Why Is There So Much Skin Cancer? Should Sun Be Avoided?

[mt_dreams]

thank you

I thought sunburn was PUFA connected though

why did you stop astaxanthin ?

Sunburn is definitely PUFA connected, but it's not the only way to get a sunburn. You can also get a sunburn if you have not had any sun for a while, then go full throttle into a hot sun. Some people I know go without sun (excluding arms & face) from october to late May, then when they go in the sun they wonder why they burn. It's b/c they've gone so long without it, and they are jumping back in when the sun is close to it's peak norther crawl, whereas I re-introduce the sun to my body in Feb, so the hotter sun is no problem for me.

To save money due to my increased food costs, I stopped all my supplement, astaxanthin included. Sine being introduced to Peat, the only supps I've taken have been E,D, & niacin.

 

[SQu]

An unexpected early improvement for me was not needing sunglasses anymore. I'm very fair and live in a very sunny climate. Year round sun. Lots of glare. I used to live in those sunglasses. My pufas could not yet have been very low so my understanding was it's the estrogen.

 

[tara]

Also, not sure if there should be a separate thread for this (or there's already one), but does Dr. Peat ever talk about topical application of coconut oil on the skin for sun protection? I've often heard about it being used for that purpose.

Another question, is Peat implying that sunblocks (with minerals like zinc and titanium oxide) are worse than chemical ones (which are only screen some rays but don't block them)?

There are threads if you look.
Coconut oil provides a little protection - not enough for me for long exposure to hot sun, but maybe useful for milder weather.
IIRC, Peat has said that zinc oxide, when the particles are big enough to stay on the surface of the skin, is probably amongst the safer screens. If the zinc oxide or other is very fine particles that can get down into the skin, then they can cause more problems.

I've made my own effective screen with coconut oil, cocoa butter, beeswax (makes it stick better in the sea), zinc oxide, and I'm happier using that than the commercial screens, though if the zinc is thick it makes me look like a ghost. I only put it on thick if I'm planning on being on the beach for hours in mid summer.

Haidut's got information about caffeine as a sunscreen, and his solban product contains caffeine, aspirin and niacinamide - all the ingredients may help the skin recover from sun damage.

 

[Elephanto]

based on all of this, astaxanthin seems helpful

It increases interferon-gamma and tnf alpha so it's not good. Basically it boost your immune system but by doing so it increases inflammatory cytokines.
http://www.naturalhealthresearch.org/as ... -in-women/

 

[ilovethesea]

I can speak from personal experience. Before Peating I bought into the hype about fish oil. I took fish oil supplements, put flax oil in my smoothie and consumed salmon. I look back now in horror at how I was so gullible. I have always been in the sun, Trips to Mexico, boating as a kid. I started getting skin cancers...first on my lower leg and then on my chest, arm, and one on my face. I had 5 surgeries to remove them...then I started treating myself with black salve. The one on my face was frightening. I was not going to see the doctor because I knew it was cancer - it was growing so fast and was painful. I was afraid of being disfigured with surgery. I used the black salve and it reacted immediately. I had a red swollen face for six days! But it worked. Today you can barely see the scar.

I looked for answers. I strongly felt I was consuming or doing something that was creating a trigger. I eventually found many articles challenging the fish oil hype, including Ray Peat's article. I changed things. Stopped the fish oil, the flax, the salmon. Started eating a more Peat friendly diet and the skin cancers just stopped. Where once I was getting a new one every month I have had none for two years.

So the answer to your questions...for me... is PUFA oxidation when exposed to sunlight.

That is amazing! What was the black salve you used?

 

[dd99]

Also, not sure if there should be a separate thread for this (or there's already one), but does Dr. Peat ever talk about topical application of coconut oil on the skin for sun protection?

I'm sure I heard him speak about it somewhere. I'll try to dig it out, but in the meantime here's a study that finds the SPF of coconut oil to be around 7.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3140123/

 

[Peat's_Girl]

Also, not sure if there should be a separate thread for this (or there's already one), but does Dr. Peat ever talk about topical application of coconut oil on the skin for sun protection?

I'm sure I heard him speak about it somewhere. I'll try to dig it out, but in the meantime here's a study that finds the SPF of coconut oil to be around 7.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3140123/

thanks!

 

[tara]

I can speak from personal experience. Before Peating I bought into the hype about fish oil. I took fish oil supplements, put flax oil in my smoothie and consumed salmon. I look back now in horror at how I was so gullible. I have always been in the sun, Trips to Mexico, boating as a kid. I started getting skin cancers...first on my lower leg and then on my chest, arm, and one on my face. I had 5 surgeries to remove them...then I started treating myself with black salve. The one on my face was frightening. I was not going to see the doctor because I knew it was cancer - it was growing so fast and was painful. I was afraid of being disfigured with surgery. I used the black salve and it reacted immediately. I had a red swollen face for six days! But it worked. Today you can barely see the scar.

I looked for answers. I strongly felt I was consuming or doing something that was creating a trigger. I eventually found many articles challenging the fish oil hype, including Ray Peat's article. I changed things. Stopped the fish oil, the flax, the salmon. Started eating a more Peat friendly diet and the skin cancers just stopped. Where once I was getting a new one every month I have had none for two years.

So the answer to your questions...for me... is PUFA oxidation when exposed to sunlight.

Hi Peatiepie,
This is such a good story.
Do you know what kind of cancers you had removed? Basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell, melanoma, or some other kind?

 

[Dayman]

As it is getting warmer where I live I am wearing short sleeves again, and noticing I am turning red in the upper arm. Solban attenuates the severity but it still happens.
Regarding Ray Peat's article,
He mentions iodine and carotene + vitamin E as possible alternatives to sun screen

from the article:
"Radiation from the sun reacts with the unsaturated fats you have
eaten to cause oxidative damage to skin cells. Vitamin E, vitamin
A and carotene are antioxidants that prevent skin cell damage, when
they are taken internally or applied to the surface of the skin.
None of these causes any harmful effects in the sun.

Aspirin reduces the iron content of the blood serum, and also
inhibits the formation of the sometimes-toxic prostaglandins from
fatty acids. Coconut oil is very resistant to radiation damage
and, like vitamin E, tends to stop the chain reactions that occur
in unsaturated fats. The old formula for suntan oil, coconut oil
with iodine, might turn out to be a safe sunscreen, since the brown
iodine absorbs light, as other ” U.V. blockers ” do, but iodine is
also an effective chain breaker that inactivates free radicals, and
it can’t be absorbed into cells in its brown form. It doesn’t have
the potential for causing cancer that the popular sunscreens do."

anyone tried these?
would you worry about to much absorption of carotene or iodine?
also what about the coloring agent from coke.

 

[Dayman]

post 111939 As it is getting warmer where I live I am wearing short sleeves again, and noticing I am turning red in the upper arm. Solban attenuates the severity but it still happens.
Regarding Ray Peat's article,
He mentions iodine and carotene + vitamin E as possible alternatives to sun screen

from the article:
"Radiation from the sun reacts with the unsaturated fats you have
eaten to cause oxidative damage to skin cells. Vitamin E, vitamin
A and carotene are antioxidants that prevent skin cell damage, when
they are taken internally or applied to the surface of the skin.
None of these causes any harmful effects in the sun.

Aspirin reduces the iron content of the blood serum, and also
inhibits the formation of the sometimes-toxic prostaglandins from
fatty acids. Coconut oil is very resistant to radiation damage
and, like vitamin E, tends to stop the chain reactions that occur
in unsaturated fats. The old formula for suntan oil, coconut oil
with iodine, might turn out to be a safe sunscreen, since the brown
iodine absorbs light, as other ” U.V. blockers ” do, but iodine is
also an effective chain breaker that inactivates free radicals, and
it can’t be absorbed into cells in its brown form. It doesn’t have
the potential for causing cancer that the popular sunscreens do."

anyone tried these?
would you worry about absorption of carotene or iodine?
also what about the coloring agent from coke.

 

[Giraffe]

Interesting article written by Peat: Using Sunlight To Sustain Life