eileen

This article is by far one of the best I've read.....and yes they do mention to use a tanning bed in the colder months!

ENJOY

Dear Naturopath, I am hearing all kinds of conflicting information about the sun



7/24/2007

I am hearing all kinds of conflicting information about the sun and its exposure. What is your opinion?

Thank you,
Burning to know

Dear “Burning to know,”

Here is a rundown of my opinion. Nobody recommends getting burnt as that is always damaging to your body no matter what burns you. However there are many things to consider and this article’s information may help.

Shining Some Truth on Sunshine

We are all told by “experts” that we should avoid the sun at all costs and slather on as much sunscreen as possible and as often as we can or we will get skin cancer. I have a few questions about the wisdom of that approach.

First of all, why did we do so well in the sun for centuries with little to no skin cancer? Some speculate that it is the ozone depletion. However, almost all of that depletion is at the poles where none of us live and is more tied to a regular cycle of sunspot activity than to any actual ozone depletion from spray cans. One volcano (Mt. St. Helens) eruption destroyed more ozone than all spray cans in history. Since we have had regular eruptions over the last few centuries where is the correspondence with the “ozone depletion?” I can’t find them. That theory seems to have run out of gas.

Perhaps the idea of varying pigmentations of the races is part of the cause. Oops, it seems that research of the same nationality (Caucasian) in different regions (New Mexico to New Jersey) show that the incidence of skin cancer is actually much higher the further North one goes and the less sun one gets. Hum?! So much for the race based or amount exposed arguments.

Surely all that exposure is causing the skin cancer we see increasing. Well, one problem is that the majority of skin cancer is in areas of the body where it is not exposed to the sun, especially the deadly melanoma type.

We hear that medical science has proven that ultraviolet radiation causes skin cancer. Well that is “kinda-sorta” true. Experiments using ultraviolet radiation have induced skin cancer. However these experiments are not consistently repeatable. To be scientifically valid, an experiment must be consistently repeatable. So in full truth, it is not scientifically valid to say that the sun causes skin cancer. But it sure sells a huge amount of sunscreen!

Perhaps the highly toxic and cancer causing ingredients in the sun-blocks that plug your pores is a contributing culprit? Let’s see…petroleum products, cancer causing chemicals, and plugged pores stopping the elimination of toxic waste from the skin. Sounds like a toxic soup in place of proper skin metabolism to me.

Could it also be that the blocking of the suns rays is the very thing causing or perhaps increasing the incidence of skin cancer? Five chemicals commonly used in sunscreens have been found to behave like estrogen and stimulate tumor-growth and the spread of cancer cells.

When blocked from receiving proper ultraviolet radiation you can’t produce enough of the right kind of vitamin D or melanin. Vitamin D is made from the excess cholesterol in your blood as the sunlight penetrates through your skin and prevents cancer. Melanin is your body’s inherent skin cancer preventing agent.

Ultraviolet radiation from the sun helps to lower your cholesterol, lower your blood pressure, deliver nutrients into your tissues, strengthen your muscles and bones, and prevent as much as 75% of all cancers. Hum… cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, depression, fatigue, weakness, etc.? Hopefully this will provide a little “sun enlightenment!”

I vote for sunshine in moderate doses before 10am and after 2pm myself. After all, the old saying goes: “only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the direct sun between ten and two.” I actually prefer sunrise as the optimal time, because this balances the pineal gland located at the base of the brain. This gland, now classified as an organ, has so many functions being discovered that some are calling it the “master organ.” It regulates your hormonal operations, your acupuncture meridians, your body clock (biorhythms) and much more. It measures and responds to light, especially sunlight. The time it responds to best is the first thirty minutes beginning at sunrise. The Native American ritual of greeting the sun each day is finally getting some scientific validation.

Perhaps our traditional Native American use of fresh cornmeal on newborns is pretty scientific as well. It seems that Indian corn is very high in the complete vitamin C molecule which is a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants prevent burns, and burning is just oxidation. Corn meal also absorbs toxins while allowing the rays to darken the skin and eliminate any excess bilirubin just like the UV lights in the hospitals for babies with jaundice. The sun does it (without the concentrated X radiation from fluorescent tubes) and the family gets to affectionately welcome the child into the world. This is much better for the baby than being handled with insulated gloves in a glass cage.

Points to ponder and pass along:

Sunlight, skin and vitamin D:

A 20-minute exposure to summer sun will trigger 20,000 units of vitamin D into the circulation within 48 hours.

About 90 per cent of the body's supply of vitamin D comes from the action of sunlight on the skin. Grey skies and short days between October and March means that a large percentage of the population is deficient in this vitamin.
Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones and skin, protecting against rickets in children and osteoporosis in the elderly.

Vitamin D cuts risk of pancreatic cancer by almost half (43 per cent) when taken at the recommended daily dose of 400 I.U., according to a study of 46,000 men and 75,000 women at the University of Wisconsin published in 2006.

A daily dose of Vitamin D could cut the risk of cancers of the breast, colon and ovary by up to half, a 40-year review of research concluded (2005).

Doctors now propose a daily dose of 1,000 international units according to the American Journal of Public Health.

Countries around the world have begun to modify their warnings about the dangers of sunbathing, as due to the growing research on vitamin D. The Cancer Council Australia now says that some exposure to the sun is healthy.

Vitamin D:
* lowers insulin resistance which is one of the major factors leading to heart disease and
diabetes
* influences growth of a variety of cell types and plays a role in the repair and
remodeling of lung tissue
* acts as an immune-modulator and may help protect against the development of type 1
diabetes
* influences production of a hormone that regulates calcium levels in the body, which in
turn helps to regulate blood pressure

Lack of vitamin D before birth may affect the developing fetus in the womb and increase the risk of schizophrenia.

Lack of vitamin D has been linked with the development of Multiple Sclerosis.

Sunlight can lower your cholesterol and blood pressure.
Research published in the American Journal of Physiology showed ultraviolet radiation reduce blood pressure in 60 to 70% of hypertensive people and some as much as 40mm/Hg. Ultraviolet radiation is needed to breakdown cholesterol. It converts a bodily substance known as squalene into vitamin D precursor 7-dehydrocholesterol, otherwise the squalene will turn into cholesterol and raise your levels in the blood if you do not get enough sunlight. Also, insufficient sunlight may induce a state of hyper- parathyroidism and the excessive secretion of its hormone resulting in damage to the cardiovascular system and bones (including teeth).

Sunlight can help you survive and even prevent cancer (Yes, even skin cancer.)
Sunshine causes your body to produce melanin, your natural protector against skin cancer.


Sunlight can kill viral infections in your blood
Sunlight penetrates far enough into our skin to irradiate the blood vessels that lie near the surface. Our blood circulates throughout our body every three to five minutes and 20 minutes in the sun can cause a complete change in your blood picture as the sunlight boosts white blood cell count.

Sunlight can increase your muscular development and strength
“Muscles subjected to proper sun exposure grow larger, firmer, and have their contractile powers enhanced even without exercise, due partly to the increase of calcium in them, and partly to improved nutrition in general.” – Dr. Shelton. Hum, let’s see, speeded metabolism, lowered blood pressure, improved blood circulation resulting in improved distribution of nutrients (especially calcium needed by exercising muscles)… gee whiz they ought to bottle this stuff and sell it at the gym.

Sunlight can decrease tooth decay
A study of 94,000 white males revealed that the rate for those who lived in the southwest
region of the United States and received more than 3,000 hours of sunshine per year had 2/3 LESS tooth decay than those in the Northeast who only got less than 2200 hours of sunshine per year.

Sunlight helps your body detoxify
This is evidenced not only by sweating and raising heart rate, but even babies born with jaundice are placed under UV radiation (often called bilirubin lights) so they don’t require transfusions anymore.

Sunlight can help cure tuberculosis
Many tuberculosis cures were effective with the use of sunshine, outdoor air, and hydrotherapy with success rates of over 90% before treatment by antibiotics.

Sunlight is free or available at a tanning bed on a dark winter’s day
I can exercise in it for optimal health, open my mouth to it (1 minute) for dental health and sore throats, sunbathe to help prevent or help cure cancer, help prevent or cure the flu and other viruses, greatly reduce or eliminate depression, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, build stronger muscles and bones, prevent or help diabetes… (I’ve really got to bottle this stuff!)Oh yeah, most of the effects are available in a bottle of Vitamin D (Cholcalciferol.) I better go to the health food store and stock up on some when I don’t get to go outside and play and take at least 1,000 I.U. a day. I also have a tanning booth around the corner that uses only UVB rays to tan and 5 minutes is all I need. I could build up over time to also get some tan as long as I never burn.

“Die Hards” for Sun Block
OK, some of you will insist on blocking the sun because you want to play all day long with almost no clothes. I would use one with only organic ingredients, and a reflectant like zinc oxide, as it will bounce off the excess radiation allowing longer time in the sun. However, pay attention so you do not burn! Zinc oxide has a long safety history and is effective.

Remember, most things you put on your skin you are “eating” since your skin absorbs most ingredients in liquids. However, when eating by mouth, your digestive enzymes and initial antibodies could attack it, and your liver could neutralize some or all of it before getting into your main blood stream. On your skin, it goes straight in and is delivered to various tissues without any of this protection. If you would not eat it, you may not want to put it on your skin!
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