Dance Rants: Sunscreen - Life Fitness Academy

With the encouragement of the media, sunscreen use is a common, everyday occurrence. According to most people, if you don?t wear it, you are destined to get skin cancer. I wonder why so many people still get skin cancer when sunscreen is so prevalent. I also wonder what people have been doing for hundreds of years working outside much longer hours than we do now, and not shriveling up. They certainly weren?t wearing SPF 95.

The first problem with most sunscreens is that they only protect against UVB rays. UVB are the ones that turn skin red, but UVA rays go much deeper and cause premature aging, sagging skin and wrinkling. Sunscreens do nothing about those. There are no visual cues like red skin to let you know the damage that has been caused by UVA rays with or without sunscreen. Furthermore, the UVB rays are from what your body synthesizes vitamin D. You can acquire all the vitamin D you need from the sun. Vitamin D regulates the body?s concentration of calcium and phosphorous, which is related to bone health. Vitamin D is as essential as vitamin C to the immune system and has been used to treat cancer. It decreases the risk for diseases like multiple sclerosis, diabetes, hypertension and certain cancers. Vitamin D is most easily used in the form of D3, which is what comes from the sun. People that apply sunscreen everyday can actually become vitamin D deficient. Truthfully, most people get it in food too, so they may not experience deficiency symptoms other than being tired, cranky and more susceptible to other illnesses.

Toxic chemicals used to create sunscreen are the next problem. Your skin is your largest organ and absorbs a lot more than you?d think. Think about medications or supplements that are patches worn on the skin. Some sources say that medication absorbed through the skin are up to 95% more effective than those taken orally. This is because chemicals bypass the digestive system and are delivered directly into the blood stream. Many of the chemicals used are known carcinogens and hormone disrupters. This means they cause free radicals (damage on a cellular level: cancer-causing) and some have estrogenic actions that may interfere with reproductive development. Many sunscreens use a form of vitamin A thought to help with anti-aging, but studies show in the presence of sunlight, it can actually cause cancer. It is usually in the form of retinyl palmitate. The main hormone disruptor is oxybenzone. Quite a few other toxic chemicals are present in most sunscreens. Dr Josh Axe lists these other chemicals as toxic in addition: Octinoxate, padimate O, octisilate, avobenzone, octocrylene, homosalate, ensulizole, methyl antrhanilate, methoryl SX, sulisobenzone, and cinoxate.

As of December 2012 the FDA will no longer allow sunscreen companies to label their product with claims of ?water-proof,? ?sweat-proof? and ?sunblock.? This was supposed to happen in May, but the FDA granted them an additional six months to comply (conveniently after sunscreen season). This is the first major attempt to regulate sunscreen in about thirty-five years.

Of course the best thing to do would be to stay outside only as long as you can without burning, sans sunscreen, while getting your vitamin D for the day. Unfortunately that is not always possible. When you?re going to be out there for an extended period of time, get a good sunscreen. For light exposure you can start with something like coconut oil which is excellent for your skin and a much better alternative to commercial sunscreens. Being that coconut oil has an SPF of 2-4, it does offer some protection and will only give health to your body. For stronger protection when you must have it, there are a couple things to consider. Zinc Oxide is the only FDA approved sunscreen for children under six months of age. It leaves a white residue on skin, so some companies are altering it, using smaller particles called nano zinc oxide, which is a no-no, too. Titanium oxide appears to be an alternative that is somewhat safer than what is used in most sunscreens. There are actually quite a few sunscreens that are of a higher quality. Here at Life Fitness Academy, I?ve seen Aubrey?s organic sunscreen floating around and from some research I?ve done recently, it seems a brand called Kabana is an excellent one. The EWG (environmental working group) has a wonderful website that explains in further detail many chemicals, effects and best brands of sunscreen.

Again, as always, your best bet is going without manufactured products being put on your skin!

By: Ashley Dance

Related posts:

1. Dance Rants: Coconut Oil And Saturated Fat
2. Dance Rants: Coconut Water
3. Dance Rants: Calorie Counting Insanity

sweet caroline lottery winning numbers pro bowl roster quirky chrissy teigen chia seeds embers