Good Sunscreen, Bad Chemicals, and Natural Thyroid Healers:

Introduction (00:00 – 06:24)

First Segment: Trending Topics

Topic (06:24 – 25:01):Safe Fun in the Sun!

The weather is finallywarm and we’re all itching to get out of the office and into the beautiful sunshine. With this burst of spring comes the fear of sunburns, but most of us naturally turn to sunscreen for protection. However, just because you’ve shielded yourself from harmful UV-B rays, it doesn’t mean you’re completely protected! Janet and Emily talk about how much sun you should get unexposed, what various things like SPF mean, and what to look for on a sunscreen’s ingredients list!

First, understand that we need the sun!

You can build up your sun tolerance by going out unprotected early in the season for short, then increasing sun exposure, building up a tan. This is a natural way of protecting yourself. For the fairer skinned among us and for longer days in the sun, there are two types of sunscreen you can turn to: one safer, and the other with inherent dangers.

Physical sunblockworks by bouncing the sun’s rays off the skin, rather than being absorbed into the skin before working; chemical sunblockgets absorbed into the skin to filter out the UV rays. Absorption of these chemicals into the body can cause their own set of problems.

• Look for physical sunscreens that have zinc oxide or titanium oxide as the active ingredients – they’ll work to block out the sun as soon as they’re slathered on the skin. These minerals act as full-spectrum blocks without being absorbed into the skin.
• Look for these active ingredients in chemical sunscreens and avoid them (but also try and say their names ten times fast): avobenzone, oxybenzone, octocrylene, octisalate, homosalate, and octinoxate. Avobenzone, for instance, is a known hormone disruptor, and is in almost allfull-spectrum chemical sunscreens.

Other things you should know before hitting the beach:

• The fats that you eat wind up in the walls of the cells and interact with the sun. Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFAs) are unstable fats that react with heat and oxygen creating damaging and potentially cancer-causing compounds called lipid peroxides. Healthy fats are those naturally occurring in whole foods such as fish and avocado as well as stable, saturated fats such as ghee and coconut oil.
• Antioxidants can be depleted during the summer, so consume a lot of fruits, veggies, colourful spices, green and rooibos tea, and antioxidant supplements like vitamin C, vitamin E, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, and Trophic Selenium. These help us tolerate a longer time in the sun without burning – sunscreen from within!
• Emily loves Green Beaver lotion and spray. She uses the spray with her kids when needed (though she works to give them a gradual tan as their first line of defense), because it goes on easily and it’s non-whitening; she uses the lotion for beach days because it’s water-resistant and non-whitening.
• Janet uses Andalou Beauty Balm with SPF in the morning as a moisturizing sunscreen on her face to lessen sun damage…but otherwise uses sunscreen only on rare occasions –and then only safe, natural, mineral sunscreen.

Article referenced:Dr. Michael Eades, a bestselling author and researcher on health, nutrition, and exercise,says, “There’s no evidence that excess sun causes melanoma, but regular sun exposure and vitamin D can prevent it.” Read more about his work here: https://proteinpower.com/drmike/2010/06/25/heliophobe-madness/