By: Dr. James Goetz

Summer is officially here. Its tough to miss with the sweltering heat and lack of rain that is prevelant in our country currently. With summer here we think of fun at the pool, the beach, barbeque's, and being outdoors most of the time.

Ever since we have been little we have been told to put on sunscreen. We have done so without thought. Sunscreen as all things can be beneficial and yet quite harmful. How then do we protect ourself from the sun? First realize that we need the sun for energy. It gives us energy directly, it gives us energy by providing a source of energy to the plants we eat, which is then passed along to us. With the sun we are also able to produce in our bodies vitamin D, which is an essential vitamin for many functions of our body in which synthetic vitamins cannot come close to replicating. While out in the sun we can wear light clothing which will not absorb and attract the suns strong rays. We can also stay mostly in shade where we are not in the direct path of the suns rays.

What though about sunblock? Reading a label can be as confusing as rocket science for some of us.

Worldwide, the greatest risk in melanoma has been in countries where sunscreens have been heavily promoted.

Queensland, Australia, where the medical establishment has vigorously promoted the use of sunscreens has more evidence of melanoma per capita than any other place (Garland, Cedric F., et al American Journal of Public Health, April 1992). Drs. Cedric and Frank Garland of the University of California have pointed out that while sunscreens do prevent against sunburn there is no scientific proof they protect against basal cell carcinoma in humans.

In 1997, Europe, Canada and Australia changed sunscreens to use only three specific sunscreen ingredients, avobenzone, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide as the basis of sunscreens. All others were banned. In March of 2008, a new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reveals that...

97% of Americans are contaminated with a widely-used sunscreen ingredient called oxybenzone that has been linked to allergies, hormone disruption, and cell damage.

Common Sunscreen Ingredients Know to Be Toxic Include:

• Benzophenones (dixoybenzone, oxybenzone)
• PABA and PABA esters (ethyl dihydroxy propyl PAB, glyceryl PABA,
• p-aminobenzoic acid padimate O or Octyl dimethyl PABA)
• Cinnamates (cinoxate, ethylhexyl, p-methoxycinnamate)
• Salicylates (ethylhexyl salicylate, homosalate, octyl salicylate)
• Avobenzone (butyl-methyoxydibenzoylmethane; Parsol 1789)
• Digalloyl trioleate
• Menthyl anthranilate
• Propylene Glycol: Called a humectant in cosmetics, it is industrial antifreeze, and the major ingredient in brake and hydraulic fluid. Material Data Sheets on Propylene Glycol warn to avoid skin contact as it is systemic and can cause liver abnormalities and kidney damage. If anti freeze is spilled on your garage floor and a dog or cat drinks one lick, it will kill them.

If all of these ingredients are harmful, what then can we use?

Zinc Oxide has been used for hundreds of years as a topical agent and a safe and non-irritant UV absorbing material. The key disadvantage of using Zinc oxide in sunscreens has been the whitening caused by large particles and agglomerates. Nanotechnology companies have created zinc oxide particles that are smaller than the wavelength of light. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. Scientists have discovered that the physical properties of materials that are smaller than 20 nanometers or so can be quite different from the bulk materials. The difference in particle size can affect the way the atoms organize, the way the atoms sit at the surface, the way those materials interact with light, with heat, and with electricity. In the case of Zinc Oxide, when particles are that small they still protect the skin, but they do not scatter the light, thus becoming invisible, leaving no white marks on the skin. The 25nm dispersed Zinc oxide particles produced by the MCPTM process eliminates whitening, and thus providing the basis for the next generation of cosmetics, requiring transparent sunscreen actives with broad spectrum absorption.

Another positive ingredient to a sunscreen is Zirconium Oxide. It is used as a coating for the skin in dermatologic pharmaceuticals and as a pigment toner and solvent, and as a UVA blocking mineral, making this a positive ingredient.

Remember, if you cannot eat it, do not put it on your skin. What you put on your skin is absorbed directly into your system. Fun in the sun should not be stopped due to spots on your skin. Use the proper products in the first place as opposed to what is familiar or on sale or on the kiosk in the front of the store and your days in the sun will be limitless!