Living in Vermont, science and nature writer Rowan Jacobsen noticed the effects the seasons had on him. Summers were gorgeous, but the grey winters were brutal and left him lagging.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt as if my cells didn\u2019t work,\u201d he writes in his new book, \u201cIn Defense of Sunlight, The Surprising Science of Sun Exposure\u201d (Scribner).<\/p>\n
But, during sunnier times, when he got some early morning rays, he writes \u201cIt was as if some nutrient was pouring from the sky.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his new book, \u201cIn Defense of Sunlight, The Surprising Science of Sun Exposure,\u201d Rowan Jacobsen offers up a counter narrative to skin-cancer fears and SPF-100 sunscreen. Scribner<\/p>\n
While the sun and its UV rays have been vilified in recent decades, Jacobsen offers up a counter narrative.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe science consistently showed that people who received ample amounts of sun exposure lived longer, healthier lives than people who didn\u2019t,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n
He said his \u201cwake-up call\u201d came after reading a \u201cparadigm-shifting\u201d 2018 report in The Journal of Cell Science.<\/p>\n
Chinese neurology researchers found that those who had sun exposure were healthier and lived longer, even when they suffered from diabetes or heart attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike most people, I\u2019d had it drilled into me \u2026that the sun was bad news, the primary cause of skin cancer\u201d and that the only acceptable sunlight on unprotected skin was \u201czero,\u201d Jacobsen writes. <\/p>\n
He notes that the suncare business is booming, worth an estimated $15 billion, largely thanks to heavily promoting protection against sunburn and possibly skin cancer. But skin cancer rates haven\u2019t gone down as sunscreen sales have risen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe science consistently showed that people who received ample amounts of sun exposure lived longer, healthier lives than people who didn\u2019t,\u201d Jacobsen writes. eliyashevskiy \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
\u201cThe European Journal of Dermatology published a meta-analysis of the 29 studies of sunscreen use and skin cancer that had been done since the 1970s,\u201d he writes. \u201cAll of them showed a higher risk of skin cancer among the sunscreen users.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 1979, intense lobbying by the industry convinced the Food and Drug Administration to allow cosmetics companies to claim that the use of sunscreen might help reduce the risk of skin cancer. Sales skyrocketed, but so have skin cancer rates.<\/p>\n
Jacobsen believes that safe exposure to the sun\u2019s rays can actually lower blood pressure, and build a healthier immune system. Meanwhile, he writes that some sunscreen products contain a high concentration of potentially harmful chemicals.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2008, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) published a study showing that 97% of Americans were contaminated with oxybenzone, the most common and concerning of the sunscreen chemicals. It turns out oxybenzone and other related chemical filters penetrate the skin,\u201d writes Jacobsen.<\/p>\n
Jacobsen asserts that \u201cSPF transformed [some sunscreens] that had all the gravitas of surfboard wax into an anchor of wellness with endless options in strength, formulation and price.\u201d sosiukin \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
He also asserts that many suncare product contain phthalates and PFAS, \u201ctwo extremely worrisome classes of chemicals that easily migrate into the body.\u201d Phthalates have been connected to neurological disorders, reproductive abnormalities, and metabolic dysfunction.<\/p>\n
Some four decades ago, the FDA introduced the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) system, which measures how much a sunscreen product can protect skin from ultraviolet rays \u2014 the sun\u2019s burning rays. Sales of skin care products using the system soared.<\/p>\n
But Jacobsen asserts that \u201cSPF transformed a [sunscreen] that had all the gravitas of surfboard wax into an anchor of wellness with endless options in strength, formulation and price.\u201d<\/p>\n
He cites a study in 2014 by a team of dermatologists at Harvard Medical School that showed that the sun had profound mood-boosting powers.<\/p>\n
It found that when exposed to the sun, skin cells produce a large molecule called proopiomelanocortin (POMC) that splits into three compounds. <\/p>\n
One compound is responsible for triggering melanin, the pigment that protects from burning and tans skin. The second compound produces cortisol, which makes cells fire faster, making you feel more alert, more focused and able to burn more energy. The third compound <\/strong>infuses the brain with natural opioids \u2014 producing a \u201cstate of bliss similar to the effects of opium or morphine,\u201d writes Jacobsen.<\/p>\n Another questionable development in the booming skincare business, notes the author, was the aggressive marketing of Vitamin D supplements that were promoted as the new \u201cwonder drug,\u201d promising to increase the level of D in people who it was claimed weren\u2019t getting it from the sun.<\/p>\n \u201cYou should make sure to get at least a few minutes per day of sun exposure,\u201d the author said. mary_markevich \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n The supplement industry \u201cquickly cranked out D pills by the billions,\u201d writes the author. Even cancer foundations got in to promoting it.<\/p>\n Sales soared, but, in 2022, the New England Journal of Medicine reported in 2022 that Vitamin D supplements provided \u201czero benefits for any condition.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Jacobsen told The Post, \u201cVitamin D remains one of the most prescribed supplements in the world, even though it has been shown not to improve any health condition in those who have adequate levels of D already\u2026It\u2019s not a functional replacement for sun exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n He advises that the best medicine is \u201cright outside the door\u201d \u2013 the sun itself.<\/p>\n \u201cYou should make sure to get at least a few minutes per day of sun exposure,\u201d he said. \u201cThose with darker skin should get a bit more, as should those living in darker places, or darker times of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n He doesn\u2019t advise ditching sunscreen altogether, but advocated wearing it only when needed and avoiding anything higher than 30 SPF. Don\u2019t get burned and use common sense, but also don\u2019t stay inside all the time or constantly cover up. <\/p>\n He said, \u201cGet sun. Not too much. Go outside.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Living in Vermont, science and nature writer Rowan Jacobsen noticed the effects the seasons had on him. Summers…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":882217,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[11],"tags":[1022,210,32681,32114,36807,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-882216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-books","tag-health","tag-postscript","tag-skin-cancer","tag-sunscreen","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116786847259206223","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=882216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/882217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}