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Protecting yourself from the sun and sunscreen
It is a nightmare buying sunscreen….particularly when you read the back of them. It is that time of the year again when everyone is getting ready for their summer holidays. It has been hard getting inexpensive sunscreen without chemicals and judging by the reports on chemical sun protection, you really don’t want to be using them. You need to apply sun protection regularly, several times a day when you are on holiday sunbathing. That means that you need to rub it into your skin constantly and leave it on your skin, where it is then absorbed into the bloodstream. The human body is built to be able to detoxify itself of biological compounds over thousands of years, but it does have difficulty in dextoxifying itself of harmful non biological chemicals such as the synthetic ones used in products today and these build up in our bodies, eventually wreaking havoc.
UVA and UVB blockers contain these chemicals and benzophenone is one of the most powerful free radical generators known and is used in industrial processes as a free radical generator to initiate chemical reactions. When applied in sunscreen, it is activated by ultraviolet light, produces free radicals which then react with other molecules damaging fats, proteins and DNA of the cells. This type of damage causes aging of the skin and also, much more importantly, cancer. UVA and UVB blockers contain these chemicals and benzophenone is one of the most powerful free radical generators known and is used in industrial processes as a free radical generator to initiate chemical reactions. When applied in sunscreen, it is activated by ultraviolet light, produces free radicals which then react with other molecules damaging fats, proteins and DNA of the cells. This type of damage causes aging of the skin and also, much more importantly, cancer.
Studies have shown that even though suncream has been heavily promoted and used, melanoma is still on the increase including fair skinned people who regularly use it. Many creams also contain a chemical called triethanolamine which is a compound that can cause the formation of cancer-causing nitrosamines by combining with nitrite used as preservative and not always disclosed on the sunscreen labels. As well as causing cancer, chemicals in suncreams can also have an estogenic effect. This means they mimic the effect of the female hormone within our bodies causing oestrogen dominance in females resulting in fibrocystic breasts, endometriosis, uterine cancer, erratic periods, increased PMS and more. In males it causes lower sperm count, testicular cancer, breast enlargement, feminization and other problems.
There are many natural chemical free products now and Green People make a good sunscreen. Natural sunscreens tend to have a lower SPF than the standard products that we are used to. Generally the higher the SPF, the more chemical blockers in the product. We need to protect ourselves. Why are we not making more effort? Because the “bad” products are more readily available in supermarket shelves and there are just not enough health shops on the high streets stocking pure and natural products. There needs to be a big shake up. All the evidence is there and no one is taking it seriously. Has vanity taken over completely? Supermarkets and manufacturers of beauty products, household chemicals and food need to get their act together. What about self tanners? Say no more. All you need to do is
New for 2008 May 28th 2008 Watch this space for lots of natural suncare products over the coming week which will be added daily including self tanning products that are natural, chemical free and just as good as their synthetic counterparts!!! To start with Dr Hauschka make a range of chemical free suncare products as well as a bronzing lotion to make your face glow without chemicals.
To read more about chemicals in sunscreen please click here
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Chemical suncreams contains such chemicals as Benzophenones, (dixoybenzone, oxybenzone), PABA and PABA esters (ethyl dihydroxy propyl PAB, glyceryl PABA, p-aminobenzoic acid, padimate-O or octyl dimethyl PABA), Cinnamates (cinoxate, ethylhexyl p-methoxycinnamate, octocrylene, octyl methoxycinnamate) Salicylates (ethylhexyl salicylate, homosalate, octyl salicylate) Digalloyl trioleate, Menthyl anthranilate
In fact in Northern Australia there has been a significant increase in cancers such as breast, uterine, colon and prostate and it is thought that this may be due to the heavy promotion of use of sun protection by medical groups and local governments. Melanoma is significantly higher in Queensland, Australia than anywhere else on earth. Some doctors are of the opinion that suncream causes more deaths from cancer than it actually prevents.
What can we use?
