is to stay out of the sun. We completely understand the hazards associated with it and do every little thing we can think of to keep it away from us. We slather on layers and layers of the greatest SPF sunscreens that we can purchase. We use huge hats. We wear long sleeves and pant legs even in the warmest of temps. We try to stick to the low light areas—some people have even taken to carrying parasols around with them to keep the sun from ever making contact with their skin. Now we are beginning to appreciate that sunlight can in fact help us. Can you actually be helped by the sun’s rays?

A new study has been performed and it shows that people who allow some time in direct sunlight aren’t as likely to get MS as the people who do everything they can to keep out of the sun. The study was initially performed to see how Vitamin D affects the progression of Multiple Sclerosis. Eventually it became apparent, however, that it was the Vitamin D our bodies produce as a response to exposure to the sun’s rays that seems to be at the root of the issue.

We’ve known for a very long time that the sun’s rays and Vitamin D can impede the way the immune system contributes to MS. This study, on the other hand, focuses on the affects of sunlight on individuals who are experiencing the very earliest symptoms of the disease. The target of the study is to see how the sun’s rays and Vitamin D might have an affect on the symptoms doctors call “precursor” to actual symptoms of the disease.

Unfortunately, there are not all that many approaches to truly quantify the study’s theory. This study is seeking to demonstrate whether or not sunlight can really help a person prevent Multiple Sclerosis. Sadly, the only real way to quantify whether or not this is correct is to monitor a person over his or her entire life. This is only way that it is possible to calculate and comprehend the levels of Vitamin D that exist in a person’s blood before the precursors of the disease show up. The way it is these days, folks who get typical exposure to the sun appear to experience fewer symptoms of MS than those who live in colder or darker climates–which isn’t new news.

There is also the extremely critical dilemma of the fact that increased amounts of exposure to the sun increase your risk of getting skin cancer. So, in an attempt to stave off one disorder, you could be causing yourself to create a different one. Of course, if you ever get skin cancer early enough you are far more likely to cure it. MS still has no cure.

So should you improve your exposure to the sun so that you don’t get MS? Ask a family doctor if this is an excellent idea. Your physician will find out if you are at risk for the disease (and how much) by checking out your genetics, medical history and current health. This helps your physician determine what the best thing for you to do is.

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