Sunscreen & Vitamin D

Robert C. Scott, DC CCSP

As summer approaches we will once again be bombarded with news about the ill effects of sun exposure to our skin. We are lead to believe that sun exposure must be combated with sunscreen agents, and yet sunscreen may offer little protection to your skin from Melanoma, the deadliest of skin cancers. (Westerdahl J, Ingvar C, Masback A, et al, Int J Cancer. 2000;87:145-50)

Therefore it may seem wise to just avoid the sun all together. However, appropriate sunlight actually prevents cancer. An examination of 506 regions found a close inverse correlation between cancer mortality and levels of ultraviolet B light. The likeliest mechanism for a protective effect of sunlight is vitamin D, which is synthesized by the body in the presence of ultraviolet B. There are 13 malignancies that show this inverse correlation, mostly reproductive and digestive cancers. The strongest inverse correlation is with breast, colon, and ovarian cancer. Other cancers apparently affected by sunlight include tumors of the bladder, uterus, esophagus, rectum, and stomach. (Cancer March 2002; 94:1867-75)

New Research now shows that 600,000 new cases of breast and colon cancer could be prevented worldwide each year by simply by raising vitamin D blood levels. (Cedric F. Garland, Dr. P.H., Sharif B. Mohr, M.P.H., Edward D. Gorham, M.P.H., Ph.D., and Frank C. Garland, Ph.D., of the Division of Epidemiology at the UCSD Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and Moores UCSD Cancer Center; and William B. Grant, Ph.D., of the Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center, San Francisco). Clearly Vitamin D production is an important.

Sunscreen ingredients themselves have come under scrutiny because of their risk in promoting Cancer. A study in the April 2004 Journal of Chromatography found that there was significant penetration into the skin of all sunscreen agents they studied. Additionally, potentially harmful chemicals such as dioxybenzone and oxybenzone, found in some sunscreens, are some of the most powerful free radical generators known to man. Furthermore, authorities have suggested that whereas sunscreen may prevent sunburn, they may fail to actually protect against cancer because most sunscreens only screen out UVB, which makes vitamin D, not the UVA that causes most of the damage.

Visit the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep website, or (see table 1. below) for a list of sunscreen ingredients which are of concern.

Remember exposure to the sun allows your body to create an essential substance, Vitamin D. Research now shows that low blood levels of vitamin D are associated with hypertension, (Heartwire, March 2009), migraine headaches, (Medscape Medical News, July 2008), influenza, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, periodontal disease, epilepsy, osteoporosis, heart disease, and osteoarthritis. Low vitamin D levels are also associated with infertility (Journal Article, Hum Reprod, May 2007), PMS, fatigue, seasonal affective disorder, depression (Journal Article, J Midwifery Women’s Health, September 2008), and autoimmune conditions like MS, and Lupus (Journal Article, Curr Opin Rheumatol, September 2008), and rheumatoid arthritis. Vitamin D deficiencies are seen with Crohn’s disease, syndrome X, obesity, and poly cystic ovary disease. Vitamin D has been shown to improve survival in lung cancer patients, reduce falls in the elderly (Journal Article, J Am Geriatr Soc, February 2007), increase athletic performance, and increase cognitive performance in adults. Vitamin D should be a huge part of any protocol in the treatment of any kind of chronic pain, (Medscape Medical News, March 2009). Be careful with Vitamin D however; because it is fat soluble you should only take amounts above the RDA under the supervision of your physician.

So what’s in your beach bag? Few health recommendations have had as damaging an effect as the advice that you should never leave your house without sunscreen. As discussed earlier wearing sunscreen effectively blocks your body’s production of vitamin D, which happens naturally when your skin is exposed to sunlight. In fact, sunscreens reduce vitamin D production by as much as 97.5 to 99.9 percent. Instead of sunscreen limit your sun exposure to about an hour each day and try not to burn your skin when outdoors. Use your clothing to gradually expose your skin to sun during the spring and summer. Strengthen the oxidative capacity of your skin with a diet rich in antioxidants, like Acai, and omega 3-fish oils which have been shown to reduce cancer rates. Search for skin products which are absent of harmful chemicals for those which offer natural UV protection.

Enjoy the benefits of summer, sun exposure and healthy amounts of Vitamin D.
Table 1.

This table provided by www.mercola.com

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