Michelle, 40, and Aliyah, 16, both wearing sunscreen; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Photo by Jacq Harriet

What If Avoiding the Sun Is Bad for You?

The pros and cons of sun exposure don’t start and end with vitamin D and skin cancer

Markham Heid
Published in
13 min readJul 25, 2019

--

ItIt was around 15 years ago that Dr. Matt Zirwas, an Ohio-based dermatologist, first noticed something curious about the people he was treating at his clinic.

--

--

Markham Heid
Elemental

I’m a frequent contributor at TIME, the New York Times, and other media orgs. I write mostly about health and science. I like long walks and the Grateful Dead.