By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–
The website, mcall.com, has posted an excellent article called Smart Sun Exposure. It discusses sunlight as being the only natural way to obtain vitamin D and points out that pharmaceutical companies promote 24-hour sun protection products—advice that poses the problem of vitamin D deficiency—leading to breast cancers, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, premature labor and other women’s health problems.
Perhaps the most interesting part to the article is the mention of high-antioxidant fruits and vegetables as the best SPFs available to replace the dangerous chemical sunscreens. This is something I have been saying for years: eat colorful fruits and vegetables to reduce skin damage.
Read the article at: http://www.mcall.com/health/inspirehealth/tips/inspire-health-mc-smart-sun-exposure-story,0,4170416.story. Also click on the tips below the article, especially the one entitled Protect Yourself from the Inside Out. In those tips, dark, organic dark chocolate is mentioned as a potent antioxidant containing 712 compounds, many of which are potently antioxidant and skin protective. But remember that typical milk chocolate is not worth anything in terms of enhancing health. I have been touting the benefits of dark, natural chocolate for some time, but did not know about its skin-protective effects.
Everyone who loves the sun should read this article.