Sun Tan with No Sun Glasses

Get some sun, for Pete's sake.

Contrary to all the baloney put out by the sunscreen industry and far too many dermatologists who should know better, exposure to the sun each day builds health and well-being.

If you're an American or a Canadian, you're probably deficient in sunlight.

Try this: strip off as much clothing as modesty or surrounding allows and then walk or sun bathe for 10-15 minutes each day. Doing this in the early morning or late afternoon hours works just fine, especially if you are fair-skinned. Breathe deeply and feel the air and the rays of the sun as they touch your body.

Moderate sun bathing like this won't result in a bronze sun tan, but, hey, unless you're a movie star, you don't need that anyway.

Do not use sunscreen.

What? No sunscreen?

Correct.

If you're getting moderate sun exposure, you don't need sunscreen.

The American Cancer Society, of course, has a different view and says, "The best way to lower the risk of melanoma is to avoid too much exposure to the sun and other sources of UV light…. Avoid being outdoors in sunlight too long, especially in the middle of the day when UV light is most intense…."

William B. Grant, Ph.D., who heads the Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center (SUNARC) in San Francisco strongly disputes the ACS stance, however. He says, "This is not particularly good advice. There are several papers indicating that occupational exposure to sunlight reduces the risk of melanoma (Kennedy 2003). It is having fair skin, a high-fat, low fruit and vegetable diet, sunburning, etc., that are more linked to melanoma than total UV exposure."

Famed cancer researcher Dr. Ralph Moss discusses why moderate sun exposure builds health rather than destroying it in an excellent two-part article. Read Part One at

http://chetday.com/skincancersun.htm

and Part Two at

http://chetday.com/sunskincancer.htm

Almost everyone comes away from 10-15 minutes in the sun feeling a lot better.

And, no, tanning beds do not serve as healthy substitutes.

Batteries need electricity to recharge.

Our bodies need some sunlight each day to do the same thing.

Have a good weekend, and I'll see you again on Monday.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com