Upending everything we thought we knew about sun exposure, this trenchant investigation into the ‘zero-sun policy’ sounds the call on the many health benefits of the sun, and what we risk when we minimize our exposure. A quiet revolution is transforming our understanding of sunlight’s effects on human health. For decades, a ‘zero-sun’ policy has characterized our approach to sun protection, advising us to stay out of the sun whenever possible and apply sunscreen daily to any skin that might be exposed, rain or shine, summer or winter, indoors or out. But recent studies have proved that this policy is thoroughly mistaken and that this prolific misunderstanding is causing us to miss out on many of the health benefits of sun exposure. In this incisive work, acclaimed journalist Rowan Jacobsen presents the growing case for the importance of modest sun exposure for our health and well-being. Aided by the most up-to-date studies on the effects of sunlight on human health, Jacobsen presents a much-needed, lucid assessment of not only what the sun can do for us, but how a lack of sun could actively be harming us.
