It’s that time of year when we have to start thinking about what we are going to do to protect our skin from the (finally) hot sun.  Seeing as how our skin is our largest organ, it makes sense that we would want to consider what we put on it as carefully as we consider what we put in our mouths!  Unfortunately, there is as much bad marketing/information about sun screens as there is about our food supply.  The other factor to consider is that it is absolutely critical to our health that we get sufficient Vitamin D, which we can obtain from sun exposure.  So how do we protect our skin AND get enough sun exposure?  Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple has this to say about getting enough sun:

Take stock of your living situation. If the sun is available regularly where you live, go that route whenever possible. It’s free, it’s safe, it’s easy, and it’s enjoyable. Avoid burning, of course, and you’ll be safe. I find it inconceivable that the amount of sun exposure necessary to produce 10,000 IU of D3 (about 20-30 minutes of afternoon sun for light skinned folks; a few times that for dark skinned folks) will also kill you and give you skin cancer.

As with anything, though, ease into the sun. The pasty, mostly interior set will want to treat full sunbathing like learning to barefoot sprint after a lifetime of dress shoes – they’re coming from a position of weakness, of sheltered living. Five minutes of unfiltered rays can turn a freckled redhead lobster-pink, sore, and resigned to indoor living. Just be careful. Ease into things. Learn your limits, and throw on a shirt or find some shade before you burn.

Eating the right foods seems to confer greater natural skin protection against the sun, at least anecdotally. I’m not exactly the best case subject to determine this, as I’ve spent much of my life fairly tan with regular sun exposure, but you hear time and time again about folks who cut the grains, sugar, and industrial vegetable oils, replaced them with veggies, meat, and animal fats, and have never had any issues with the sun again. Nutritional deficiencies do have the tendency to potentiate existing problems or jumpstart/trigger health maladies, so I wouldn’t be surprised. Besides, we’re eating this way regardless. We might as well pick up a few additional theoretical health benefits along the way.

Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/vitamin-d-sun-exposure-supplementation-and-doses/#ixzz1v8hXLNAO

Once you feel you’ve had enough sun exposure, what then?  We can protect our skin by throwing on a hat and shirt, or we can apply a safe, effective sun screen.  The Environmental Working Group rates sun screens, and of the 800 they tested, only 25% actually met their standards.  Here’s part of what they have to say:

A quarter of this year’s products still contain vitamin A ingredients that accelerate the growth of skin tumors and lesions on sun-exposed skin, according to recent government studies. Also, 56 of the products we reviewed had no active ingredients that protect against the sun’s damaging UVA rays. And the industry continues to load store shelves with sunscreens that claim misleading, sky-high SPF ratings that may protect against sunburn-causing UVB rays but leave skin vulnerable to UVA.

Check here for their top-rated beach and sport sun screens, those that offer broad spectrum protection, but contain fewer hazardous chemicals.  And enjoy the sun

Check out this HealthWatch article, and watch the accompanying video.  CJ Hunt is currently making a  movie, called In Search of the Perfect Human Diet…here is the theatrical trailer:

Pay particular attention to the final line of the trailer…

“Health is not convenient, but it’s not half as inconvenient as a fatal illness”