Researchers at Edinburgh University have suggested that the potential upsides to sun exposure massively outweigh the negative risks.

The specialists said that although there might be some potential dangers to sustained sunlight exposure, they felt that the benefits would nullify them in this context.

The UV rays in sunlight are said to be able to lower blood pressure – decreasing the chance of heart disease and strokes. It’s a breakthrough, as it was initially thought that vitamin D was the only real substance that could improve a person’s health.

“We suspect that the benefits to heart health of sunlight will outweigh the risk of skin cancer,” explained Dr. Richard Weller, a senior dermatology lecturer at Edinburgh University. “The work we have done provides a mechanism that might account for this, and also explains why dietary vitamin D supplements alone will not be able to compensate for lack of sunlight.”

The study looked into 24 cases, where the aim was to see what effect sunlight had on the blood pressure of the people that were used for the research.

Dr. Weller continued: “We now plan to look at the relative risks of heart disease and skin cancer in people who have received different amounts of sun exposure. If this confirms that sunlight reduces the death rate from all causes, we will need to reconsider our advice on sun exposure.”

The results of the study are due to be presented at a skin specialists’ summit taking place this week. Edinburgh’s International Investigative Dermatology conference is ongoing and will continue until Saturday.