Throw away the sunscreen!

I would add that people should throw away their sunglasses. Those are one more artificial thing that people use unthinkingly. The only time you ought to use sunglasses is while in a car, IMO. There is no reason to wear them while outdoors. The sun won’t damage your eyes if you use common sense. Don’t look at the sun while in the shade. Stand in an open aresa. Blink when you feel the urge to blink. Go inside or put on a hat or if your eyes feel fatigued.

Our eyes need sunlight just as much as our bodies need sunlight. Take time and enjoy watching the sunrise or the sunset occasionally. Without glasses, or sunglasses. Stand barefoot on the Earth and let the sun in your eyes. No primitive people wore sunglasses or sunscreen. Both are unnatural ploys to make money and most likely extremely unhealthy for you in the long run.

I try to go without sunglasses as often as possible for the same reason I avoid prolonged or frequent exposure to unnatural light after the sun goes down – it throws off my body’s natural reactions to light.

If nothing else, all the chemicals in sunscreen have to be causing SOME sort of damage.

EEN,

Thanks for your comment and welcome to The Healthy Skeptic.

While there are a small number of deaths from non-melanomic skin cancers each year, I haven’t seen any data that proves a causal link between sun exposure and those cancers.

It is entirely possible that those people also had a deficiency of vitamins A & K, for example, that may have contributed to vitamin D toxicity. There are many people all around the world who get frequent exposure to the sun without sunblock who do not develop skin cancer. Clearly there are other mechanisms at work as well.

Wouldn’t you say that any kind of skin cancer, regardless of being malignant or benign, is bad? Coming from a family where multiple people develop multiple types of cancer a year, I have been raised to do anything in your power to avoid all cancers. Yes, there are people who spend hour upon hour in the sun without sunscreen and have no signs of getting cancer, but if you have a family history of cancer, you should be doing anything you can to avoid it, because you are clearly not one of those people genetically.

Also, as a very fair skinned person, it is more than just a cancer issue. I was hospitalized this past spring for second degree burns on my feet from missing a few spots while at the beach. This happened within 2 hours. I am very fair skinned and need sunscreen everyday to prevent injuries like this. As the ozone layer continues to deplete, the sun’s rays are getting stronger. Everybody’s skin is not used to this kind of extreme exposure, and they should want to protect their skin. Clearly, I am an extreme case and need more than other people, but that doesn’t mean that everyone doesn’t need it.

We have all seen the leathery skin of people who have spent their whole lives in the sun. I think it is less than desirable, and I thought most people were wearing sunscreen to prevent that, rather than cancer. With so many supplements and faux tanning solutions, there really is no reason to ever be in the sun without sunscreen. You can get a healthy fake glow, and if you do it right, it looks just as good, if not better, as it is typically more even. You’ll have youthful skin and can avoid excessive dermal peels and other sun damage remedies.

Furthermore, I live in Buffalo, NY. We may get a ton of sun throughout the year, but it snows for 4-6 months of that year. I am not going to venture out in the cold to get that sun exposure you speak of, and wonder who would.

facadefemme,

I suggest you protect your skin from sun by eating a high saturated fat, low PUFA diet. I routinely go out in the sun walking with no sunscreen and have never burned. I don’t tan, either. Having low levels of PUFAs in your skin is a form of natural sun screen, making you very resistant to burning. The fats I’d suggest are coconut oil (naturally refined or virgin), macadamia oil, butter or ghee, beef suet, beef fat, and maybe cocoa butter. Eat them and apply them to your skin if you find you are still sensitive to the sun. I have prety fair skin and have burned in the past when I was not avoiding PUFAs scrupulously.

To reduce PUFA intake, avoid most nuts and seeds. Hazelnuts, macadamia, and coconut are fairly low in PUFAs (1-10%). Most nuts are a lot higher. I’d also avoid any commercial salad dressing, mayonnaise, restaurant cooking oil, fried food, oil roasted nuts, chicken fat, and turkey fat. Duck and goose are much better if you can find them. Pork is similar to duck and goose fat. The best fats are red meat, dairy, and tropical oils IMO. Fatty liver is eaten traditionally in the Gascony region of Southern France, they also have the lowest rate of heart disease and the best longevity. Fatty liver is similar to macadamia oil, with less than 2% PUFAs, but more saturated. They also eat lots of duck and goose fat, raw cheeses, butter, etc.

Avoid PUFA vegetable oils like corn, soy, flax, safflower, cottonseed, canola, rapeseed, sunflower, hemp, walnut, peanut, etc. These are typically rancid, full of PUFAs, solvents, bleaches, and other poisons.

I haven’t seen any data, but I haven’t looked. I’ve seen anecdotal reports from many people that a low-PUFA diet makes them resistant to sun burns, and even regular burns (like at the stove). You might find references on the Scientific Debate Forum, which espouses an extremely low-PUFA diet as the solution to many chronic modern diseases. The author does eat some junk food, but only things made with coconut oil, palm kernel oil, or butterfat, or fully hydrogenated oils (100% saturated). He claims to have reversed many health problems, like rosacea, osteoporosis, and leaky gut.

http://groups.msn.com/TheScientificDebateForum-/

Recently during a blackout I accidentally poured hot candle wax all over my hand and didn’t have any burn mark from it afterwards. I don’t burn in the sun. I don’t tan easily. In fact, I saw old tan lines disappear when I started eating the extremely low PUFAs. Tanning is DNA damage and I am virtually immune to it now. Once, my skin flaked a little, but it didn’t burn or turn red. No pain, no inflammation, no sunburn apparent from it.

Bruce,

I joined the forum you linked to and tried posting a comment, but it was rejected by the moderator. I have absolutely no idea why, as it was simply a question about what reliable current sources of data on PUFA content in animal fats are available.

Strange.

I grew up on the beaches of California. I spent nearly every day in the sun, and when I was much younger, most of those days did not involve the use of sunscreens. I’ve never had any issues with my skin. My skin is extremely healthy, and I honestly believe that my exposure to the sun at an early age is what, in part, has kept it healthy.

I always try my best to get sun exposure now (I’m 44). I like the tan, and it feels good. I’m very aware of the benefits of Vit. D as well, and that is another reason why I make sure to get a reasonable amount of exposure.

I think it’s important for everyone to get sun exposure. Fair skinned people seem to think they need to cover up and try their best to not get any sun. I think what is more important is to get sun exposure and know your limits at the same time. If you are fair skinned, then 10-20 min. might be all that you can handle before you start to burn. Keep up that kind of thinking. Avoid getting burned. But don’t eliminate exposure. Just know your limits. If you start to reach threshold, then try and get out of the sun. Then do it a couple of days later, or a week, or whatever you know you can handle.

I find it odd how over the years, we’ve become obsessed with sunscreens. Sure, they have their place, but ultimately I believe the reason for the ocean of sunscreens is corporate profits. These big pharma companies want to turn everything into a condition or disease so they can sell us another product.

The sun is an integral part of our existence. Humanity has lived in the sun for thousands of years, and it’s only been within the past 50 years or so that the sun has all of a sudden become bad. It’s marketing. it’s business. It’s desire for profits.

As for the ozone? Perhaps it is reduced. However, I think the messages sent out about ozone depletion and its effects, are simply a method of instilling fear in people so we buy sunscreen products to protect us.

I’m not saying it’s a conspiracy. I think people who believe they are really smart, really aren’t as smart as they think they are. They’re simply making educated guesses, formulating hypotheses and theories.

Humanity often thinks it finds the answer, solution, or fact about a given phenomenon, only to be proven wrong many years later. I believe many of our scientists are wrong about the dangers of sun exposure, and many people are lemmings running off the cliff’s edge.

The glasses that you wear also have a UV coating (prescription) Be aware of that.

Andrew,

I’d agree that it’s wise to avoid burn. However, I don’t think it’s a good idea to use commercial sunblock to do that, since many commercial sunblocks contain ingredients which cause… you guessed it… skin cancer.

I’d suggest a sunblock with only titanium or zinc oxide as the active ingredient, and all natural ingredients otherwise. Coconut and sesame oil can be used as well, but they are only about SPF 2 from what I gather.

@John:

Make sure your niece gets plenty of vitamin A (cod liver oil, beef liver, grass-fed butter) and vitamin K2 (sauerkraut, hard cheese, yogurt/kefir, grass-fed butter, and/or supplement) in addition to vitamin D (sunshine, shellfish, salmon, egg yolks).

Best,
Chris

Beth,

Thanks for your comment and questions. I see what you mean about the wording of the first paragraph. It should say “one study contradicts the idea that sun exposure causes lymphoma, and the other contradicts the idea that sun exposure causes melanoma.” I’ll change that now.

However, regarding the melanoma study, in my opinion survival/mortality is the most important endpoint and the one that people care about the most. In the study I referenced in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, they found that increased sun exposure was associated with higher survival rates from melanoma. That’s significant. You can read the full-text study here.

The full-text of the lymphoma study can be found here.

@Rebecca:

Welcome to the blog, and thanks for your comments!

Chris

Are you saying that there’s something wrong with stimulating the pineal gland, as it was through most of our history without UV-coated glasses? I’ve heard about people improving their eyesight simply by wearing their glasses less, eating better, getting more sunlight, etc. The improvement may not measure on an eye exam, but people report less blurriness and improved focus, so they can function without glasses where before they couldn’t. That’s a worthwhile goal, IMO.

Looking at sunrise and/or sunset without glasses, pref with bare feet on bare ground, might also help. Stand in an open area, not shade. Blink and turn away if you feel the need. I don’t wear sunglasses or sunscreen. The only time you need sunglasses is when sitting in a car or shade with sun light coming through or looking at an eclipse. Under conditions like that, the eyes don’t dilate and contract appropriately, so they may be damaged by sunlight. Otherwise, we should be less afraid of the sunlight and more afraid of unnatural sunglasses and sunscreen.

Dr. John Ott supposedly talked with Albert Schweitzer’s daughter and she told him that primitive groups developed cancer even on their natural diet if they wore sunglasses. They sometimes didn’t wear clothes, but they adopted the white man’s habit for sunglasses and developed cancer from wearing them. Ott also believed that being exposed to artificial light and filtered light through windows causes cancer. Contact with civilization brings the modern diseases, whereas healthy primitive groups knew how to stay healthy naturally. They didn’t have sunglasses or sunscreen.

http://www.healingcancernaturally.com/healingwithlight2.html

Sorry, I mis-read your comment somehow. You said you were “concerned” about the UV coating. I thought you meant you were concerned about not having it, and that it was bad not to have the UV coating.

I still think you should try wearing glasses less, esp when outdors in sun. Exposure to sunlight may improve your vision, along with good nutrition. Some people benefit from raw milk, cheese, and meat.

@tara:

There are three basic problems with the chemicals in sunscreen:

1. They are powerful free radical generators.

2. They can have strong estrogenic activity.

3. They are synthetic chemicals that are difficult for the body to eliminate, and they accumulate in fat stores.

Research has shown that sunscreens containing PABA, Padimate-O or other PABA derivatives can damage DNA and cause changes that induce carcinogenic changes.

For an in-depth article on this subject, follow this link.

Kimberly,

Thanks for your comment. Try to find a sunscreen that is primarily zinc oxide at a health food store. The fewer ingredients you don’t recognize the better.

PUFA is the acronym for polyunsaturated oils, which should be dramatically reduced in the diet. They cause oxidative damage and inflammation, both of which are major risk factors for several diseases.

Certainly, there are issues with chemicals in sunscreens (as there are with chemicals in many products), yet you ignore the fact that there are physical sunscreens that pose minimal risk. My sunscreen has non-nano zinc oxide as its only active ingredient. And it’s not ‘very expensive’, which you mentioned earlier as an argument against it.

You also say in passing that the sun is good for our health in other ways – could you elaborate on this? Besides avoiding seasonal affective disorder, I can’t think of any other reason to go in the sun for the sake for getting the sun’s ‘goodness’.

And sure, people are deficient in vitamin D, but that’s why supplements exist. I was vitamin D deficient well before I started avoiding excess sun exposure (for superficial reasons, I was getting too many sunspots).

Congratulations on being so much smarter than the rest of us.