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In an email to me, the SCF has completely denied that anyone there could have said they have changed their policy. Well, that's baffling. That means they don't believe in science and they refuse to acknowledge the body of evidence showing that vitamin D deficiency is a problem. Wow.
The links to their corporate sponsors no longer work. ? Here are the new ones: Corporate Council & International Corporate Council. Are there any companies on there that don't sell products to "protect" us from the sun? Is this just a corporate front group? I really don't know.
At least one other site says so. Of course, it's put up by the Indoor Tanning Association! LOL! (At least they're honest about who they are.)
Edit 4/23/09: The corporate sponsor links have changed again. Corporate Council & International Corporate Council.
The links to their corporate sponsors no longer work. ? Here are the new ones: Corporate Council & International Corporate Council. Are there any companies on there that don't sell products to "protect" us from the sun? Is this just a corporate front group? I really don't know.
At least one other site says so. Of course, it's put up by the Indoor Tanning Association! LOL! (At least they're honest about who they are.)
Edit 4/23/09: The corporate sponsor links have changed again. Corporate Council & International Corporate Council.
- mood:
devious
AMDG
Yahoo recently put up an article on sunscreen and how it increases skin cancer. It confirms several points I've found in digging around the online medical journal studies:
Concludes the Yahoo article (from LiveScience.com): "We merely think we are protected; few really are."
ETA: Link has gone; here's the original from LiveScience.com.
- sunscreen does not protect against melanoma
- relying on sunscreen instead of covering up or managing sun exposure increases skin cancer risk
- our bizarre habits of semi-nudity at beaches are the cause of most of our skin damage
- many sunscreens break down in the sun, some begin in just 15 minutes
- most people use nowhere close to enough sunscreen to provide the claimed SPF level, anyway
- chemicals in sunscreen cause DNA damage and may contribute to cancer, including skin cancer
Concludes the Yahoo article (from LiveScience.com): "We merely think we are protected; few really are."
ETA: Link has gone; here's the original from LiveScience.com.
- mood:
accomplished
AMDG
Yes, olive oil. No, I'm not kidding!
Unrefined olive & coconut oils, and shea butter, have a natural sun protection equivalent to about SPF 4-6. That means if you are super pale and can't stay out more than 15 min w/o burning, extra virgin olive oil will give you an hour. For most folks, most of the year, olive oil will get you 2-4hrs protection all by itself.
I've tried it. It works. With no chemicals, and the added bonus of being a wonderful moisturizer! Affordable, too. (esp. compared to commercial natural sunscreens)
Caveat: do read my experience with using it over the course of a day in FL here. I've found that re-applying will only get additional sun protection if preceeded by a good long session in the shade first.
(No, it's not greasy - just use a little, and it rubs right in.)
(No, it doesn't fry you. Chances are, the "oil" you remember your friends coating themselves with in the 70s was "baby oil" (mineral oil, a petroleum product), which, according to one site (which I have NOT substantiated), dissolves the skin's natural oils, leaving you more exposed than if you had nothing at all!)
(We keep it in an old vitamin E oil container - holds an ounce or two - with a flip-top lid reclaimed from a lotion bottle. Perfect, and lovely, too, with the golden oil & black lid. Fits perfectly in my purse or glove box.)
Unrefined olive & coconut oils, and shea butter, have a natural sun protection equivalent to about SPF 4-6. That means if you are super pale and can't stay out more than 15 min w/o burning, extra virgin olive oil will give you an hour. For most folks, most of the year, olive oil will get you 2-4hrs protection all by itself.
I've tried it. It works. With no chemicals, and the added bonus of being a wonderful moisturizer! Affordable, too. (esp. compared to commercial natural sunscreens)
Caveat: do read my experience with using it over the course of a day in FL here. I've found that re-applying will only get additional sun protection if preceeded by a good long session in the shade first.
(No, it's not greasy - just use a little, and it rubs right in.)
(No, it doesn't fry you. Chances are, the "oil" you remember your friends coating themselves with in the 70s was "baby oil" (mineral oil, a petroleum product), which, according to one site (which I have NOT substantiated), dissolves the skin's natural oils, leaving you more exposed than if you had nothing at all!)
(We keep it in an old vitamin E oil container - holds an ounce or two - with a flip-top lid reclaimed from a lotion bottle. Perfect, and lovely, too, with the golden oil & black lid. Fits perfectly in my purse or glove box.)
- mood:
amused
AMDG
LYM, are you insane? How can you recommend one day to avoid sunscreen, and the very next to get daily sun? That's ridiculous!
Here's the thing. We need sun. We're biologically designed to be outside most of our lives, so it's not too surprising that it benefits us. Not just for vitamin D, but for eyesight, circadian rhythms, mental wellness, and who knows what else we haven't yet discovered. Our bodies haven't yet gotten the memo that we live indoor lives now.
But - we've migrated. My pale skin is made for Germany, not Georgia. I simply do not have enough melanin distributed throughout my skin to protect me from the sun at this latitude. I can't just go outside and hang out all day in a tunic.
Sunscreen seemed like a great solution - till we found out it doesn't do much of anything. It prevents the symptoms of damage w/o preventing the damage itself. Not to mention the chemicals that are layering onto our largest organ. So what next?
Here's the thing. We need sun. We're biologically designed to be outside most of our lives, so it's not too surprising that it benefits us. Not just for vitamin D, but for eyesight, circadian rhythms, mental wellness, and who knows what else we haven't yet discovered. Our bodies haven't yet gotten the memo that we live indoor lives now.But - we've migrated. My pale skin is made for Germany, not Georgia. I simply do not have enough melanin distributed throughout my skin to protect me from the sun at this latitude. I can't just go outside and hang out all day in a tunic.
Sunscreen seemed like a great solution - till we found out it doesn't do much of anything. It prevents the symptoms of damage w/o preventing the damage itself. Not to mention the chemicals that are layering onto our largest organ. So what next?
- mood:
sleepy
AMDG
Right now, I'm finding so much information that I can't figure out what to leave out and everything's getting too long! But you'll love this one!
I happened across The Skin Cancer Foundation's website. They have a stern warning that babies should always be kept out of the sun, and a section on common myths about sunscreen. Their first myth is ...
"Wearing sunscreen can cause vitamin D deficiency."
There's even a link to a page on this "controversy." There, they say that some physicians believe that "the simple solution to the deficiency is 5-10 minutes of unprotected UV exposure ... two or three times a week." They go on to state that most dermatologists and cancer groups "have argued strongly against this 'solution,' since all unprotected [sic] UV exposure contributes to cumulative skin damage[.]"
Sooooo, I called them. And I mentioned the reports coming out in USA Today, the New York Times, the AJC, all over the place, that we're in a epidemic of vitamin D deficiency, specifically b/c we use too much sunscreen, and that even babies are being found deficient in huge numbers. I asked if they were updating their website to reflect the latest recommendations: "Experts suggest at least 15 minutes of direct sun a day before slathering on sunscreen."
The guy answering the phone said, "We now recommend spending 10-15 minutes in the direct sun two or three times a week."
Great! "So, will you be updating your website to reflect that immediately?"
"I'll put in a report that you requested that."
"Most people encounter your important organization through your website. Shouldn't that be updated immediately?"
"I'll note that you requested that."
? Why not do it now? ?
I don't know, surely it has nothing to do with being funded by sunscreen manufacturers.
I did *not* used to be a skeptic. I didn't!
I happened across The Skin Cancer Foundation's website. They have a stern warning that babies should always be kept out of the sun, and a section on common myths about sunscreen. Their first myth is ...
"Wearing sunscreen can cause vitamin D deficiency."
There's even a link to a page on this "controversy." There, they say that some physicians believe that "the simple solution to the deficiency is 5-10 minutes of unprotected UV exposure ... two or three times a week." They go on to state that most dermatologists and cancer groups "have argued strongly against this 'solution,' since all unprotected [sic] UV exposure contributes to cumulative skin damage[.]"
Sooooo, I called them. And I mentioned the reports coming out in USA Today, the New York Times, the AJC, all over the place, that we're in a epidemic of vitamin D deficiency, specifically b/c we use too much sunscreen, and that even babies are being found deficient in huge numbers. I asked if they were updating their website to reflect the latest recommendations: "Experts suggest at least 15 minutes of direct sun a day before slathering on sunscreen."
The guy answering the phone said, "We now recommend spending 10-15 minutes in the direct sun two or three times a week."
Great! "So, will you be updating your website to reflect that immediately?"
"I'll put in a report that you requested that."
"Most people encounter your important organization through your website. Shouldn't that be updated immediately?"
"I'll note that you requested that."
? Why not do it now? ?
I don't know, surely it has nothing to do with being funded by sunscreen manufacturers.
I did *not* used to be a skeptic. I didn't!
- mood:
cynical
AMDG
What does sunscreen protect us from?
What does it definitely protect us from?
What's the cost?
Many people say, "Go to the beach, play golf, swim all day, but don't forget your sunscreen!"
But when we put that sunscreen on, are we really protecting ourselves from anything at all? Or just removing our natural warning system that we've exceeded our personal ability to process the good from the sun, and continuing to stay out with no protection at all, only the appearance of it?
Get the details here.
- Not melanoma
- Not basal-cell carcinoma
What does it definitely protect us from?
- Sunburn
- Wrinkles
What's the cost?
- Vitamin D deficiency
- Depressed immune function.
- Skin cancer. Old, UVB-only, sunscreens never protected us against 2 of the 3 skin cancer types, including the most deadly form. Scientists are hoping that newer UVA/UVB ("broad-spectrum") sunscreens do, but so far it's only a guess. Even if we're right, the most UVA-shielding ingredients are also the ones that break down in the sun, and there is no guarantee that even SPF 70 is protecting you against UVA - SPF only refers to UVB. (There is rising evidence that melanoma is caused by sun *deficiency*.)
- Risks from the chemicals and nanoparticle physical ingredients themselves.
Many people say, "Go to the beach, play golf, swim all day, but don't forget your sunscreen!"
But when we put that sunscreen on, are we really protecting ourselves from anything at all? Or just removing our natural warning system that we've exceeded our personal ability to process the good from the sun, and continuing to stay out with no protection at all, only the appearance of it?
Get the details here.
- mood:
blah
AMDG
Monday's USA Today tells of a 14 year old boy, a normal boy, whose bones were invisible on X-rays. They were so thin that they appeared clear - the doctor thought the machine was broken. More tests revealed serious vitamin D deficiency - and bones 50% less dense than they should be.
Rickets is a rising epidemic in the US & Canada, especially among darker skinned folks. Forty-two percent of US teens, & 40% of small children are D-deficient, which happens well before the rickets stage. We've known for a while that up to 90% of adults are deficient. Why? Sun phobia.
The body produces vitamin D upon exposure to the sun - but sunscreen prevents that. We are told by dermatologists and skin cancer experts & every makeup & lotion company that we need SPF products every single day of our lives, winter included. Sunscreens are mixed into everyday products from moisturizer to lipstick. Check out just one example: "Apply liberally on face, neck and other exposed areas every morning." Words like "dangerous" are nearly always attached to the word "sun." Some phrases from one of my favorite personal care companies: "It [reflects] dangerous UVA-UVB rays." "Whether it’s overcast, you’re in the car, just had a facial peel, walking the dog…you need a sunscreen!"
Rickets is a rising epidemic in the US & Canada, especially among darker skinned folks. Forty-two percent of US teens, & 40% of small children are D-deficient, which happens well before the rickets stage. We've known for a while that up to 90% of adults are deficient. Why? Sun phobia.
The body produces vitamin D upon exposure to the sun - but sunscreen prevents that. We are told by dermatologists and skin cancer experts & every makeup & lotion company that we need SPF products every single day of our lives, winter included. Sunscreens are mixed into everyday products from moisturizer to lipstick. Check out just one example: "Apply liberally on face, neck and other exposed areas every morning." Words like "dangerous" are nearly always attached to the word "sun." Some phrases from one of my favorite personal care companies: "It [reflects] dangerous UVA-UVB rays." "Whether it’s overcast, you’re in the car, just had a facial peel, walking the dog…you need a sunscreen!"
- mood:
quixotic
AMDG
Sunscreen doesn't prevent melanoma. A few years ago, that was an established fact.. Did you know that? I didn't. I asked my mother if she knew sunscreen doesn't prevent deadly skin cancer and she said, "No, of course it doesn't! But it prevents sunburn!"
If sunburn is the body's warning system that I've gotten more sun than my body can safely manage, then what happens when I remove that warning system, but continue to get the sun?
If sunburn is the body's warning system that I've gotten more sun than my body can safely manage, then what happens when I remove that warning system, but continue to get the sun?
- mood:
sympathetic
AMDG
I was stupid yesterday. I didn't pay enough attention to managing my sun exposure and boom, sunburn. Bad. The kind that (for me) hurts like heck & peels in a few days. (My baby didn't burn at all. My kids never do! I'm still trying to decide if it's their tiny % Italian genes or my decades of bad eating/sugar. They're all pale like me.) And dang it, I forgot to bring my aloe leaf with me, so all I had was ... my spray bottle of vinegar!
My grandmother used to put vinegar on my cousin when she laid out too long. So I got dh to spray it on the burn, then I rubbed Burt's Bee's Res-Q ointment on it (got some good herbs in there, and says it's for burns, too!). Did it again 4 hrs later.
This morning, the burn's half gone, & only the very worst corner of it still hurts - that only mildly so. And no, I don't smell like a pickle. :)
Here are a couple other folks on vinegar & sunburn:
- Cheap and Simple Sunburn Remedies That Really Work
- Someone else who found that vinegar really helped
- mood:
calm
AMDG
A few years ago, I heard about a study of Inuit (often called Eskimos) and their eyesight. It was observed that once compulsory education was introduced, there was an immediate, dramatic increase (from 2% to 50%) in myopia - nearsightedness. The same thing was observed in fishing villages in Hong Kong. Wait. Isn't it hereditary?I'm way blind. HUGE coke bottle glasses until they invented a way to make them thinner. I *hate* being myopic. I hate that w/o my glasses/contacts I can't read standard text unless it's, quite literally, 2 inches from my nose. I hate knowing that, in a disaster, I'd probably die as soon as my last pair of glasses/contacts wore out, b/c I'd get eaten by a saber-toothed tiger or something. I also don't believe for a second that God created over 50% of the population to have defective vision.
- mood:
curious
AMDG
Purpose
A collection of news that tells the truth about the world, in a world that holds News as an article of Faith, but rarely gets even half the picture.
Michaelangelo maria lactansThere are many kinds of success in life worth having. It's exceedingly interesting and attractive to be ...a President, or a ranchman, or the colonel of a fighting regiment, or kill grizzly bears and lions. But... a household of children... certainly makes all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison.
Theodore Roosevelt
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