If you’re uneasy about exposing yourself to the sun because you think it’s ‘bad’ for you, fear not.
Below, Dr Wright of Nutrition&Healing
eases all your fears as he dispels the common myths about sun exposure…
The sun isn’t as bad as you’ve been made to believe
According to Dr Wright, researchers have charted the incidence of skin cancer
from the 1920s to present.
“The graph shows that skin cancer
occurrence has steadily increased with every decade. Similarly, use of sun block was relatively low in the 1920s, but has steadily increased with every decade. In fact, the two lines on the graph rise in parallel,” says Dr Wright.
While this doesn’t show that sunscreen causes skin cancer, it shows the increased use of sunscreen hasn’t decreased the rate of skin cancer.
According to Dr Wright, a likely cause of this increased rate of skin cancer was shown by an animal experiment conducted at Baylor College of Medicine.
In the study, researchers regularly exposed two groups of rabbits to ultraviolet light. One group was given a ‘balanced diet’ but no vitamins, while the other group was given the same diet with added vitamins C, D and E.
After 24 weeks, none of the animals in the diet plus vitamins group developed skin cancer, while 24% of the animals in the diet-alone group developed the disease.
“A healthy diet
made up of organic and free-range foods along with the correct supplements (vitamins C, D and E) would do more to protect against skin cancer
than all the sunscreens presently in use,” says Dr Wright.
Be sure to add folate and vitamin A to this list, since both are quite insufficient in many diets. Both are known to help prevent skin and other cancers.
Should you avoid the sun completely?
According to Dr William Campbell Douglass of the Douglass Report
, “the best sun protection is common sense: Go inside, or into the shade, when you start to turn, or after 15 to 20 minutes and you’ll be just fine.”
You can buy the supplements mentioned above at your local health shop. Be sure to speak to your doctor so he can give you a suitable dose.