Posted on April 28, 2006
Filed Under Health, Ideas, Science, Video Podcasts

I am learning that something I thought was certain is not only far from it, but may prove to be the opposite of what I thought! Jeez, I don't like this.

9:13 minutes; 54.7 MB
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About Today's Show

Do you find it strange that skin cancer rates have increased significantly since the introduction of sunscreens? There was a class action lawsuit filed recently against several sunscreen manufacturers. I used to "know" that sunscreen prevents skin cancer and have used it by the boat load, being an active person who loves the outdoors and a person with many relatives who have had cancer.

But apparently I have been living with a false sense of security, perpetuated I believe by the chemical sunscreen industry. In a nutshell, sunscreen can prevent sunburn. But it cannot block out much of the UVA that causes DNA damage and is the likely culprit for the more serious kind of skin cancer. Yet used enough, it can block the body's production of Vitamin D, which is helpful in preventing cancer! Chemical sunscreens also contain petroleum-based and other chemicals that may be cancer agents. I found one study that also showed these sunscreens increase the skin absorption of herbicides. Not a pretty picture for farm workers or serious gardeners.

I am in a bit of shock as I thought this was a "done deal." Using a physical sun block, also called inorganic, appears to be aok as it reflects the sun off the skin, as compared to chemical or organic sunscreen that absorbs the sun rays, producing this little chemical soup on/in your skin. Zinc oxide is my new plan.

If you used sunscreen and got skin cancer, you can join the lawsuit here.

Please read for yourself and let me know what you think:
Oxybenzone Skin Absorption
Sunscreens & Cancer - a lot of detail
WebMD: Too little sun cause cancer?
Sun Exposure May Help Fight Cancer

Theme music is Kaimoku: The Ukulele Experiment

Hawaiian words
Kahikole: early morning sun

Tags: cancer, sunscreen, aloha, hawaii, dog, vlog, video,video podcast,walk, beach, roxanne darling, lexi, kaimoku

Comments

8 Responses to “Beach Walk #67 – Sunscreen & Skin Cancer: Hmmm”

93mm on April 29th, 2006 7:53 am

rox...very informative piece. it's something that more people should know about...especially here in LA. like a lot of things people should really research something before believing what the pharmaceutical or medical industries tell us because they really only out to make $$$.

ziasun94 on May 1st, 2006 10:07 am

I started using the zinc oxide sunscreen last summer (Aubrey Organics), but it makes me look like a scary pastey white ghost. So, I have still been using the chemical sunblock if I need to go to a public event. If anyone finds a physical sunblock that looks somewhat normal, please post the brand!

Rox on May 4th, 2006 9:36 am

I've started using "Mexitan" from the local health food store. It claims SPF 30, yet casts only a very sheer translucency that I find very acceptable!

ziasun94 on May 14th, 2006 6:09 am

Thanks Rox, I will try that one next if I see it, discovered their website http://www.mexitanproducts.com/> I just found another zinc oxide sunscreen that I would recommend to readers - made by Badger Balm, SPF 15 for face & body. It just makes your skin look a little shiny, very good, and smells heavenly due to lots of essential oils.

Beach Walks with Rox - Video » Blog Archive » Beach Walk #217 - Give Change a Chance on September 27th, 2006 11:55 pm

[...] Quite a while back in Show #67 I learned that sunscreen may actually be contributing to more skin cancer, not less! This really took me by surprise, but I am a scientist at heart so I looked at the data and changed my ways. [...]

Lisa on August 12th, 2007 6:11 am

Wow...just learning more and more about this as I have photosensitivity. Thanks for being so informative and will be coming back again and again to your site.

Beach Walk 673 - Sunlight and Skin Cancer on August 5th, 2008 12:02 am

[...] increase in skin cancer actually correlates nicely with the increase in sunscreen! You can hear my watch my first treatise on this here, just keep in mind I shot and edited that myself, and it's a little long. The info is still good [...]

Laura on September 11th, 2008 12:56 am

This is a very informative post, i was searching in google for Skin Cancer and came across this post. My niece is suffering from Skin Cancer, information mention in this article will greatly help me in offering her some advice.