Posts Tagged ‘benefits of vitamin d’

Sunblock Does Not Shield You from Skin Cancer

Friday, September 18th, 2009

With the many sunblock products that are available on the market right now – Coppertone, Hawaiian Tropic, Banana Boat, and the like – you probably think that using one is the best way to protect your skin from the sun. So, you use sunscreen with the highest Sun Protection Factor (SPF) to block out the harmful rays, believing that it can safeguard you against skin cancer.

Certain studies found, however, that sunblock does not shield you from a serious type of skin cancer, melanoma, which forms a malignant tumor of melanocytes in the skin. What the sunscreen lotion only does is reduce the risk of sunburn, but not prevent melanoma.

Most Sunscreens Only Increase Your Risk of Skin Cancer

Top nutrition expert, Dr. Joseph Mercola, supports these findings. He says that sunblock can actually make you more prone to skin cancer instead of guarding you against it. This happens because most commercial sunscreens are not very effective at blocking UVA, the rays of the sun that are responsible for causing skin cancer.

Instead, these sunscreen products are only good at filtering out the UVB , the beneficial rays from the sun that help our bodies produce vitamin D – a powerful nutrient that is best sourced from natural sunlight.

Applying Sunscreen Stops You from Getting Vitamin D

This is an unfortunate reality that will do our health more harm than good. According to recent evidence, Vitamin D is actually protective against many debilitating conditions, some of which include:

  • Certain types of cancers (breast, colon and ovarian)
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Blood pressure issues
  • High cholesterol levels
  • When we use sunscreens, therefore, we automatically prevent our body from taking advantage of the healthful benefits of Vitamin D , making us more at risk of suffering from many types of diseases.

    Sunscreen Does Not Prevent Sunburn, Going Natural Is Key

    The important thing that you should do is to correct your view on sunblock lotion. Do not think of it as a tool that will help you limit your sun exposure and prevent skin cancer.

    As a healthy alternative, Dr. Mercola recommends making use of natural methods only to prevent sunburn. Without the help of chemicals from sunscreens, you can guard your skin from too much sunlight when you:

  • Exercise caution when sun tanning. Limit your sunbathing time. Tan only for a few minutes a day, gradually increasing your time in the sun in the days ahead.
  • Cover your body with appropriate clothing to block the sun’s rays. Wear long sleeves, a pair of pants or caps.
  • Eating a lot of whole vegetables to increase your antioxidant levels that will defend you against any radiation damage from the sun.
  • But should you insist to use sunscreen when tanning, Dr. Mercola’s recent recommendation is to use a pure, high quality sunscreen that is rich in natural minerals. A good product that you can use is Natural Sunscreen, which will prevent you from getting sunburn.

    Natural Sunscreen is free from toxic chemicals, which are usually found in majority of sunscreens today. Here’s a list of these chemicals that you should beware of:

  • Dioxybenzone
  • Oxybenzone
  • Para amino benzoic acid
  • Octyl salicyclate
  • Avobenzone
  • Oxybenzone
  • Cinoxate
  • Padimate O
  • Dioxybenzone
  • Phenylbenzimidazole
  • Homosalate
  • Sulisobenzone
  • Menthyl anthranilate
  • Trolamine salicyclate
  • Octocrylene
  • Do you want to learn more on sunblock and other related topics? Keep on reading this site for tanning articles and tips.