UV Awareness

July has been recognized for national UV Awareness. For this reason I encourage you to revisit the following two posts.

http://yourhealtheducator.blogspot.com/2010/04/vitamin-d-sun-good-bad-extra.html

http://yourhealtheducator.blogspot.com/2009/06/suncsreen-vitamin-d-and-skin-cancer.html

I also bring this to your attention with renewed interest as one of my friends, and a loyal reader, recently saw a dermatologist who emphasized much of what was said in the above posts.

Ultraviolet radiation from the sun reaches us in both UVA and UVB rays. Though they do not penetrate the skin at the same intensity, they are both cancer causing and both can lead to premature or accelerated aging and they damage our eyes. When choosing a product for protection, whether its a lotion, lip balm, window or tee shirt, there are certain terms, numbers and chemicals that are considered necessary for adequate coverage.

For example:
The Skin Cancer Foundation suggests that we look for a "sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher, plus some combination of the following UVA-screening ingredients: stabilized a avobenzone, ecamsule (a.k.a. Mexoryl™), oxybenzone, titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide."

SPF is the term used to let you know how long the product will keep the skin protected from reddening. When your skin begins to redden you are putting yourself at risk for DNA damage which can effect aging acceleration and cancer incidence. My friend Melanie shared that her physician encouraged the use of sunblock over sunscreen. The Skin Cancer Foundation has recommendations for both. The SCF website can provide the information you need to choose a product and they have a good sized list of products that have their seal of approval.

I expect to spend some time with the lists and the many categories for choosing my skin protection and my glasses. I may even consider upgrading my hat. I want you to go to their website because they are they experts, not me.

OK - get on that - protect your skin now- you will be glad that you did!

Vitamin D - the sun - the good, the bad, the extra

Yesterday afternoon, my coworkers and I were taking a little stroll and along the way we discussed Vitamin D benefits, the sun and the risks to our health from sun exposure. I told them that I was very careful now to also cover my head to keep the sun from frying my hair and my scalp. We reminisced about putting lemon juice and oil treatments in our hair and I shared that I used to be excited about the red highlights that I would gain each summer. One of the women I work with who was not walking with us yesterday actually had a biopsy taken recently because of a suspicious area on the top of her head. The other day at the pool, she had on a visor NOT a hat - and she is one of the reasons I wear a hat. I have been keeping sunscreen on my face as well, since a wise, older running buddy pretty much besought me to do so – for wrinkle prevention! That got my attention the most. In the last year I can say that I have been paying more attention to other people’s habits and how they are aging – both internally or physically and externally – meaning their looks. I live in Florida so there are a lot of people to observe!

Smoking and sun exposure are clearly the biggest age accelerators with regard to skin. Inactivity is the greatest ager with regard to functional ability.

About a year ago, I blogged about sun exposure and that the FDA was looking at labeling changes for sun screens – I expect that the label rules will be finalized during this year, 2010. I believe that they will be as previously suggested – 50 SPF cap and removal of the phrases sun block and water proof.

The benefits of Vitamin D also remain constant in the literature. They are bone health, heart health, mood enhancement and reduced risk of some cancers. It is said that 15-30 minutes of sun exposure two to three times a week would generate the right amount of vitamin D for health. There is a raging debate within the field of dermatology however and very few will ever recommend that one gets Vitamin D from the sun.

The irony is this – my friends and I discussed this Monday and the WSJ had a feature piece on it Tuesday. In that article there is a good explanation of UVA and UVB rays. It is the UVA that DO accelerate aging by penetrating the skin and damaging the tissue enough to cause sagging – OM GOSH – and the UVB is more often the cause of skin cancer. Tanning booths, which I have been 100% in favor of banning since 2006 – have a lot of the UVA – want to tell those 20 something girls that they will look old before their time – they will likely be more worried, just as I am, about looking old than getting skin cancer.

There are many factors involved with regard to sun exposure – the individual complexion, the geographical location – etc. Burning is certainly the biggest concern for the DNA damage that precedes skin cancer, but to be clear – the browning of the skin is also a symptom of damage.

Finally, Vitamin D is available in supplement form and many people would benefit from taking it. Next time you are at the doctor’s office you might inquire about this.

The extra for you is this link to another article which lists some factors that seem to be the most serious risks for melanoma. Melanoma is the rarer skin cancer, but the lethal one. The dermatologist who is featured here is a professor at NYU.