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Sunscreens - hazardous to your health?? Don’t sunscreen protect us from skin cancer? Well, many of us certainly hope so! However, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit group that investigates products and their safety, has released a report saying that 4 out of 5 sunscreens they tested (out of nearly 1000) don’t seem to protect consumers properly and many of them in fact contain toxic chemicals.
Another thing you want to watch out for is that if the sunscreen is protecting you properly from the UVA and UVB rays, it will also reduce the amount of vitamin D that your body produces - in fact, by as much as 97-99%! Many today get sick and even die from vitamin D-deficiency-related diseases, including cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Many, many Americans are now deficient in vitamin D, thanks in no part to following the admonitions to never go out in the sun in the middle of the day without sunscreen!
Did you know that in the tropics, where sunshine is abundant, there are far fewer cases of skin cancer? Did you know that over 2 million people in the USA are diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancers each year in the USA, and that this is a 300+% increase since 1994? This may be in part because of all the sunscreen we are using, and well as the type of sunscreen.
Getting a sunburn on the other hand, is not only painful but most certainly can damage your skin. So, first we recommend slowly working your way up to getting 20-30 minutes of sun on your unprotected skin each day you can in the summer without sunscreen so your body can make Vitamin D (and you need to do this in the middle of the day when the sun is at its strongest, in order to make adequate vitamin D). After that, however, if you have fair skin, you will need to protect yourself from the sun. This can be done with a physical barrier, like an umbrella, lightweight long sleeved clothes and a wide-brimmed hat. It can also be done safely with some suncreens, but according to the EWG, not very many. You want to look for a sunscreen that uses only natural, non-toxic ingredients that protect you from both UVA and UVB rays, like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. But even with these ingredients, watch out, they are often found in nano forms, which have not yet been proven to be safe. One brand we do recommend that comes out #1 on the EWG’s list is Loving Naturals Organic SPF 30 Sunscreen Zinc Oxide UVA/UVB. You can find this product on Amazon with free shipping if you get the 4 oz size:
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