Posted on 03/25/2009 8:22:14 AM PDT by Merciful_Friend
It used to be that mothers would tell their children, "Go out and play in the sunshine, it's good for you." In more recent years, saying something like that too loudly might have gotten a poor mom arrested and her children taken away from her. "The sun, good for you? Are you crazy? Are you trying to kill your kids with skin cancer?" At least, make sure the urchins are slathered all over in 45 SPF sunscreen, and preferably wearing hats and long sleeves. You might call this the Gospel of St. John the Dermatologist, and it has now been extremely well learned and internalized by a couple of generations of people in the United States and to varying degrees across what we call the developed world. And this much is now clear: it has been killing people.
(Excerpt) Read more at cinchreview.com ...
I remember trying to convince my father, rest his soul, that he should eat hydrogenated oil margarine rather than butter...
Nice article.
I go to the tanning booth in the winter for 5 minutes at a shot. The vitamin D increase has been shown to net fewer deaths.
Pediatricians push Vit D supplements on breastfed babies from about 2 months of age. We started giving it to our first baby and it was the foulest tasting and smelling thing on earth.
So I did a little research.
We now opt for safe sun exposure and will for our new baby as well.
Many call Dr Mercola a quack, but he’s been saying this a long time.
Also you need to check out what chemicals are in your sunscreen. I use zinc.
Some studies have even found a link between melanoma and the use of commercial sunscreen! Additionally, potentially harmful chemicals such as dioxybenzone and oxybenzone are some of the most powerful free radical generators known to man. And yet other studies have linked specific chemical UV filters with the transsexualization of male fish and coral reef degradation.
In light of that, I believe it’s imperative to do your homework, and to ONLY use a natural sunscreen with safe, non-toxic ingredients, so as to not add to your toxic load, and perhaps still not be protected from damaging UVA.
As you can see from this list, compiled from the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep website, there are lots of potential dangers lurking in your sunscreens:
Octinoxate (Octyl Methoxycinnamate) The most widely used sunscreen ingredient, known for its low potential to sensitize skin or act as a phototallergen. Estrogenic effects are noted in laboratory animals as well as disruption of thyroid hormone and brain signaling. Has been found to kill mouse cells even at low doses when exposed to sunlight!
Oxybenzone (Benzophenone-3) Associated with photoallergic reactions. This chemical absorbs through your skin in significant amounts. It contaminates the bodies of 97% of Americans according to Centers for Disease Control research. Health concerns include hormone disruption and cancer.
Octisalate Octisalate is a weak UVB absorber with a generally good safety profile among sunscreen ingredients. It is a penetration enhancer, which may increase the amount of other ingredients passing through skin.
Avobenzone (Parsol 1789) Primarily a UVA-absorbing agent, sunlight causes this unstable ingredient to break down into unknown chemicals, especially in the presence of another active, Octinoxate.
Octocrylene Produces oxygen radicals when exposed to UV light.
Homosalate Research indicates it is a weak hormone disruptor, forms toxic metabolites, and can enhance the penetration of a toxic herbicide.
Micronized Titanium Dioxide Sunscreens with micronized titanium dioxide may contain nanoparticles. Micronized TiO2 offers greater sun protection than conventional (larger) particles. These small particles do not penetrate skin but may be more toxic to living cells and the environment. Inhalation of powders and sprays is a concern.
Micronized Zinc Oxide Same as Micronized Titanium Dioxide, above.
Titanium Dioxide Appears safe for use on skin, due to low penetration but inhalation is a concern.
Ensulizole (Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid) Known to produce free radicals when exposed to sunlight, leading to damage of DNA, this UVB protector may have the potential to cause cancer.
Nano Zinc Oxide Nano zinc oxide offers greater sun protection than larger zinc particles. Comparatively little is known regarding potential health effects of nanoparticles. They do not penetrate healthy skin, and thus appear to pose a low health risk in lotions. Inhalation of powders and sprays is a concern.
Nano Titanium Dioxide Same as Nano Zinc Oxide, above.
Zinc Oxide Zinc has a long history of use in sunscreen and other skin care products; little absorption and no adverse health effects are reported.
Padimate O (Octyl Dimethyl PABA / PABA Ester) A derivative of the once-popular PABA sunscreen ingredient, research shows this chemical releases free radicals, damages DNA, has estrogenic activity, and causes allergic reactions in some people.
Menthyl Anthranilate 1 study found that it produces damaging reactive oxygen species when exposed to sunlight.
Mexoryl SX 2 hours of sunlight can degrade as much as 40% of this active ingredient. Low skin penetration.
Methylene Bis-Benzotriazolyl Tetramethylbutylphenol Not an approved active ingredient in the U.S. Few studies exist on this chemical. It is photostable and does not absorb through your skin.
Sulisobenzone (Benzophenone-4) Can cause skin and eye irritation. Does not penetrate your skin to a large degree, but enhances the ability of other chemicals to penetrate.
Benzophenone-2 Not approved for use in United States sunscreens. Concerns about hormone disruption.
http://search.mercola.com/Results.aspx?q=sunscreen&k=sunscreen
It’s not always easy to get, though. My munchkin (nephew)was born in August. He has to get drops. And the face that he makes and his valiant little efforts to avoid the dropper make for very happy administration. One of his parents and all of his aunts and grandmothers are entertained by the suffering of this little boy.
We’re in the Tundra, land of 10,000 lakes and flakes.
Oh, yeah, in that case I would be giving the supplement as well.
We’re lucky enough to be in the mid-Atlantic, so with proper exposure we can store Vit. D in our bodies over the winter.
I live in southern Arizona. Anyone want to buy my Vitamin D?
And we have so much ethnic diversity in the US, that we must always make a recommendation (to those most at risk) that applies across the board. I’m not white. I don’t know how long it would take me to burn. I’m not dumb enough to have conducted that experiment, but I do know that I’ve been out in the Florida sun from 12pm to 2pm in August with no sunscreen on and haven’t burnt. I had just the slightest pinkening of the skin once in my life on my shoulders. But, as a woman, I’m told night and day that I must always wear a moisturizer (which I don’t think I need because my skin is not dry) with *at least* SPF 15. SPF is a multiplication factor. If you burn in 15 minutes, you can wear SPF 15 and be out in the sun for 225 minutes. So, someone like me should never need it, I say. Who needs all those chemicals?!
I will. Can I pay you in carbon credits? I have 999990000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 of those.
I never really heard much about the evils of the sun, I mean sure some warnings about skin cancer but that always revolved around not getting repeated sunburns. Of course I live in Tucson, it’s hard not to get a lot of sun here, and we all know that having a good base coat of tan is better protection than any sun tan lotion. I do wear a hat if I’ll be out a lot, but that’s for heat protection not sun.
As a long term survivor of metastatic malignant melanoma, I can tell you that parents allowing their kids to go out and get sunburned are not responsible parents.
I think it would be cool to see what the rates of colorectal, breast other cancers are among native Arizonians. It might be instructive.
Congratulations on your survival. However, I don’t think mothers are telling their children to go out and get sunburned. In addition, there is not 100% consensus that sun causes melanoma - or at least, not all melanomas (I know of a woman who died of a vaginal melanoma).
I do know we’re the skin cancer capital of the country, 320+ sunny days a year will do that (it is actually really easy to get too much sun around here). Don’t know about the cancers that come from possibly too little sun.
This is for a variety of reasons. One reason is that unless you completely submerge yourself in a tank of sunscreen, you can't properly cover all areas of your body subject to sun exposure. You then go out for a day on the beach with friends.
The areas of your body unprotected and being scorched versus those protected don't send enough pain signals to your brain telling you to get out of the sun to override your pleasure at spending a day on the beach. Too bad for you, only a single cell need to mutate. As careful as you thought you may have been, trillions of cells were left unprotected against the ravages of the sun for far longer than they ever would have been had you not worn suncreen and heeded your bodies pain signals to get out of the sun.
Furthermore, you probably haven't been as careful about periodically reapplying the sunscreen either.
The other reason suncreen is suspected of not protecting against melanoma is that the exact portion of the solar spectrum that causes melanoma is unknown. UV AB blocking suncreens may not be blocking that portion of the spectrum causing the cellular mutations leading to melanoma. Once agan, even if you completely submerge yourself in a sunscreen tank and periodically jump in to reapply the coating, the sunscreen is giving you a false sense of security causing you to continue exposing yourself way too long.
Sorry. In the age of Obama, you’re a few zeros short...
Given our genetic diversity, there is always a commonsense aspect to medical advice. Advice good for one group may be unnecessary for another.
No but for children fitting a vulnerable profile, it's a matter of training to structure their time in such a way that extended outdoor activities are avoided during midday. Parents who don't do this are irresponsible
In addition, there is not 100% consensus that sun causes melanoma - or at least, not all melanomas (I know of a woman who died of a vaginal melanoma).
Yes but those cases are rare and explanations exist that may still give them a solar vector.
Yes I know, black people can get melanoma too but when they do, it's typically on palms of hand, soles of feet and other less pigmented areas.
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