Who would think that sunscreen causes cancer? It has been only a fairly recent development, but it still could cause some serious shock and awe when everyone figures out that conventional sunscreen found in drugstores nationally could be a potential risk factor for skin cancer. Sunscreens are made to protect and help your body, so why are we finding out that sunscreen causes cancer? It could be simply widespread ignorance, or it could be that the FDA has kept this secret under wraps for at least a decade.

Sunscreen Causes Cancer?

Studies conducted indicate the dangers of certain chemical compounds within sunscreen could be causing a variety of skin damaging ailments, especially when reacting with the sun’s intensive heat. Though the FDA had supervised and funded the studies showing key ingredients related to vitamin A as carcinogenic, they knowingly prevented the information from being released to the public whatsoever – up until recently. The synthetic vitamin A compound found in many sunscreen brands contain retinol and retinyl palmitate, both found to react negatively in the sunlight, becoming toxic to the system. This isn’t to be confused with the health-enhancing vitamin A that is found in many foods – it is a purely synthetic and ultimately useless ingredient. When combined with the extensive use over time, this kind of sunscreen can lead to skin damage in its users.

These aren’t the only things to be worried about when applying your doctor-recommended photocarcinogen, though. Oxybenzone and other vague mystery chemicals are found amongst a wide variety of name brand sunscreens, with many of these having yet to be proven as safe to use at all. About 8 percent of all sunscreens have been quality tested by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) to be both safe and effective for the intended use, whereas the other 92 percent contain at least one (if not many more) of the ingredients designated as detrimental for human use, further adding to the worry if sunscreen causes cancer.

This means the public not only has been encouraged to buy something that is known to be detrimental for at least a decade, but is only left with a selection that is 8% safe. Not only that, but the sunscreens widely credited as preventative cures for skin cancer are also the root cause of a widespread vitamin D deficiency – a vitamin shown to slash flu risk and fight cancer. There has also been a connection made between vitamin D and weight loss. Vitamin D production is extremely limited when sunscreen is used to protect the body from natural sunlight.

So, now that there has been some research showing sunscreen causes cancer, the question remains: what will people do about it? On a larger scale, it must be demanded by enough people for the harmful ingredients to be omitted from sunscreens. Until then, tell the companies using these ingredients that you don’t want their toxic products. Spend your dollar on a safe sunscreen with safe ingredients.

Additional sources:

Environmental Working Group

Vitamin D is a well-known cancer preventative and overall health enhancer, but some researchers have even made a serious connection between vitamin D and weight loss. The University of Minnestoa study found that higher vitamin D levels coupled with a properly balanced diet helps people lose more weight than if simply utilizing a properly balanced diet. What this means is that one of many vitamin D benefits is the acceleration of fat loss, diet aside.

Vitamin D Benefits | Vitamin D and Weight Loss

The subjects were monitored for 11 weeks, and given 750 fewer calories than their estimated daily needs. They also had their fat distribution measured with DXA (bone densitometry) scans. On average, subjects had insufficient vitamin D levels, however, the authors found that baseline, or pre-diet, vitamin D levels ‘predicted weight loss in a linear relationship’. For every increase of 1 ng/mL in level of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol – the precursor form of vitamin D and an effective method to measuring vitamin D levels – participants lost nearly half of a pound (0.196 kg) more on their calorie-restricted diet.

Similarly, for each 1-ng/mL increase in the active form of vitamin D,1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, individuals lost about 0.25lbs (0.107 kg) more. In addition, higher baseline vitamin D levels (both the precursor and active forms) predicted greater loss of abdominal fat, lending even greater reason to take advantage of the relationship between vitamin D and weight loss.

An interesting part of the study is weight loss occurred particularly around the abdomen, a sweet spot every overweight individual wants to target. Could the vitamin D and weight loss connection focus on fat loss on the stomach area specifically? Of course it can, but first you need to build up a proper nutritional platform to work from. Vitamin D and other essential nutrients can help speed up the process of weight loss, ward off cancer, and other deadly diseases, but food can not be replaced. Ensure that you are eating the correct foods, and be careful about deceptive labeling.

“Our results suggest the possibility that adding Vitamin D to a reduced-calorie diet will lead to increased weight loss in individuals with low Vitamin D levels,” said Researcher Shalamar Sibley, M.D., who headed the study.

These findings are yet one additional indicator that vitamin D can be used to treat various conditions, as well as promote weight loss. The majority of the U.S. is deficient in vitamin D, leading to a multitude of health problems such as increased risk of contracting a cold or flu, and even depression. Some individuals don’t yet recognize the benefits of vitamin D, but sharing the knowledge on the vitamin D and weight loss connection could ignite a thirst for more knowledge.

Vitamin D is widely considered to be one of the most beneficial vitamins, though sadly many parents deprive their children of it by neglecting their need for the biggest source of the vitamin – the sun. The most recent study of children ages 4 through 7 suggests that much of it has to do with parents neglecting their child’s inherent (and very necessary) need to go outside and play.

Not Enough Vitamin D Gathered Outdoors

The study details that a massive 42 percent of all preschoolers are not being taken outside to play daily by either of their parents. Children that don’t go to daycare regularly in particular are at the highest risk of being bound to their homes. The report describes that there is “considerable room for improvement in parent-supervised outdoor play opportunities for preschool-aged children, which could have numerous benefits for young children’s health and development…in particular, efforts are needed to increase active outdoor play in children who are girls and nonwhite.”

Many thousands of modern families have a tough time adjusting to the nature of young children, being busy without end in some cases. That does not mean that it is irrelevant to try and push your children towards social and physical heights, the most important benefits of playing outside with others. Many children that are stay-at-home types without the structural benefits of daycare are likely on the verge of becoming another casualty of this generation of television.

Public schooling may also prove itself to be at some fault, especially those in urban sprawls. Many schools have been effectively desolating young students’ interests in outdoor activities by reducing the amount of recess and PE time by as much as an hour a week, in an effort to boost time spent in classrooms – all bracketed under the No Child Left Behind standard of quality.

A particularly good example of the descent of time spent outside in young school children comes from a survey taken in 1989 by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. The survey found that 96 percent of elementary schools had at least on recess during the day. A decade later, down to the 70th percentile. It is always the responsibility of the parent to decide what is best for their children, but NCLB and other like-minded organizations may believe they know what is best for all children.

Into late autumn and winter, it seems as though the moods and dispositions of many people darken. Along with the days becoming shorter and with darkness creeping in earlier, people seem more reserved and often depressed.

Reasons for this mood alteration are said to range from a lack of sunlight, to a psychological disposition similar to that of animals, where since food becomes scarce, their activity is diminished. There is absolutely a psychological effect on a person when the sun isn’t as prominent and when days last for a shorter amount of time.

Along with the psychological impact, a chemical effect also plays a role. During the winter months, the sun features less prominently, and thus your body is not able to naturally synthesize the essential vitamin D. Alongside with its massive list of health benefits, including cancer prevention, vitamin D has also been linked to alleviating stress, anxiety, and depression.

The obvious link seems to be that since you receive less sunlight in the latter months, you are receiving less vitamin D, and thus it affects the average person’s physical and mental health accordingly. Numerous reports highlight the necessity of vitamin D, and how being deficient in it can lead to all forms of physical and mental disorders.

In winter, the earth is angled further away from the sun, and so it is much more difficult to gain vitamin D from direct sunlight exposure. So how do you receive the necessary amount of vitamin D? One of the prominent methods for treating SAD includes various forms of artificial light therapy. Using light therapy lamps and tanning beds can help the body artificially produce the vitamin D it would otherwise make in direct sunlight.

Another method to increase vitamin D levels would be to purchase quality vitamin D supplements for any time of the year since some people can’t take direct sunlight, and it takes large amounts of direct sunlight exposure alone to optimize your levels of vitamin D. If it critical that you know how to boost your vitamin D intake if you want to avoid illness and disease.

Vitamin D is effective in treating colon cancer, finds another study on the subject. Previously it has been found that vitamin D is even better than pharmaceuticals. The vitamin slows the actions of a key carcinogenic protein that causes colon cancer.

Study Identifies Natural Colon Cancer Treatment

UPI reports:

Researchers at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, Spain, and colleagues say the protein, known as beta-catenin, is normally found in intestinal epithelial cells where cancer tumor transformation begins.

The protein is retained in the cell nucleus, where it facilitates the carcinogenic process, and this is the point the vitamin D receptor intervenes

“Our study has confirmed the pivotal role of the vitamin D receptor in controlling the anomalous signal that sparks off the growth and uncontrolled proliferation of colon cells which, in the final instance, ends up causing a tumor to emerge,” Hector Palmer, the coordinator of the study, says in a statement.

In light of these findings, chronic vitamin D deficiency represents a risk factor in the development of more aggressive colon tumors, Palmer says.

The study, published in the journal PLoS One, says patients in the initial stages of colon cancer, when the vitamin D receptor still has a substantial presence in the cells, could benefit from vitamin D3, but this would not be useful in the advanced stages when the presence of the vitamin D receptor is very much reduced.

For those who don’t know, there are actually foods out there that will help treat sunburn. This is awesome news since most sunscreens contain toxic ingredients and cause damage to the body. Next time your out soaking up the UV’s, try consuming some of these foods to protect your skin, and even for treating skin that has already been scorched.

Carrots

Plants, just like people, also need protection from the sun. The protecting-compounds found in plants also protect people if they are consumed. An example is carotenoids found in carrots and dark leafy greens. Eat some carrots or kale during your next beach vacation.

Watermelon

Another carotenoid is lycopene, a compound found in watermelons and tomatoes which is responsible for their red color. In one study, participants consumed 2 1/2 tablespoons of tomato paste or 1 2/3 cups of carrot juice daily for 10-12 weeks. After being exposed to UV light, the conductors of the study found that they had almost 50% less skin reddening than people who didn’t consume the tomato paste or carrot juice.

Cucumber

Cucumbers contain a skin-soothing vitamin called vitamin c. Try cutting a cucumber in half and topically rubbing it on burnt skin. Feel the pain subside as your skin takes in the vitamin c.

Although summer is slowly reaching it’s end, this information will prove to be valuable for every single summer to come. Try it, and let us know of your success.

Sources:

The Huffington Post

Over the past few years, researchers have come up with a mountain of evidence that vitamin D is extremely important to maintaining health and preventing and even treating a host of health problems. For example, studies have shown that too little vitamin D may trigger breast cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, brittle bones, heart attacks and more.

And now there’s breaking news that scientists have discovered two more extraordinary benefits to getting enough vitamin D through sun exposure and supplements. It turns out a lack of the remarkable vitamin could result in sports-related muscle injuries. What’s more, vitamin D may, in a sense, help “vacuum” out plaques in the brain associated with the dreaded, mind-robbing dementia known as Alzheimer’s disease.

A recent study just presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s (AOSSM) Annual Meeting now underway in San Diego has linked too little vitamin D in the body to an increased risk of muscle injuries in athletes. Specifically, the scientists studied National Football League (NFL) football players.

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/033042_vitamin_D_Alzheimers_disease.html#ixzz1iAwBG4HN

A new report issued by the consumer protection organization Environmental Working Group (EWG) reveals that many popular sunscreens contain ingredients known to spur the growth and spread of skin cancer cells, which defeats their stated purpose of preventing skin cancer.

Data indicates that the sun’s rays combine with certain sunscreen ingredients in the skin and damage skin cells, which can lead to lesions and tumors — and worst of all, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allegedly been aware of this critical information for the past ten years, but has done absolutely nothing to warn people about it.

According to a report by AOL News, about half of the sunscreens tested contained vitamin A ingredients and derivatives like retinol and retinyl palmitate, which FDA’s own studies have shown are photocarcinogenic, meaning they become toxic when exposed to sunlight. In fact, an older FDA report explains that sunscreens containing vitamin A ingredients cause tumors and lesions to develop and spread 21 percent faster than sunscreens that do not contain vitamin A ingredients.

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/032996_sunscreen_cancer_risk.html#ixzz1iAv1CmLb

During his short life, Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart suffered from many of the era’s common illnesses, including smallpox, typhoid fever, tonsillitis and upper respiratory tract infections.

What exactly it was that killed him in December 1791 at age 35, however, is still a matter of debate — with theories ranging from poisoning to renal disease.

Now, two researchers offer a new theory: vitamin D deficiency. In his high-latitude home in Austria, Mozart was probably running low on the sunshine vitamin for half the year. That deficiency may have put the musician at risk for many of the illnesses he suffered from.

If only Mozart had known about vitamin D and had access to supplements, he could have doubled his lifetime’s output of work, mused William Grant, a retired NASA atmospheric physicist who has been following vitamin D research with great interest for the past decade. And, he argued, the same goes for several other famous musicians who died at young ages.

While some researchers remain skeptical, Grant thinks Mozart’s story holds a cautionary tale for modern musicians, who might want to consider getting outside for a practice session or two.

“Almost every disease has a vitamin D connection these days,” said Grant, who is not a doctor, but is affiliated with the Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center, a pro-vitamin D research and education association. “I think modern-day musicians are unaware of the fact that by staying indoors, they are not getting the adequate amount of vitamin D that they need.”

Mozart’s death has long been shrouded in mystery. The musician was buried three days after he died, said William Dawson, a retired orthopedic surgeon, and past president of the Performing Arts Medicine Association. And an autopsy was never performed on his body.

Testimonies and reports about the composer’s death were not reviewed until 30 years later. Even then, the documents were full of conflicting details. To complicate the situation even more, medical knowledge at the time — more than two centuries ago — was far behind what doctors know today. And since Mozart’s time, the definitions of many medical terms have changed.

“They didn’t know about vitamins,” Dawson said. “They didn’t know about bacteria. They didn’t know about blood pressure. Mozart’s physicians were as high quality as he could get. They just didn’t have the knowledge or technology to treat him.”

Dawson reviewed 81 references in the literature that addressed the question of what actually happened to Mozart at the end of his life. In a paper published last year in the journal Medical Problems of Performing Artists, he chronicled and organized those theories.

Many of the papers he looked at sited chronic kidney disease as the cause of lots of Mozart’s problems, including his many secondary infections, like strep throat and pink eye. Those explanations are convincing enough, Dawson said, though he has his own pet theory for what ultimately killed the composer.

“They bled Mozart a lot as one of the treatments for his disease,” he said. “I think they bled him too much and he died of acute blood loss.”

Grant has a different point of view. He read Dawson’s paper with a close eye on the time of year that Mozart tended to get sick. From 1762 to 1783, he wrote in a letter that was just published in the journal Medical Problems of Performing Artists, most of Mozart’s infections occurred between mid-October and mid-May.

That’s the time of year when people in places as far north as Austria simply can’t make enough vitamin D from sun exposure. Plenty of studies in recent years have linked adequate vitamin D levels with lower risks for influenza, pneumonia, cardiovascular disease, cancers, autoimmune diseases and more.

The current recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 600 IU for most people, but some experts now advocate taking as much as 4,000 IU, which is currently the recommended upper limit for the vitamin (something no one should do without talking to their doctor first).

Grant pointed to two other famous musicians with similar stories. British cellist Jacqueline Mary du Pré, for one, died in 1987 at age 42 from multiple sclerosis. And Austrian composer Gustav Mahler died in 1911 of bacterial endocarditis. Evidence now suggests that vitamin D can protect against both diseases.

There’s no way to prove or disprove Grant’s theory, Dawson said, but he urged some caution.

“I am tempted to say that this is an idea that has its adherents, and it’s out there in the literature,” Dawson said. “Whether people choose to believe it is up to the individual reader.”

Vitamin D has finally become accepted by the mainstream medical community to be a powerful nutrient that is necessary for proper health function. Vitamin D has been found to slash the risk of multiple cancer types (including skin cancer), aid in fat loss, and even prevent diabetes. Why then, is the population so horribly deficient in vitamin D that we are seeing a resurgence of the rickets? Here are 3 reasons why even informed individuals may be severely deficient in vitamin D this summer:

Reason #1: You wash the exposed areas with soap within 48 hours after exposure

It takes the body up to 48 hours to fully absorb the majority of vitamin D from the surface of your skin into your bloodstream. Washing your entire body with soap can reduce absorption rates, and lead to a lack of vitamin D within the body. The key here is to not wash the entire body with soap, but only vital areas such as under the arms and groin. The rest of the body can be cleaned with water which will not affect vitamin D asbortion.

Reason #2: You’re lathering on the sunscreen

Vitamin D production is extremely limited when sunscreen is used to protect the body from natural sunlight. One report found that prolonged use of sunscreen can lead to vitamin D deficiency, due to a lack of production and absorption. In addition, those who did not use sunscreen and frequently tanned had higher bone density.

Reason #3: Vitamin D cannot penetrate glass

For those who enjoy sunbathing in a glass patio, or soak up the sun through a closed glass window, it may be time to head outdoors. Vitamin D cannot pass through glass, contrary to popular belief.

Other facts about vitamin D:

• Vitamin D is produced by your skin in response to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight.

• Sunscreens block your body’s ability to create vitamin D. Even the lower SPF sunscreens, such as SPF 8, hamper your body’s ability to generate vitamin D by 95%.

• It would require ten tall glasses of vitamin D fortified milk to reach the minimum daily levels of vitamin D into your system.

• Vitamin D3 can be purchased in supplement form, and is vastly superior to vitamin D2, which your body has trouble breaking down and absorbing.

• Most of us are deficient in vitamin D.

• Many reputable health experts recommend taking around 5,000 IU vitamin D per day, but this amount varies. The only accurate way to gauge how much you should be taking is to get a blood test.