Sunscreen Dangers and Health Advisory

"In recent years, we have been bombarded with reports on the dangers of the sun, and the need for sunscreen to protect ourselves from skin cancer. Sales of sunscreen and products containing sunscreen have skyrocketed; yet the incidence of skin cancer in the U.S. has tripled in recent years." This is a quote from Alternative Articles on Health and Fitness blogs from World Image Naturals, nails the sunscreen dilemma head on. Why has skin cancer tripled? One of the prime factors, with sun related skin cancer, is the misuse of sun block and sun screen.

Does your sunscreen contain any of these ingredients? Octyl-dimethyl-PABA (OD-PABA) , Benzophenone-3 (Bp-3), Homosalate (HMS) , Octyl-methoxycinnamate (OMC) and 4-methyl-benzylidene camphor (4-MBC). Sounds like a high school chemistry teacher's shopping list, doesn't it? Actually these are common ingredients in many sun block and sun screen formulas. And they can have a very unpleasant effect on your body. They develop free radicals in the body. They can in effect behave like estrogen, a very powerful hormone or chemical messenger in the body, explains the Skin Biology website created by Dr. Loren Pickart, biochemist.

How about PABA, Dioxybenzone, Oxybenzone, and Titanium Dioxide? These chemicals are toxins as well as carcinogens. And don't just check your sun screen lotion. Many lip balms, cosmetics and face creams contain sun block as well. (The Douglass Report )

Another danger is that your skin with any sunblock or sunscreen will not be able to absorb hardly any vitamin D from the sun. And the sun is one of the very few sources of vitamin D. Vitamin D acts to absorb calcium and helps to ward off certain forms of cancer. Obviously too much exposure to the sun can be harmful. The sun burns, but it also causes heat exhaustion, heat stroke and sun poisoning. If you take certain medications, such as Doxycycline or Acutane or other tetracycline drugs, you should be very careful in the sun. Too much sun can cause illness. But even in this case, sunscreen will do no good and only harm.

Lastly, if you rely on sunscreen for your only skin protection, your skin does not build up a certain resistance to sun. If you should happen to forget the sunscreen the burn will be much worse. A light summer tan is good protection against the sun. This doesn't include long hours of sun-bathing. Naturally the amount of sun you can tolerate depends upon your skin tone also.

The best solution is to avoid being in the direct sun when it is at its zenith (around noon to 2pm). If you are in the sun, wear protective clothing, such as sunglasses, a large hat and loose cover. If you are swimming, choose a natural sun screen for that period only. Or wear a tee-shirt when swimming from noon to 2pm. Zinc oxide is a safe sun screen, but should only be used on areas that get more sun, such as the nose, lips, tips of ears or exposed skin on the head. Be sure to consume plenty of vitamin C, especially the ester-C and the variety with bioflavinoids. Vitamin C is a natural anti-oxidant and is important in summer.