Plan on hitting the beach next summer or going on a Caribbean vacation? If so, you may want to take whatever sunscreen you have and put it out with the next trash pickup! Researchers from the University of California have learned that sunscreen can create certain elements of risk for the body rather than preventing them. In one particular study, the result was that when sunscreen was absorbed into the skin, it actually promoted the hazardous compounds that it is supposed to protect against.

Octylmethoxycinnamate, benzophenone 3 and octocrylene are three commonly used ultraviolet filters found in sunscreen. The investigators learned that after their application, these filters will at some point soak into the deeper layers of the skin. The result is that the top skin layers are left vulnerable to damage from the sun. When the skin absorbs UV rays, harmful compounds called reactive oxygen species (ROS) can generate harmful compounds within it. Guess what this hazardous process can result in? Let’s start with skin cancer and premature aging. Those are two pretty devastating results to say the least. But wait that’s not all. The researchers also found that once the lower layers of the skin soak up the filters in the sunscreen, they then react with UV light to create even more damaging ROS. It’s similar to a domino effect.

It’s extremely shocking and disappointing to learn that based on this research, sunscreen filters, which are intended to protect the skin from the UV damage apparently, promote it.

Here are some grim but true statistics. In 2002, approximately 1.1 million cases, which are equal to about 50% of all cancer cases in the United States, were skin cancers. Nearly 10,000 of these cases were fatal. This leads to an increased concern or should I say fear among people about the sun. This fear is generated primarily through the advice given to people from doctors. Most doctors will try to poison your mind with thoughts that sunlight is dangerous and extremely harmful. All of the mumbo jumbo that they will try to force feed you will ultimately boil down to one statement “Sunlight causes cancer.”

But here’s what the typical doctor’s and “medical experts” tend to forget and or overlook. One variable that plays a much larger role than the sun in the development of skin cancers is the food that you eat everyday. That’s right folks; it goes right back the diet once again.

The role that a healthy diet plays in the prevention of disease is so important. But more than that, the attention that you pay to the foods in a diet even if it is healthy are equally as important. Here’s an example. Most people would say vegetables are healthy. However, nowadays, it is an unfortunate reality that many of the vegetables out there are processed and refined. When one consumes them after all of this processing, the result can be quite destructive to the body.

Today, Americans consume more than 70 pounds of vegetable fats per year on average. These vegetables are particularly very high in omega-6 fats. Corn oil, safflower, sunflower, sesame and other oils are virtually 100 percent omega-6 fats.

One of the key elements in obtaining any type cancer especially skin cancer is a disturbance in the omega 6:3 ratio which is what occurs with such a high intake of fatty oils.

I see my body as an investment and so should you. The better my decisions are with regard to my body or investment, the better my return will be. The more I make it habit to practice good eating habits, the longer my return will last. Now, to position our bodies to yield the healthiest return, we must not only be consuming additional omega-3 fats, we must also to reduce the omega-6 vegetable oils as much as possible. In a perfect world, the ratio should be 1:1. The disturbing truth is that most Americans have a 15:1 ratio. The Japanese have an average ratio of about 3:1 and congruent to that, they are the longest-lived culture on earth. How’s that for a return? Cancer Res 2000 Aug 1;60(15):4139-45:

Where am I going with all of this? If you want to prevent skin cancer, try changing what you put in your body rather than what you put on it. The omega 6:3 ratio is the key to preventing skin caner according to a review published by the National Academy of Sciences.

As far as the sun is concerned, not getting burned should be your main concern and to avoid burning either limit your time in the sun or use clothing as a method of prevention. But whatever you choose, don’t choose sunscreen. Not only will it not solve your problem, it could in fact multiply the negative effects that it is “supposed” to prevent.

Don’t believe the malarkey that sunlight is dangerous? Ignoring your omega 6:3 ratio is far more dangerous than sunlight.

Now, here’s the good stuff. A great source of omega-3 fatty acid can be found in high-quality fish oil, which can be found in any health food store. Also, when you can’t get the vitamin D that your body needs from natural sunlight, you can then switch from fish oil to cod liver oil as it contains sufficient levels of vitamin D.

 

Frank Mangano is a natural health expert and best selling author who teaches you how to dramatically improve your health naturally, without expensive and potentially dangerous prescription drugs. Here’s a special F-R-E-E 38 page report titled, “The Best Natural Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure, Reduce Your Waistline and Take Back Your Health:”