Did you know that there is no real proof that sunscreen can actually help to prevent most skin cancers? Yet we are told by most of the medical community to lather ourselves up in sunscreens that are made with all kinds of potentially toxic chemicals.
There are several studies showing that people who spend more time outdoors are actually at a lower risk of developing melanoma. For example, office workers are more likely to develop melanoma than construction workers. Rates of melanoma are also higher in Minnesota than they are in Arizona – a fact most people would not expect to hear. Evidence clearly indicates that people who spend more time in the sun without receiving a sunburn are less likely to develop melanoma than people who do their best to avoid natural sunlight.
A review led by Dr. Marianne Berwick from the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center analyzed data from all the top studies on skin cancer and sunscreen. In her conclusion, she stated, “There is no evidence that use of sunscreen at any age offers any real protection against malignant melanoma.” Even the FDA has admitted that sunscreen might not be very useful. In 2007, the FDA “tentatively concluded that the available evidence fails to show that sunscreen use alone helps [prevent] skin cancer”
Melanoma is the most common form of skin cancer in the U.S, and the number of melanomas has tripled in the last 35 years. Approximately 68,000 Americans are treated for melanoma annually, and another 48,000 people are treated for early forms of the disease.
The Environmental Working Group – a consumer watchdog organization – has reported that sunscreen may actually accelerate the development of cancer cells. Sunscreen also blocks UVB rays, which are the kind of rays your body needs to produce vitamin D. Vitamin D is an essential vitamin that 70% of our population is currently deficient in. Sunscreen effectively prevents your body from producing vitamin D, which has proven cancer-fighting properties. Sunscreen also prevents your body from making melanin, which is your natural defense mechanism against sunburns.
In 2006, several class-action lawsuits were filed against major sunscreen manufacturers alleging that they were making fraudulent claims about their products that were misleading, and exaggerating sunscreen’s protective abilities. Even with new FDA rules, manufacturers can still make these bogus claims – despite evidence that several common chemicals in sunscreen cause cancer.
Does that really sound like stuff you want to slather on your skin?
Sources:
