Sunscreens and Vit D3

Sunscreens causing vitamin deficiency? Sumitra Deb Roy | TNN Mumbai: The indiscriminate and widespread use of sunscreen lotions to block harsh ultraviolet rays could be compounding the problem of Vitamin D deficiency to a great extent. Some say its repeated use hampers the skin’s ability to absorb the sun’s rays. A professor at the skin department of JJ Hospital said, “Some studies have found that by blocking ultraviolet rays, sunscreen lotions limit the amount of Vitamin D produced in the body. Of course, the extent of reduction is still a subject of debate,” he said. He added that certain studies have pegged the loss at five-fold to 10-fold. Yet, there are also studies and observations based on years of followups that concluded that sunscreens do affect the production of Vitamin D in the body, but not significantly. Physician Dr Pratik Samdani said, “Yes, sunscreens play their own role but it would be unfair to blame the deficiency only on them,” he said.