Sunscreens are on many shopping lists this time of year, but how do you know whether the product you are so diligently applying to your skin is really helping you? Did you know that most popular products may actually increase your chances of developing skin cancer? In addition, many of the chemicals in those products are also known to have estrogenic effects, which means they can interfere with sex hormones, causing a number of secondary effects, such as fibrocystic disease, endometrioses, breast, uterine, or testicular cancer, and much more.
So, why haven’t you ever heard about this?! None of this is the news, but it takes a long time to spread information like this. (Remember, it took decades of deaths before it was admitted that smoking might be bad for your health.)
Some of the most common sunscreen chemicals are known to create powerful skin damaging free radicals, which are loose particles that react with other molecules to damage fats, proteins, and even DNA, and cause premature aging, skin damage, and more. Some sunscreen ingredients interact with others in the same product to create cancer causing compounds. Unknown amounts of these chemicals can be absorbed through the skin and enter your bloodstream, yet there are no studies showing what consequences this may have. Some can accumulate in your body fat and breast milk, and no one knows how this may affect you or your offspring decades from now.
One of my favorite products was changed to include “micronized” zinc oxide. Micronized is another name for nano particle, which means these microscopic particles can, and do enter your bloodstream, and may even penetrate cell walls. Yes, I consume zinc in my food and in my supplements, but these large particles are used and eliminated by my body as they have been for thousands of years. How our bodies will react to nano particles entering the cells is anyone’s guess. I personally do not care to be anyone’s guinea pig in this new techno world. Do you?
Australia provides a wealth of information about sunscreen use. This extreme sunshine continent is heavily populated by fair skinned people of British descent. A generation ago, the country began a major skin protection campaign that included daily use of strong sunscreens, and restricted sun exposure. The results of this unofficial national experiment are now coming in.
Deadly melanoma skin cancer rates have increased so much that Australians now have the highest rates per capita in the world! Breast, prostate, uterine, and colon cancer rates have jumped dramatically, and vitamin D deficiency diseases have absolutely skyrocketed, (though that is fodder for another topic altogether).
Many researchers now believe that the use of sunscreens causes more cancer and cancer-related deaths than they prevent. Study after study has shown that sunscreen use increases the risks of all skin cancers, and plays a big role in many other cancers, as well.
So, what do you do? Do not rely on sunscreens for skin protection. Begin exposing your skin to gradually increasing amounts of sun each day, starting in the spring. Moderate, daily sun exposure is protective. The highest rates of burns and skin cancers are in people who stay indoors all week long, then go out and overdo it on the weekends.
Our skin has a built in exposure indicator that has been telling us what to do for thousands of years. When skin begins to turn pink, get it out of the sun! Seek shade, put on more clothes, wear caps & hats with wide brims to protect face, ears, neck, and scalp. If lots of sun exposure is unavoidable, use barrier creams like the type of zinc oxide creams that leave you with whitened skin. (If you think that looks ugly, consider what skin cancer will do for your appearance.) Check out the Environmental Working Group cosmetic data base (ewg.org) for safety and effectiveness ratings for specific products, and the Newsletter link at my own website for additional information about the importance of sunshine and safe skin protection.
Sunshine is vital to our health, and by using common sense, you can enjoy being out in it all summer long.
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