IN DEFENSE OF SUNLIGHT

Upending everything we thought we knew about sun exposure, this trenchant investigation into the "zero-sun policy" sounds the call regarding the many health benefits of the sun, and what we risk losing when we minimize our exposure.

In recent years, a quiet revolution has been building to transform our understanding of sunlight's effect on human health. The "zero-sun policy" has characterized our approach to sun for decades, 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 not only causing us to miss out on all the health benefits of sun exposure, but is also perhaps actively harming us.

In this incisive work, acclaimed journalist Rowan Jacobsen presents the growing case for the importance of modest sun exposure for our health and wellbeing. 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 can harm our health. As our society moves increasingly indoors, cut off from natural cycles, a slew of autoimmune diseases are on the rise that are now being treated in clinical trials with ultraviolet light, suggesting that modest sun exposure may be a simple and equitable way to combat these diseases.

Yet, by and large, this knowledge has yet to trickle down to healthcare providers or media outlets. In Defense of Sunlight seeks to sound the call on what researchers have been sure of for years, laying out the new science of sunlight in a straightforward and responsible book for mainstream readers. An eye-opening story of scientific discovery, In Defense of Sunlight explains how current recommendations became misguided, how a few inquisitive scientists glimpsed the truth and deciphered the mechanisms responsible, and how everyone can safely incorporate this new knowledge into their daily lives. It also exposes the implicit injustice underlying current approaches, which benefit the whitest people on earth (who are the most susceptible to skin cancer) at the expense of those with dark skin (who suffer extremely low rates of skin cancer and have the most to gain from sun exposure).

To the tune of Michael Pollan's "eater's manifesto" from his groundbreaking In Defense of Food ("Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."), In Defense of Sunlight calls for a return to common sense in our relationship with our local star, and offers its own seven words of advice: Get sun. Not too much. Go outside.

People have pressing questions about sunlight and health, and a lingering suspicion that they aren't getting the full story. In Defense of Sunlight ensures that now, they will.

Rowan Jacobsen is also the author of the James Beard Award-winning A Geography of Oysters and Truffle Hound, named a Best Nonfiction Book of the Year by Publisher's Weekly. He has been featured on All Things Considered, The Splendid Table, CBS This Morning, Weekend Edition, and Morning Edition; has performed with Pop-Up Magazine; has lectured at Harvard and Yale; and has written and hosted a variety of podcasts. He lives in Vermont, an extremely challenging state when it comes to sunshine.