June 2012 - Page 2

Is Any Type of Tanning Safe?

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It is important to note that I do not condone tanning. However, in light of the tanning-bed mamma and California’s obsession with tanned bodies, I wanted to learn how each method of tanning impacts our health, and which, if any, are better for our skin.

Why Do We Tan?

After some time in the sun, our bodies turn a shade darker (or more red), because we are exposing ourselves to Ultraviolet (UV) rays. We can’t actually see these waves, because they have a shorter wavelength than light, but they still penetrate the skin.

There are two types of UV rays that manage to get through the ozone layer: UVA rays and UV B rays. UVB rays result in sunburning and the reddening of the epidermis, which is the outermost layer of the skin. UVA rays penetrate deeper layers of the skin and cause the body to tan.

UV Rays Can Cause Tan and Cancer

The problem is, these UV rays can damage the skin, suppress the immune system, and cause skin cancer. UVB rays are a known carcinogenic, while UVA rays were previously thought to only cause wrinkles and skin aging. Scientists are now finding, though, that UVA rays, which are far more abundant, are linked to skin cancer, too.

That beautiful tan the media markets to us is actually a result of damage done to the skin’s DNA: The skin darkens in order to protect itself and to prevent any additional skin damage, but this darkening is not sufficient protection.

Comparing Tanning Methods

Though some say sun exposure is necessary for your body to make Vitamin D, excessive sun exposure results in cumulative damage from UVA rays over time, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. The question is, do some tanning methods cause less damage to the skin than others?

Natural Sunlight

You will be bombarded by both UVA “tanning” rays and UVB “burning” rays when you are exposed to the sun, which means you will definitely be exposed to UVB rays, which are a known carcinogenic.

The majority of time in the sun you will be exposed to UVA rays, which make up 95% of the UV rays that warm your skin – not necessarily a good thing.

Tanning Beds

Tanning salons claim that their customers receive healthy doses of the sun’s rays, but the FDA found that newer, more powerful sunlamps emit 12 times as much UVA radiation as the sun.

Want to ask a Tanning Salon directly about the benefits? You may not find all the answers: The House Committee on Energy and Commerce found that most tanning salons made false claims regarding the health benefits of tanning and denied risks of tanning.

The Skin Cancer Foundation reports that tanning may even be an addictive behavior, which would explain the dire need to look like a leather belt.

The World Health Organization reported that the risk of being diagnosed with melanoma increases 75% if individuals use tanning beds before they are 30.

Spray Tanners

A number of consumers are now turning to sunless tanning options, like spray tanners, to get the sun-kissed skin without the sun. Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) is the active ingredient in many of these sprays and reacts with the amino acids in the outermost layer of the epidermis, which consists mostly of dead cells.

Duke University School of Medicine published research that stated there is no evidence that DHA is harmful to the body when applied to the body or consumed.

The same research determined that the DHA may react differently than expected when applied to your skin, resulting in discoloration, which could look ridiculous. They note the importance of prepping the skin prior to application of the spray tanner.

The University of Copenhagen found that tans that resulted from tanning sprays provided, at most, a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 3, which means you cannot rely on the tans to shield you from harmful rays.

Not all studies bode well for sunless tanners: Researchers in Denmark and Poland state that DHA induces DNA damage, reduces cell replication, and results in above-average apoptosis, or cell death. Furthermore, scientists found damage to cultured skin cells that were incubated in concentrations of DHA that were lower than the concentrations of DHA in spray tanners.

Conclusions

There’s no guarantee that products are safe, nor can we be sure that UVA radiation is as healthful or harmful as various studies suggest. A number of tests must still be performed to verify safety (or harmfulness) of various tanning methods, since there are so many unknowns. In the meantime, while the jury is out, enjoy yourself on a sunny day – in the shade.

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Blame Coco Chanel

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It was she, after all, who stepped off a friend’s yacht in Cannes looking fabulous, free-spirited, and tan in a sea of the pale and repressed. It was she who designed freer, arm and leg-baring fashions, leading women to bob their tresses and dance with abandon down the aisle of jazz and liquor. Society, which had scorned a hint of bronze just a decade earlier, embraced it with increasing abandon.

Before Ms Chanel’s noteworthy disembarkation, tan skin was a sign of the lower class; of laboring in fields and living rough on the streets. Nobility, on the other hand, lived a life of leisure spent indoors. To tan was to toil and that was something the betters did not do. In fact, instead they pioneered the Michael Jackson trail of applying bleach to the skin, often using lead and arsenic-based face paint.

Yes, these women suffered premature death, but they looked darn good in the process.

With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, which kept workers indoors more than out, a tan became the 20th century’s status symbol. Those who had the means for Mediterranean, island, and beach vacations were the bronzed beautiful jet set, once again distinguishable from the proletariat.

Enter Gidget and Moon Doggie, Frankie and Annette, Coppertone and Iodine-laced baby oil; by the fifties, we all aspired to a healthy, beautiful tan.

Now, a little sun is good for you, necessary actually. Without the Vitamin D the sun provides, we develop rickets and bone deformities. The first tanning beds, in fact, were a medical invention to counteract sunlight deprivation and vitamin D deficiency. Yet, on average, fifteen minutes a day, three days a week provides the Vitamin D we as humans need. We do not need to bake under the sun for hours and we especially do not need to lie in carcinogenic capsules of UV rays.

Rates of malignant melanoma have more than quadrupled in the past 30 years. It is the most common form of cancer among those aged 15-34. The World Health Organization has found that people who have been using tanning devices before age 30 are 75% more likely to develop melanoma.

We still tan. And it is killing us.

Educating the public, and particularly teenagers, about the dangers of tanning is a personal cause for me. My own father died of melanoma at 52. He only sunned himself on vacation, which was not often. He was a lifeguard in high school and during summers home from college. He never used a tanning bed. I got my olive complexion from him. Other than his pale blue-gray eyes, he did not fit the mold of a skin cancer susceptible being. He died all the same.

I see teenagers on the news tanning for prom, people still slathering themselves and lying like meat cooking in the sun, a baseball mitt brown mother taking her child to the tanning salon. With the exception of that last example, tanning is still a very accepted activity. Humans view themselves as immortal, until they don’t. Until they find a strange mole on their head or under their arm and the doctor estimates a year of life left, a year of surgeries and chemotherapy and radiation until his body gives up the fight. Until a wife and grown daughter are left bereft, and three beautiful grandchildren will never know their amazing grandfather. It’s got to stop. We are killing ourselves.

I, for one, am all for bringing pale skin back in fashion, hold the lead and arsenic please.

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Does Maca Powder Reduce Menopausal Symptoms?

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Every week it seems a new alternative treatment for menopausal symptoms hits the shelves. Recently, the hormonal benefits of Maca powder have been all the rage. Maca is an herb/root organically grown in the Andean Mountains of Peru. It is typically sold in a powdered form and commonly available in health food stores. Dense in nutrition, vitamins and minerals, Maca powder contains approximately 60% carbohydrates, 9% fiber, and 10% protein or higher.

According to Peruvian biologist Gloria Chacon de Popivici, Ph.D., Maca alkaloids act on the hypothalamus-pituitary axis and the adrenals. She has theorized that by activating these endocrine glands, Maca is able to increase energy, vitality and libido. In addition, she claims Maca improves memory and blood oxygenation.

A team of researchers at Victoria University in Australia conducted a double blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial and concluded that while Maca may reduce psychological symptoms, including anxiety and depression, and lower measures of sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women, these effects appear independent of estrogenic and androgenic activity.

According to their findings:

“No differences were seen in serum concentrations of estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and sex hormone-binding globulin between baseline, Maca treatment, and placebo (P > 0.05). The Greene Climacteric Scale revealed a significant reduction in scores in the areas of psychological symptoms, including the subscales for anxiety and depression and sexual dysfunction after Maca consumption compared with both baseline and placebo (P < 0.05). These findings did not correlate with androgenic or alpha-estrogenic activity present in the Maca as no physiologically significant activity was observed in yeast-based assays employing up to 4 mg/mL Maca extract (equivalent to 200 mg/mL Maca).”

Whether you believe claims that Maca can correct hormone imbalances, or you are simply looking for an all natural supplement that will address your menopausal symptoms, Maca is a nutritious super food that may bring some relief. I’ve begun adding a tablespoon to my morning green smoothies. It adds a nice flavor and has the added benefit of being a great emulsifier. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Searching the internet, however, there are reports of side-effects from Maca (here and here), especially at a high dosage (1500-3000 mg/day).  Before beginning any new supplement regime, consult your physician.

Sources:

Brooks NA, Wilcox G, Walker KZ, Ashton JF, Cox MB, Stojanovska L. Menopause. 2008 Nov-Dec;15(6):1157-62. “Beneficial effects of Lepidium meyenii (Maca) on psychological symptoms and measures of sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women are not related to estrogen or androgen content.” School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Victoria University, St. Albans, Victoria, Australia.

Carter, Ronald, M.D.”Clinical Effects of a Proprietary, Standardized, Concentrated, Organic Lepidium Peruvianum Formulation (Maca-GO®) as an Alternative to HRT”

 

 

Lucine Medical Disclaimer: All material on this website is provided for your information only and may not be construed as, nor should it be a substitute for, professional medical advice. To read more about our health policy, see Terms of Use.

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The Sun: Life Giving God or Cancerous Threat?

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“Our sun is dying. Mankind faces extinction. Seven years ago the Icarus project sent a mission to restart the sun but that mission was lost before it reached the star. Sixteen months ago, I, Robert Capa, and a crew of seven left earth frozen in a solar winter. Our payload a stellar bomb with a mass equivalent to Manhattan Island. Our purpose to create a star within a star.”

So begins the 2007, sci-fi movie Sunshine. If I told you that I actually spend time worrying about the plot of this movie and the fact that our sun will someday die, you would probably suggest I lay off the post-apocalyptic themed books and movies for awhile; but the fact remains – if the sun ceases to exist, so will life on earth. Why then has the sun been so demonized in the last few decades? I live in ‘America’s Finest City’ with it’s perfectly sunny, 70 degree weather year round; yet when I walk or do anything outside I see people covered in clothing, carrying an umbrella, slathering on sunscreen, and doing everything to avoid direct contact with our very life source.

Throughout history, every ancient culture has had various sun deities that welded the power to create and destroy. Why have we been conditioned to only fear the sun?
Keep Reading

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Eat your Sunscreen?

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As summer approaches (or feels like it is already here, as the case is where I live), sun protection is definitely something to plan for, though I do it differently than most. Conventional wisdom says to slather on some sunscreen and call it a day, but this is problematic for a couple of reasons. Wearing any sunscreen blocks the body’s ability to produce Vitamin D, which is vital for hundreds of reactions in the body (including cancer prevention).

Most sunscreens also contain toxic chemicals that can be more dangerous than moderate sun exposure. As I mentioned in a previous post:

Despite the push for more awareness about sun exposure, and the advice to use sunscreen whenever we go outside, incidence of skin cancer, especially melanoma, is rising dramatically.

So, if skin cancer rates are rising despite sunscreen use and reduced sun exposure, perhaps there is a deeper underlying cause. I’ve written before about the link between nutrition and sunburn, and I’m becoming even more convinced of this as more evidence emerges. The most convincing part for me personally was my own reaction to the sun over the last couple of years.

I’m Irish-Scottish (which is Latin for very fair skinned!) and have always burned. In fact, even moderate sun exposure would leave me with a pinkish glow rather than a tan… until the last couple of years.

Last summer, I was able to garden for 6-8 hours including during the heat of the day without burning. We also went to Florida for a friend’s wedding and I was at the beach for 4 hours between 11-3 with no sunscreen and I didn’t burn… at all!

To those of you blessed with olive skin, this may not seem like a big deal, but to me, this is huge! I also noticed looking back at pictures of me from last summer that I don’t look like the pale-stepchild among my Italian in-laws for the first time.

The Underlying Cause:

Doctors and sunscreen manufacturers are quick to push sunscreen for those who burn easily, but this is often the equivalent of giving antibiotics for every illness. It may address a short term problem, but it does nothing to address the underlying cause.

Sunburn is a type of inflammation, and diet has a tremendous impact on inflammation in the body. As such, addressing diet is often a much more important that just slathering on the sunscreen, plus dietary improvements can improve other areas of health as well.

Certainly, it is also wise to avoid burning by wearing protective clothing or by using homemade sunscreen for prolonged exposure, especially early in the year, but a good diet and a few supplements are often far more effective at day-to-day sun protection. (You can also use coconut oil on the skin for light protection, as it is naturally about an SPF 4)

Diet for Sun Protection:

A large part of natural sun protection is eating an anti-inflammatory diet. This type of diet will also be beneficial for many other health conditions, and if you’ve read my blog before, you know the drill:

Avoid:

  1. processed foods
  2. vegetable oils (this is the most important for sun exposure)
  3. grains
  4. sugars

Eat:

  1. lots of healthy saturated fats
  2. lots of foods rich in omega-3s (fish, etc)
  3. lots of leafy greens
  4. 2+ tablespoons of tomato paste daily

Supplements:

About this time of year, I also start taking a specific regimen of supplements that help reduce inflammation and improve sun tolerance. The supplements I take are:

  • Vitamin D3 (I take about 5,000 IU/day)- Emerging evidence shows that optimizing blood levels of Vitamin D can have a protective effect against sunburn and skin cancer
  • Vitamin C (I take about 2,000 mg/day)- A potent anti-inflammatory, and it is good for the immune system too.
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil melted in a cup of herbal tea per day- the Medium Chain Fatty Acids and saturated fat are easily utilized by the body for new skin formation and are protective against burning
  • Fermented Cod Liver Oil/High Vitamin Butter Oil Blend (also great for remineralizing teeth)-Probably the most important supplement for sun protection. I take double doses during the summer and the kids take it too. Since adding this and the coconut oil daily, none of us have burned. It’s also great for digestive and oral health. (Amazon finally has the capsules back in stock)
  • Astaxanthin– A highly potent antioxidant which research shows acts as an internal sunscreen. It’s also supposedly an anti-aging supplement. I don’t give this one to the kids though.

That’s our regimen and we don’t ever use conventional sunscreen and only use the homemade stuff a couple times a year.

Do you eat your sunscreen? Still use the toxic stuff? Avoid the sun completely? Tell us below!

About the Author: Wellness Mama is a full-time housewife with a background in nutrition, journalism and communications. Her passion is helping others achieve optimal health through a “Wellness Lifestyle.” She has helped hundreds of clients lose weight, increase athletic performance, improve fertility, and overcome numerous health problems and diseases.

Disclaimer:  This article was originally published on Wellness Mama and represents the opinions of Katie, the Wellness Mama.  All information and resources found on Wellness Mama are based on Katie’s opinion and are meant to motivate readers to make their own nutrition and health decisions after consulting with their health care provider. Katie is not a doctor, lawyer, or psychologist and she doesn’t play one on TV.  Readers should consult a doctor before making any health changes, especially any changes related to a specific diagnosis or condition. No information on this site should be relied upon to determine diet, make a medical diagnosis or determine a treatment for a medical condition.

Any statements or claims about the possible health benefits conferred by any foods or supplements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Lucine Medical Disclaimer: All material on this website is provided for your information only and may not be construed as, nor should it be a substitute for, professional medical advice. To read more about our health policy, see Terms of Use.

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Vitamin D3 and Sunscreen

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Summer swiftly approaches, evoking idyllic thoughts of sun, surf, and fun. When packing for your getaway, we usually hear, “Don’t forget the sunscreen.” Over the past couple decades the medical community has emphasized the imperative use of sunscreen to prevent us from developing skin cancer. The message clearly resonates with the general population. Consumers embrace the sunscreen market, buying products that tout exponentially increasing “sun protection factor”, or SPF, values. Annual sales of sun protection products soar over the multi-billion-dollar mark. Yet incidences of skin cancer are on the rise.

Are we doing more “harm than good” to our health by using sunscreen?  Ironically, heeding the “shun the sun” mantra has contributed to the global epidemic of vitamin D3 deficiency. Sunlight, ultraviolet B (UVB) rays, provides the most natural source of vitamin D3, a nutrient essential to our well-being: enhancing bone health and protecting against a wide variety of medical conditions including some types of cancer. When UVB light strikes the surface of our unprotected skin, initiation of vitamin D3 production occurs rapidly. Vitamin D experts believe direct sunlight exposure of about 20 minutes can make a healthy daily dose of 10,000 IU of vitamin D3.  Application of sunscreen reduces—or eliminates—vitamin D3 production, denying our body of a long list of health benefits.

A Danish study published in the British Journal of Dermatology examined the association between the thickness of sunscreen layers and vitamin D3 production after UVB exposure. The researchers measured vitamin D3 serum levels in 37 healthy, fair-skinned individuals before and after UVB exposure following an application of SPF 8 sunscreen. Thinner layers of sunscreen correlated directly to higher vitamin D3 serum levels after UVB exposure.  Conversely, the thickest application of sunscreen (2 mg/cm2)—recommended by the World Health Organization—negated vitamin D3 production. The results of the randomized clinical trial concluded that sunscreen use may lead to vitamin D3 deficiency.

Nature intends for us to enjoy the health benefits of some sun exposure, but sun safety is important because excess sunlight, UVA rays, can eventually lead to skin cancer. If we practice moderation by basking in the sun for about 20 minutes to make some vitamin D3,* and then seek shade, additional clothing, or other sun protection, we should get adequate sun without the harmful side effects. Before slathering on that sunscreen, think about the product chemicals that will be absorbed by your body. Do you really need these potential toxins? Only you can make the call.

*People with sarcoidosis, specific granulomatous diseases, and rare cancers may experience hypersensitivity to sunlight exposure.

Copyright ©2012 by Susan Rex Ryan

All rights reserved.

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Avoiding Melanoma and Other Skin Cancers

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I worship the sun. Perhaps it has to do with my astrological sign (Leo), or the fact I was born on a hot humid day in August, or, since I also love the humidity, perhaps it’s a carryover from having been a Southern Belle in a previous life? Whatever the reason I’m happy when the sun is out and I’m generally out when it’s out. Nevertheless, I’ve had to learn the hard way to change my relationship with the sun.

Lesson I: Sun Poisoning & Suntanning

My earliest memory of the sun’s potent effects was a on a trip to Acapulco when I was seven. I got so sunburned the first day of the vacation that I spent the remaining six days in bed, violently ill and in pain with sun poisoning. I could have been the Coppertone poster child except I was too sick to stand up.

The summer I was fifteen, my best friend and I went to the beach near our homes in Southern California every single day. We slathered ourselves with Johnson’s baby oil and tried to look busy reading our Kathleen E. Woodiwiss novels while lying on our beach towels, all the while hoping some handsome young studs would notice what bronzed goddesses we were.

The following two summers I was a life guard at our community pool. I burned my nose so many times the first summer that it became bulbous and my supervisor finally purchased a tube of zinc oxide cream for me and insisted I apply it religiously. This was before the days of SPF lotions, and was my introduction to protecting myself from the harmful effects of UV rays.

However, I still wasn’t fully on board with the idea of sun protection. It didn’t help that when I arrived to college on the east coast in late summer 1980, I was on just about every boy’s radar because of my deep tan and sun-bleached hair.

Lesson II: Basal Cell Carcinoma

The risk I was putting myself at didn’t truly begin to sink in until 1989 when my brother had a biopsy of a small polyp on the bridge of his nose and learned he had malignant basal cell carcinoma. Basal cell is a non-melanoma skin cancer that arises from small round cells found in the lower part of the epidermis. In order to remove all the malignant cells, his surgeon had to carve up his face like a Thanksgiving turkey leaving him permanently scarred and disfigured. Fortunately, the margins came back clear and he’s lived cancer-free ever since.

Shortly after the incident with my brother, I had my first child. I became a religious applier of sunscreen to my baby’s skin, if not always my own. As the years passed and I began to notice crow’s feet and sun spots taking their rightful places on my skin, I took more precautions. For me, it took vanity, not my brother’s skin cancer, to become a full-on sunscreen aficionado.

Lesson III: Dysplastic Nevi (Atypical Melanoma)

In 2007, my son, who’d been the primary benefactor of my brother’s misfortune, and who had always, like me, had a lot of moles, had one removed from the base of his thumb. The biopsy report indicated dysplastic nevi, a benign mole that resembles and may predict single or multiple melanomas. The higher the number of these moles someone has, the higher the risk of cancer. Those who have dysplastic nevi, plus a family history of melanoma (two or more close blood relatives with the disease) have an extremely high risk of developing melanoma. Individuals who have dysplastic nevi, but no family history of melanoma, still face a 7 to 27 times higher risk of developing melanoma compared to the general population.

My son returned to the dermatologist who dug out a large chunk of skin from my son’s hand. Yet, this brush with melanoma occurred during an inconvenient time. My son had recently been diagnosed with a brain malformation and was awaiting surgery. An atypical melanoma seemed the least of our worries.

Lesson IV: Acral Lentiginous  Melanoma

Fast forward three years to 2010. My 81-year old father, also a sun worshiper, took my stepmother to a dermatology appointment. At the end of the appointment, as he helped my step mom slip into her sweater, the dermatologist stopped him and said, “let me see your thumb there.” My dad told the doctor that the black vertical streak on the inside of the thumbnail had been there for a few years. Concerned, the doctor scheduled a biopsy. Sure enough, it came back positive for acral lentiginous  melanoma.

Lentigenous-type melanoma is the most commonly diagnosed melenoma in Asian and black populations, however, it is extremely rare among Caucasians. Bob Marley had acral lentiginous melanoma. Similar to my dad, Marley’s melanoma presented itself as a macule, or spot, on his big toenail. These spots can look like the type of black and blue spot you might get if you caught your fingers in a door, and frequently they are neglected. Bob Marley’s melanoma eventually metasticized and into the brain tumor that eventually took his life.

My dad was more, or less fortunate. He submitted to exploratory surgery, and since his melanoma was detected relatively early, the surgeon only needed to amputate half his thumb.

Lesson Learned

There’s an adage that a lesson will be repeated to you in various forms and at various turns until you learn it. Then you can go onto the next lesson. Even though acral lentiginous melanoma does not appear to be linked to sun exposure, rarely occurs in Caucasians, and the average age at diagnosis is between sixty and seventy years, and I was adopted so I have no reason to think I have a genetic predisposition, I finally learned my lesson. After these several wake up calls, I now understand that the risk at which my genes and my mistakes have placed me warrant monthly self-examination, regular professional skin exams and daily sun protection. No exceptions.

If you, like me, are thick skinned due to sun exposure and thick sculled due to a stubborn nature, and have yet to learn your lesson, then you may want to consider a few salient facts:

Here are some prevention tips that I follow:

What are your tips? What were your lessons? We’d like to hear from you.

 

Lucine Medical Disclaimer: All material on this website is provided for your information only and may not be construed as, nor should it be a substitute for, professional medical advice. To read more about our health policy, see Terms of Use.

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