Sunscreen: healthy or hazardous to your skin?

I am a fair-skinned individual, and for that reason overexposure to the sun has always been a concern of mine. In an effort to prevent skin cancer and wrinkles, I've always slathered on the high SPF (50 or higher) before going out into the sun, and have been a big fan of the frequent re-apply.

In the transformation I've been making over the past 4 years into a healthy lifestyle, skin care has been a rather large piece of what I've transformed. I use organic soaps and lotions, I filter my water, I skin brush... Organic sunscreen is one switch I have not been able to make. It seems no matter which brand of organic sunscreen I try, I still burn. And they are expensive! I finally decided I had to switch back to traditional sunscreen, and have stuck to Neutrogena.

Last week on Mercola.com there was an article recycled about the dangers of traditional sunscreens, and Neutrogena is right up there as one of the worst offenders. Dr. Mercola has an organic sunscreen product that he believes in, but I am super skeptical after all of the organic brands I've tried that failed me. What did stand out was one of the comments at the end that diet improves your skins natural SPF and therefore resistance to sun damage; specifically, eating fresh spinach. When I visited the link provided in this comment, here's what I learned...

The following thirteen nutrients are currently known to increase your skin's sun protection factor (SPF) level:

Alpha-carotene
Beta-carotene*
Co-enzyme Q10*
Folate*
Glutathione*
Isoflavones
Lutein*
Lycopene
Omega 3 essential fatty acids*
Polyphenols*
Vitamin C*
Vitamin E*
Zeaxanthin*

The ten SPF enhancing nutrients with an asterisk (*) are all found in spinach. This makes spinach quite possibly the single most potent whole food nutrition source to reduce risk of ultra violet sun damage to skin and thus the risks of sunburn or various skin cancers.

I'm willing to experiment with this! I regularly include green smoothies in my diet now, but I can really beef up the spinach during the months where I'm likely to experience the most sun exposure. I'll include the organic sunscreen in my regimen again, and see how it goes. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, Friday, May 7th Denise and I are hosting our first Raw Food Pot Luck in Wakefield, MA from 6-8pm. Our special guest, Michelle, will be educating us on organic skin care, and I imagine will be the perfect person to ask about organic sunscreen. Everyone is welcome to come join us! Information is posted under Events on HumbabaWorld.com.

Augusta