Sun is good for the health for it can provide people with Vitamin D and reduce the chance of developing cancer, according to a new research.

Animal and epidemiological studies are suggesting that sufficient vitamin D, nicknamed the "sunshine vitamin" because the skin makes it from ultraviolet rays, may prevent or even treat many cancers such as lymphoma, colon, prostate, skin, and lung cancer.

"I would challenge anyone to find an area or nutrient or any factor that has such consistent anti-cancer benefits as vitamin D. The data are really quite remarkable." said Edward Giovannucci Edward Giovannucci, a Harvard University professor of medicine and nutrition who laid out his case recently at a major cancer research meeting.

The question, Allan Halpern, dermatology chief at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York said, is a lack of consensus on how much vitamin D is needed or the best way to get it.

Even if sunshine were to be recommended, the amount needed would depend on the season, time of day, where a person lives, skin color and other factors, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency/Agencies May 24, 2005)