skin cancer

Sun Protection Through Your Food

Healthy Theory — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 17:00:05 +0000

During the warm summer months, people tend to spend their days outside in the sun. Consequently, many of us are extra vigilant about using sunscreen to help protect our skin from the sun's harmful rays, which can do damage to both our skin and our immune systems by causing photo-oxidation of our cells.

However, using sunscreen can be a hassle and a mess, not to mention the recent concerns over some of the ingredients that are used in certain sun blocks. Needless to say, it can be enough to discourage people from taking the proper precautions.

Now, however, scientists believe that protecting our skin from the sun may be influenced by the foods we eat. In a paper published in Nutrition Reviews, researchers believe that the foods that are contained in the Mediterranean diet may have a protective affect on the skin. The diet would include foods that are rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. Melanoma rates are in fact very low in the Mediterranean regions.

Nutrition experts believe that foods like olive oil, fish, yogurt, and fresh fruits and vegetables, especially colorful ones, might be a good way to complement other important methods of sun protection, including the use of sunscreen and wearing properly protective clothing.

Consumption of these antioxidants might better prepare our cells from the damaging effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. To study this possibility, researchers recruited volunteers and divided them into two groups. One group was given a drink that was high in antioxidants while the other group simply consumed regular beverages such as soda pop or juice.

Over a two-week period, the group that drank the antioxidant beverage had fewer oxidation products in their blood than the control group, even in lieu of 5 to 6 hours of daily sun exposure. Further analysis indicated that carotenoids, which are pigments in the skin of fruits and vegetables, actually accumulate in the skin and may thereby serve as a first line of defense against UV rays. In fact, these compounds are linked to the delay of skin erythema, which is an indicator of tissue and DNA damage that can be a precursor to skin cancer.

The findings may be particularly relevant due to the climate changes that we are currently experiencing. With the rising temperatures and the increased exposure to the sun's harmful rays, sunscreen alone may not suffice, especially when you consider people's busy schedules and the inconvenience of applying them. With this in mind, dietary changes would be a more plausible way to help protect oneself.

The authors also indicate that dietary supplements are not as effective because the benefits of a nutritious diet involve a complex interaction between foods. This "synergy" results in vitamins and antioxidants acting in conjunction with one another to provide a greater protective effect than the nutrients isolated in supplements.

For more information about the Mediterranean diet, visit the website for the American Heart Association.

Guest Post Blurb:

This is a guest post by Fred Lee from our sister blog, Healthy Theory. Visit Healthy Theory for more health tips and news.

This article is from Healthy Theory of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Stop Skin Cancer at the Spa

Andrea Karim — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 23:20:26 +0000

By way of More magazine, the premier magazine for women over 40, comes exciting news that a trip to your favorite medispa could actually prevent skin cancer!

You already know how important it is to wear sunscreen, and to do all you can not to damage your lovely epidermis, but it turns out that once some of the damage has been done, you can still help to prevent skin cancer with something as simple as a chemical peel.

According to reserachers at Stanford University, actinic keratoses (spots on the skin caused by sun exposure) are so common in adults that your average over-40 adult has 8 of them! Actinic keratoses are essentially precancerous lesions, and you can have them removed through expensive laser treatments at your dermatologist. But it turns out that using a chemical peel, such as a five-percent fluorouracil at-home cream, are equally adept at removing the blemishes, and thus reducing your risk for skin cancer.

In a study at Stanford University, researchers gave 24 patients with the spots a five-percent fluorouracil at-home cream, a chemical peel, or laser skin resurfacing. All three worked equally well to remove the precancerous lesions, getting rid of about 90 percent of them.

So, for roughly $100, you can do the same amount of good that a very expensive laser resurfacing treatment would. You're not only saving money, but reducing recovery time, and saving yourself a lot of pain (some of the pricier procedures hurt like hell).

This article is from Andrea Karim of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

The Cost of Tanning

Andrea Karim — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 21:30:17 +0000

It's right around this time of year, as friends and family gear up for Mexican vacations while I stay put under Seattle's gloomy skies, that my thoughts turn to sunbathing. God, I love sunbathing. It's so fun. It's downright addictive. Whether outside or under a tanning lamp, working on a tan is one of the most relaxing ways to pass the time. Of course, it's also the reason that I have to go to the doctor and get layers of skin chemically peeled off of my face in an attempt to regain the clarity and balanced skin tone that I enjoyed before I started tanning.

Tanning has a lot of hidden costs. You think that your high-pressure bed is worth $40 for 20 minutes of basking in its purpley glow?

According to Business Wire, in 2003:

10% of Americans spend on average $300 per year to tan indoors. This equates to a total U.S. market for tanning of over $9 billion per year, and does not include the $3 billion tanning products market. Enhancements in technology and consumer acceptance are fueling the industry's growth.

What’s the real cost of time in a tanning bed? Well, it ranges from place to place, but when I started tanning for three months a couple of years ago, you could say that the breakdown went something like this:

3-month high-pressure tanning package: $600
Tanning goggles: $4
Years of painful treatments in a possibly futile attempt to regain skin’s natural color and elasticity: Priceless

I tanned a couple of times a week in a high-pressure tanning bed that was touted as “safe” and “effective” by the owner of the salon I joined. Because the intense UVA rays provide a deep, dark, and fast tan without much burning, even for someone with extremely fair skin like myself, tanning beds are offered up as a great way to tan without unsightly third degree burns.

It sounded alright to me. I mean, if you don’t burn, then it’s all good, right? Burning must be what causes cancer, right?

(You know that annoying buzzer sound that goes off when a game show contestant guesses wrong? I’m making that sound right now, but you can’t hear me.)

UVB rays do cause burns, but UVA rays have a longer wavelength, so they penetrate deeper. While exposure to UVA rays in a tanning bed will provide a tan without the burn, the UVA rays are still causing untold damage to your skin and your skin cells’ DNA. Here's something to keep in mind: a tan is a sign of damage. I know we associate it with glowing health, because you tan if you are outside, and people who spend time outside are healthy, right?

From CNN.com:

A suntan is the result of injury to the epidermis, the top layer of your skin. A tan develops when UV light accelerates the production of melanin. Melanin is the dark pigment in the epidermis that gives your skin its normal color. The extra melanin — produced to protect the deeper layers of your skin — creates the darker color of a "tan." A suntan is your body's way of blocking out the ultraviolet rays to prevent further injury to the skin, but the protection only goes so far.

My dermatologist, who treated me before and after I did the stint in the tanning booth, thinks that I did roughly five to seven years of skin damage in those few months. Although I don’t look drastically different from a normal distance, if you get a good look at my skin, it really is damaged. Problems include premature wrinkling, hyperpigmentation, and broken capillaries. Freckles change shape whenever they feel like it, sending me scrambling to the doctor for tests.

I haven't ever had a cancerous growth, but my doctor seems to think that my chances are pretty good. I never wore sunscreen growing up, although now I slather it on like it's water from the fountain of youth.

Think that the risk of skin cancer is overblown? Well, not according to the National Cancer Institute:

Women who use tanning beds more than once a month are 55% more likely to develop malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, more than one million people are diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer in the United States every year. In fact, non-melanoma skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the country. 40% to 50% of Americans who live to age 65 will have this form of skin cancer at least once. These are startling statistics for a cancer that can, for the most part, be prevented.

I’m not just being a mean old lady when I try to convince younger women that tanning is a bad idea. I don’t object to tan skin — I just think that we’ll all be a lot happier, in the long run, if we get it out of a bottle than in a booth. So if you are considering some time burning your hide for the sake of fashion, I beg of you, consider some of the new and excellent tans-in-a-bottle out there. They're cheap, they moisturize your skin, and you'll be thanking yourself when you arrive at your 35th high school reunion looking younger than everyone else (except, perhaps, the members of the Science Olympiad).

This article is from Andrea Karim of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: