New sunscreen lets body produce vitamin D

Named "Solar D", the sunscreen simultaneously protects against the harmful effects of the sun, while letting the body reap the benefits of vitamin D.

"Solar D was designed with compounds with differing filter compositions to maximize vitamin D production while maintaining its sun protection for reducing erythema or burning of the skin," explained F. Holick, PhD, MD, professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Boston University School of Medicine and an endocrinologist at Boston Medical Center.

Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is a major health problem that afflicts approximately 40 percent of children and 60 percent of adults. Yet using sunscreen with an SPF of 30 reduces the capacity of the skin to produce vitamin D by almost 98 percent.