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June 2005 newsletter

Sunlight or sunscreens: which presents more risk?

Getting 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight on your face hands and arms, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., two or three times a week, can supply all the Vitamin D you need. In fact, unlike other vitamins, Vitamin D is made best by the skin. The body actually produces Vitamin D while the sun's ultraviolet B rays hit the skin. It is technically a hormone and important precursor of the steroid hormones in the body.

Many people are deficient in Vitamin D, and it cannot be well absorbed from supplements. Even then, supplement makers use the cheap and useless D2, which is not the high quality D3 (1,25 cholecalciferol) that your skin makes. Vitamin D is absorbed sufficiently but not excessively from sunlight. The body efficiently eliminates any extra Vitamin D acquired from sunlight. However, it is possible to get a toxic high dose from Vitamin D supplements.

Vitamin D not only gives us strong bones and prevents osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Type I diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but also does a very effective job of preventing cancer, of all things. Prostate cancer [1] and breast cancer [2] several other cancers, and of all things, skin cancer [3,4] had better outcomes with Vitamin D and sunlight exposure. Conversely, cancer patients and randomly selected hospital patients were found to have significantly lower Vitamin D levels than controls. The cancers involved were breast, prostate and colon cancers. For furter information please see WholehealthMD.

In fact. Dr. Edward Giovannucci, a Harvard University professor of medicine and nutrition, at his recent keynote lecture for the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Anaheim California, said that Vitamin D may help prevent 30 deaths for each one caused by skin cancer.

Dr. Giovannucci said, "I would challenge anyone to find an area or nutrient or any factor that has such consistent anti-cancer benefits as Vitamin D. The data are really quite remarkable." As a result of Dr. Giovannucci's speech the American Cancer Society is now reviewing its own sun protection guidelines. Dr. Giovannucci's research has determined that 1500 IUs of Vitamin D per day are necessary to significantly curb cancer, by simply stifling abnormal cell growth and formation of blood vessels that feed tumors [5].

The plot thickens when we look at sunscreens. Ingredients that are ubiquitous in the mass-marketed sunscreens, methoxycinnamate, oxybenzone, etc., have been shown to increase penetration of neurotoxins [6], change to unstable chemical compounds [7] and stimulate growth of cancer [8].

Wait a minute, you might think. Conventional dogma holds that sun = bad, sunscreen = good. At least that's the baa-baa baloney that we obedient sheep have been taught to bleat for many years now. Isn't it funny how every time the nastier the chemical, the more villainous the natural alternative is made out to be? It seems like every time. Check out the articles listed below for the original research showing that moderate, regular sun exposure beats cancers, including the worst kind: malignant melanoma. Also see Dr. Mercola's discussion on why sunscreens are useless against skin cancer.

Of course, one should not sunbathe to the point of burning, because sunburn itself damages the skin. But beware of complacency using sunscreens. The research cited shows that they create cancer more certainly than they prevent it.

1. Ikezoe T, Gery S, Yin D, O'kelly J, Binderup L, Lemp N, Taguchi H, Koeffler HP. CCAAT/Enhancer-Binding Protein {delta}: A Molecular Target of 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 in Androgen-Responsive Prostate Cancer LNCaP Cells. Cancer Res. 2005 Jun 1;65(11):4762-8.
2. Lowe LC, Guy M, Mansi JL, Peckitt C, Bliss J, Wilson RG, Colston KW. Plasma 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentrations, vitamin D receptor genotype and breast cancer risk in a UK Caucasian population. Eur J Cancer. 2005 May;41(8):1164-1169. Epub 2005 Apr 14.
3. Berwick M, Armstrong BK, Ben-Porat L, Fine J, Kricker A, Eberle C, Barnhill R. Sun exposure and mortality from melanoma. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2005 Feb 2;97(3):195-9.
4. Holick MF. Sunlight and vitamin D for bone health and prevention of autoimmune diseases, cancers, and cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Dec;80(6 Suppl):1678S-88S.
5. Associated Press. Vitamin D research may have doctors prescribing sunshine. USA Today. 21 May 2005.
6. Pont AR, Charron AR, Brand RM. Active ingredients in sunscreens act as topical penetration enhancers for the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2004 Mar 15;195(3):348-54.
7. Tarras-Wahlberg N, Stenhagen G, Larko O, Rosen A, Wennberg AM, Wennerstrom O. Changes in ultraviolet absorption of sunscreens after ultraviolet irradiation. J Invest Dermatol. 1999 Oct;113(4):547-53.
8. Schlumpf M, Cotton B, Conscience M, Haller V, Steinmann B, Lichtensteiger W. In vitro and in vivo estrogenicity of UV screens. Environ Health Perspect. 2001 Mar;109(3):239-44.

Laughter burns calories

Vanderbilt University researchers presenting at the recent annual European Congress on Obesity discussed their findings regarding laughter and weight loss. Subjects were seated in front of TVs with comedy clips while researchers measured how much oxygen they inhaled versus how much oxygen they exhaled. These respiration measurements are considered to be the gold standard for determining energy burning, or calorie consumption during a given time period. They found that if you laugh 10 to 15 minutes per day, you could burn an extra 50 calories everyday, which would translate to 4.4 lbs lost in a year, due to laughing alone. Well, that certainly sounds more fun than running in 100-degree heat and humidity this summer.

Getting Hard of Hearing

What do jackhammers, rock concerts, emergency sirens, power mowers and iPods have in common? They all contribute to gradual and permanent damage of one of the most exquisitely perfect organs in our body: the ear. Not that we are born with any imperfect organs, but both the structure and function of the ear are quite magnificent. The auricle or outer ear directs sound waves into the ear, where they are then amplified by the eardrum or tympanic membrane. As the eardrum vibrates it sets into motion three tiny bones, the incus, malleus and stapes (or if you prefer the anvil, hammer and stirrups) to disturb the fluid inside the cochlea in such a way as to transmit specific sounds. This fluid then moves, and the hair cells move with it in very specific ways in order to record nerve impulses. These nerve impulses are specific and varied enough that they tell your brain whether you are listening to a violin, your washing machine or the last call for dinner, as well as all the different nuances of the violin playing, if the washing machine is functioning well or half-broken, or if the last call for dinner is in a patient or frustrated tone.

Now however, the music is fading out for many people. Over 28 million Americans have hearing loss ranging from mild to severe. Experts are predicting 78 million such hearing loss sufferers by the year 2030 [1]. Those in their forties and fifties are experiencing the fastest decline, as the hair cells begin to show wear and tear, and as the Woodstock generation faces the music, or rather lack of it, from listening to way too loud music over the years. The iPod generation however shows an even worse prognosis, because the iPod acoustic technology is so precise as to allow users to turn the volume up high without distortion. Worse still, the sound is delivered much closer to the eardrum and can cause damage faster. Some studies have found that many people's iPods are delivering sound at the eardrum of 115 decibels. At that rate, permanent damage can occur listening for only 28 seconds per day. Once hearing damage occurs it is for the most part not reversible. However, most of the current epidemic of hearing loss is completely preventable.

Of course, hearing aids are becoming technically better, smaller and even implantable. But we all know the most natural treatment for any malady: prevention. So turning down the volume, avoiding loud theaters and choosing hand tools over power tools can all go a long way toward preserving two of your greatest instruments of social interaction and appreciation of the good life: your two ears.

1. Noonan D. A little bit louder, please. Newsweek. 6 June 2005.

Did you know that we have in the U.S. ...

primary care physicians who not only have the training of conventional doctors (diagnostic testing, physical examination, prescription of pharmaceuticals, minor surgery etc.)

but have also been medically trained in botanical medicine, clinical nutrition, detoxification of heavy metals and other chemicals, homeopathy and other natural healing modalities???

Look no further: American Association of Naturopathic Physicians

An apple a day keeps...

We have all heard the old saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." Now there may be evidence that it is more than just an old saying. In a study to be published in the June 29 issue of Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry a Canadian government study measured antioxidant levels in several types of apples and found Red Delicious to contain the highest levels of the varieties studied.

Antioxidants are certain vitamins, minerals and enzymes that help reduce the damage that can be caused by free radicals. They may help reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

The study did not examine whether or not the antioxidants in some apples are of better quality or more easily absorbed than the antioxidants of other varieties. It did however find that in all of the varieties studied the peels contained significantly higher levels of antioxidants than did the flesh of the apples.

In terms of overall antioxidant levels Northern Spy ranked 2nd, Cortland 3rd, Ida Red 4th, Golden Delicious 5th and McIntosh 6th. If the peels are removed the Northern Spy ranked 1st in antioxidant levels, followed by the Cortland and then the Red Delicious.

Although apples have much lower levels of antioxidants that other fruits, especially in comparison to most berries, the almost year round availability of apples can make them a better source of antioxidants for many. When it comes to fresh fruit apples are in fact the 2nd only to bananas in popularity in the U.S. according to the U.S. Dept of Agriculture where the typical adult consumes roughly 16 pounds of fresh apples a year.