Are you that unfortunate individual who just a few years ago thought it might be a good idea to bake your skin in the sun so you could have rich glowing brown cocoa colored skin like all of the big movie stars?
Not so long ago (less than twenty years ago in fact) a deep rich sun tan was accepted far and wide as a status symbol. After all it was only the rich people in society who had the time to slather tanning oil all over their bodies and gleam in the sun.
Sometimes people did not even bake in the sun. They went to "health clubs" and baked their skin in tanning and sun beds in an attempt to look glamorous.
Today we know that this is nothing but a good way to get skin cancer. When it comes to sunbathing and lying in a tanning bed many of us now wish we had known then what we know now.
Wanting to have a tan has only been hip and trendy since the 1950s when boasting the "natural healthy look" first came into vogue. However before that people knew better. They stayed in the shade and carried umbrellas to protect them from the sun. That is because the fashion then was to keep the skin looking as lily white as possible.
Unfortunately our taste in fashion changed and it became desirable to have a bit more of a copper glow. The result has been more deaths than ever in history from skin cancer.
Here are some scary facts about skin cancer in our world today:
- Skin cancer is the most common of all human cancers
- All of the three different types of skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell cancer and melanoma) can be fatal if not checked in time.
- Basal cell and squamous cell cancer spread to other parts of the body quite quickly and are stealthy, steady silent killers
- There are over a million new cases of skin cancer diagnosed every year in the United States
- There are more cases than ever in the U.K. even though it is largely a cloudy place where the sun rarely shines
- According to the American Cancer Society statistics, there will be nearly 69,000 new cases of melanoma diagnosed in the USA in 2009, and melanoma will be responsible for perhaps 8650 of the 11,590 anticipated deaths from skin cancer in the year
- The main cause of skin cancer is the sun which is the main provider in our lives of harmful doses of ultraviolet light
- You are more prone to cancer if you have fair skin that is freckled or fair
- If you have had just one case of sunburn you are more prone to sunburn later in life
- If you have skin moles of any shape or color you are more likely to contract skin cancer
- Health conscious countries like Germany are now passing laws to prohibit young people from using sun beds - in Germany it is estimated over four million teens use them to get a tan.
You Can't Absorb Vitamin D Without Sitting in the Sun!
True or False?
Many of us sat in the sun all day because we were told by doctors, gym teachers and our moms that it was what we were supposed to do. It wasn't because these individuals wanted us to look glamorous. It was because sitting in the sun was the only way to get the Vitamin D we needed to build strong bones and teeth.
In "Handling Sun and Sunburn Naturally" I take a good hard look at the Vitamin D issue and answer such questions as:
- Do our bodies need vitamins every day?
- Is vitamin D stored in the body?
- Why vitamin D is often called the "forgotten vitamin."
- How do we get Vitamin D from the sun's rays?
- Is it possible to get too much Vitamin D?
- Can we get vitamin D from food instead of the sun?
- What is the relationship between vitamin D and having enough calcium in your body?
- Can a lack of Vitamin D cause depression?
- Can Vitamin D cure the "winter blues" also known as SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)
- ...and the answers too many more of your questions about the relationship between sunshine and the amount of Vitamin D in your body.
Learn How to Suntan Without Getting Cancer
Get Enough Vitamin D
It is obvious that you cannot get enough vitamin D without exposing yourself to some sunshine.
That is why in "Handling Sun and Sunburn Naturally" I tell you how, in plain, easy-to-understand, every day language how to defend yourself against sunburn in all kinds of different situations.
This includes advice about:
- How much you should cover up when you go outside
- How to keep your vitamin D levels at healthy levels
- How to understand when the rays from ultraviolet radiation are the most intense
- The first warning sign that should tell you that you are about to get a sunburn
- Why everybody reacts to the sun in a different way
- Why you absolutely must err on the side of caution even if you do not see the tell tale flush of a sunburn immediately
- What to do if you live in a very hot and sunny climate
- How to handle the sun if your job requires that you work outside all the time
- Why some people have more resistance to the sun than others
- How to tell from your eye color and skin coloring whether or not you are more vulnerable to burning
- How your ancestry and country of origin might affect how you react to the sun
- Why cold temperatures can be dangerous when it comes to feeling a potential sunburn coming on
- How snow can cause you to suffer extreme sunburn
- How pollution has made our exposure to harmful ultraviolet rays worse
- When it is a good idea to stay out of the sun
- How you can use an umbrella to protect your skin
- How cool sea breezes can prevent you from feeling a sunburn when you are sailing or doing water sports
- Why cyclists are in more danger than most people of getting a sunburn
- Why you can still get a dangerous burn even if you are sitting in the shade
- How to avoid getting a sunburn on your neck (a common occurrence for many people even if they are wearing a hat!)
- Why it is a good idea to wear sunglasses
- How being dehydrated from the heat can also make you more susceptible to sunburn
- Why building up your exposure to the sun gradually might offer protection from sunburn
- What antibiotics and over the counter drugs can make you more susceptible to the sun
- How eating a diet that is poor in nutrient and vitamins can affect your resistance to the sun
- How to use garlic to reduce you sun sensitivity
- How increasing your immune system can help you fight the adverse effects of the sun
- Where to find special clothing brands that manufacture garments that are specifically designed to protect you from the sun
- ...and other practical non-toxic prevention methods and solutions for avoiding sunburns and the terrible consequences of repeatedly "frying" your skin.
Do You Know What Toxic Stuff is In Your Sunscreen?
Sometimes the Cure is Worse Than the Disease
In "Handling the Sun and Sunburn Naturally" I also help you take a good hard look at a very important issue to do with tanning and U.V. exposure and that is the number of toxic chemicals that are in sun protectant products.
As you may know every commercially produced sun protection cream, spray, lotion or gel that you apply to your skin to protect against the sun has an SPF number attached to it. This is short for Sun Protection Factor.
This SPF number gives you some kind of indication of how much protection you can expect if you use it properly. I will help you investigate sun protection substances more closely including:
- How to tell the difference between a sunscreen and a sunblock solution
- What constitutes a true ultraviolet block as an ingredient in a sunscreen
- How to tell if a sun protectant is going to sit on your skin or be absorbed by it
- How a chemical ultraviolet block works on the skin and why some types of blocking agents are not healthy for you
- How to understand an SPF number
- Why SPF 12 is an important number to understand before you buy a product
- How to use the SPF number on a sun protectant product to calculate how many minutes you can safely stay in the sun
- How to recognize products that protect against both UVA and UVB light
- How to recognize products that contain toxic ingredients
- Why the titanium dioxide found in many sunblocks could be very dangerous for your health
- How recent research has shown that sunblocks and sunscreens might actually cause cancer instead of prevent it
- Where to find information online about various sun protectants
- Why you need to be suspicious of some "organic" sunblocks and sunscreens
- How to make an easy home made sunscreen of your own the contains no harmful chemicals
Get Over A Sunburn Fast Using Natural Healing Techniques
Sometimes no matter how careful we have been about practicing "sunshine safety" we manage to get burnt anyway. This is despite wearing a suitable shirt, staying out of natural sunlight, staying in the shade and doing all those other things.
The sun can be very powerful and some sunburns can be life threatening if they develop blisters, start weeping or if you start feeling dizzy and unwell.
I also let you know how to diagnose the severity of your sunburn and when it is time to visit the emergency room of your hospital. In this ebook I give you all kinds of advice and natural remedies for mild or minor sunburn.
There is no such thing as a healthy tan! There are serious long term consequences to allowing yourself to be sunburned. Sunburn can be a stealthy lethal killer. Each time you are sunburned cells are destroyed in the outer layer of the skin and tiny blood vessels are damaged. The elastic fibers beneath the skin are damaged leading to discoloration and aging. The damage to skin cells from UV exposure (either from sunlight or tanning lamps) can also include damage to their DNA. It's this repeated DNA damage, which can lead to a cell becoming cancerous.
With the incidences of skin cancer rising dangerously in many parts of the world, and with its ability to develop and establish itself in the body 'long' before external signs are detected it is crucial that we avoid it. Paying attention to exposure and sunburn is paramount if we are serious about preserving our health.
Sometimes to live a little you do need to get out in the sun! We can't avoid living our lives entirely! This is why I hope you will see "Handling the Sun and Sunburn" as being a kind of guide that can teach you how to avoid the negative effects of the sun. Don't let overexposure to the sun wreck your chances of enjoying a long full life.