I elided a whole lot of detail, but the claim is that exposure to sunlight is implicated not just in vitamin D production, but also in a whole raft of beneficia

I elided a whole lot of detail, but the claim is that exposure to sunlight is implicated not just in vitamin D production, but also in a whole raft of beneficial biochemical processes, including nitric oxide release from stores in the skin [1]. This promotes vasodilation, thereby lowering blood pressure (and indeed, all-cause mortality [2]). The interventionist’s prescription, though, is to always wear sunscreen, to take vitamin D supplements, and to take statins to control blood pressure. I suppose my original point was that this represents a perverse exercise in ditch digging and filling. Using one expensive product to block the sunlight we evolved under, then using yet more products to compensate for the disrupted natural functioning of our skin (which we likely don’t fully understand anyway, so the counter-interventions are a partial remedy at best). [1]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6830553/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6830553/ [2]: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26992108/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26992108/