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Do suntan lotions really work?
Recent scientific studies have revealed that sunscreen lotions may not offer protection from the type of sun damage
that cause skin cancer. Unfortunately, these studies also suggest that sunscreens may actually do more harm than
good and that correct nutrition and sensible exposure time may be all that is needed to stay safe. Sunscreen lotions
may well be effective in protecting the skin from bad sunburn but there are other things going on below the surface
of the skin that could create more serious problems in later year s.
Researchers at the UK's Restoration of Appearance and Function Trust found that free radical damage beneath the
surface of the skin was reduced by approximately 50 percent in skin samples treated with sunscreen, compared to
unprotected skin. While that may seem to be effective, researchers determined that the actual "free-radical protection
factor" was only 2. In other words, the sun protection factor of 20+ held true only with ultraviolet B (UVB) rays -
the rays that cause sunburn. But protection from the free-radical damage that corrupts DNA and may prompt skin
cancer was judged to be insufficient.
Sunscreen use may well help prevent burning but because people feel safer they spend many extra hours in the sun
and the additional hours of exposure may add up to cumulative DNA damage and skin cancer because a
considerable amount of UVA rays are still getting through.
It is important to remember the health benefits of adequate exposure to sunlight, especially in terms of the
manufacture of vitamin D. Those who live in extreme northern and southern latitudes are often vitamin D deficient
because their exposure to sunlight is too low. A lack of vitamin D negatively impacts just about every system in the
body so what we need is balance - the right amount of sun exposure with not too much, and not too little. Sunlight
is not just good for us, it's essential. But excessive exposure leads to sunburn, which is obviously not good for the
skin. Nevertheless, sunburns do serve a purpose; they are nature's way of telling us that we're getting too much sun.
When you start turning red, you're done - your body has had enough sunlight exposure.
Proper nutrition also plays a key role in preventing skin damage. An adequate intake of Vitamins C and E ar e ver y
important to relieving stress to the skin and reducing the risk of skin cancer. Folic acid is destroyed rapidly by heat,
cold, and exposure to sunlight. In fact, it is sunlight's destructive effect on folic acid in the skin, not the actual sun
exposure itself that accounts for a significant part of the skin cancer problem. The best dietary sources of folic acid
include spinach and other dark green vegetables, brewers yeast, lima beans, cantaloupe, watermelon and liver from
organically raised animals.
Sunbathing & Sunscreens (excerpt from the Key to Health and Rejuvenation, http://www.authorhouse.com))
...."The sun is completely harmless unless we expose our bodies to it for unduly long periods of time, especially
between 10am and 3pm (during the summer). Overexposure to sunlight makes most people feel very hot and
bothered and burns their skin. To avoid being burnt and to find relief, our body’s natural instinct urges us to look for
a shady place or to take a cold shower. Sunscreens, however, interfere with our natural response to sunlight.
A British medical report, released in July 1996 and published as the lead article in the prestigious British Medical
Journal, showed that the use of sunscreens might encourage skin cancer because they prompt people to stay in the
sun far too long. Their use can postpone the onset of sunburn by many hours. Most people think that this is
advantageous whereas in fact it puts their lives at risk. The doctors who edited the report cited studies conducted in
1995 in Western Europe and Scandinavia, which showed that frequent users of sunscreen lotion actually suffered
disproportionately higher rates of skin cancer. The report says: “Sunscreens containing only ultraviolet B blocks
protect against sunburn and therefore enable greater exposure to ultraviolet A (UVA) than would otherwise be
possible to obtain.” In other words, many sunbathers expose themselves to much more UVA than they would if they
didn’t use screens. Sunburn in fact is the body’s natural defence response against more serious damage such as skin
can cer.