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Raw food...no sunscreen?

I was wondering if it was nessesary to continue using sunscreen if you are raw vegan.

What have you notice in skin pigment or texture after becoming raw?

Sunscreen is really un-natural. Native people never used sunscreen, and they were eatting

a very natural diet of the fruits and vegetables around them, and they never ended up with skin cancer.

I'm starting to think that possibly the chemicals in sunscreen could actually deem more problematic

then a benefitual aspect.

What do you think? Should I still continue to use sunscreen?

Comments

  • My thoughts on it- "native" people in sunny areas have darker skin then I do. My heritage is fair skin (Scandanavian mostly) and I don't think it would matter how clean I eat my skin isn't adapted to a lot of sun. I burn like crazy with out either sunscreen or covering up quite a bit.

    Of course, doing the cover up thing would cut down on needing sunscreen quite a bit. But, I would not go swimming on a sunny day for hours without sun screen.

    That's just me.

    Also- just a thought. How do we know people did not get skin cancer? People didn't even know what cancer was back thousands of years ago. It would have maybe been considered a wasting disease?

    But, the chemicals- you may be right about. Probably covering up (like they do in the middle east) may be the best option. They usually don't run around in shorts and a tank top in the desert.

  • joannabananajoannabanana Raw Newbie

    i do not think sunscreen is necessary. i stopped wearing it last year ( i used to be OCD about it- everytime i left the house i wore it). my chest burned a little this summer but that was all. i'm trying to darken my skin's pigmentation anyways. i think if you put goodness into your body (raw foods) then your body will treat you well in return.

  • Chef ShuannaChef Shuanna Raw Newbie

    I have stopped using it in all places BUT my face. Both my mom and my brother got skin cancer surgically removed from their face so it runs in my family. I am not willing to take that chance. I dont put it on everyday BUT I do when I go lay out in the sun!

  • Renee Underkoffler of Living Cuisine mentioned on her website how she used to wear a sunhat and no sunscreen. She lives in Maui. She ended up with skin cancer on the tip of her nose and advises to wear sunscreen at all times. She recommends Skinsceuticals. I wear sunscreen face and ears and neck and arms and hands and any part that is exposed, winter or summer, rain or shine, cloudy or sunny. People comment on how young I look, and I attribute this to sunscreen. Wear it.

  • miranimalmiranimal Raw Newbie

    Of course there are so many different ideas out there but I have heard that shea butter has a natural spf of about 15. Also, supposedly, if you keep your skin well hydrated from the inside and outside skin cancer could potentially be prevented because the cells are damaged when the skin is allowed to dry out. This info came from my aesthetician and has been working well for me for a couple of years, however, I have fairly dark skin. Studies have been done that link sunscreen to skin cancer but its just so hard to say. Covering up seems like the safest bet!

  • koolieaidedkoolieaided Raw Newbie

    thankyou all for you comments. I guess the best thing to do is to find a natural sunscreen.

    Shea butter seems like a good idea.

  • I use a natural sunscreen with hemp oil from Burt's Bees. It's only SPF 15 but it helps as long as you don't stay out too long. I also wear a hat, sunglasses to prevent macular degeneration / glucoma, and keep my shoulders covered since they burn most easily on me.

     

  • amberablueamberablue Raw Newbie

    i don't use sunscreen anymore but i do use coconut oil and eat brocolli and blueberries often.

    from what i researched, an element in coconut oil has a natural (although very light) sunscreen in it. i also read about brocolli extract which is supposed to have a very powerful sunscreen/anti-skin cancer agent in it. blueberries also contain something 'special' in them related to sun/skin. it just so happens that i eat a lot of brocolli, and blueberries, and after my first few months raw, there was a noticeable difference in the way my skin handled the sun. for one, i tanned way faster without as much exposure. i don't burn much, but i noticed that decreased also.

    sorry i can't recall the details of any of the properties of the above, but you can research more online as i did...i was reading this like 2 years ago out of curiosity and i tend to forget when i just know it works for me.

    either way, i now try to stay out of the sun when it's extremely hot and/or the hottest part of the day. i feel like that is a good long term strategy with or without sunscreen.

  • I haven't used any sunscreen for the last 3 years now and I am out in the sun quite a lot. At the first of spring/summer, when I start staying out mowing pastures/working with my horses in tank tops, and going to the Lake, my skin might turn a bit reddish for a few hours the first time, but by the next day it has turned into a beautiful tan- no more red. AND I am fair-skinned. Born a strawberry blond (now turned brown), have blue eyes, and freckles. :) I DO use cold-pressed (raw), organic coconut oil as my daily body lotion and jojoba oil on my face (Per Dr. Clement at Hippocrates Health Inst. and my other readings, coconut oil is supposedly too lage of molecules to be absorbed as well into smaller facial pores and Jojoba oil, supposedly, most similarly matches our skin's produced sebum than any other oil... but I love coconut oil best).

    I used to burn, too, before going vegan and now raw. I personally feel if we are not putting chemicals and crap into our bodies, there are not those chemicals and unnatural agents in us to react and burn to the sunlight, AND our bodies have their natural capabilities and resources to combat and transmute burning into just a natural tanning/darkening. Not any scientific backing on that, just my perosnal belief.

    As far as people with cancer in their family's history, you may find this info extremely enlightening and uplifting:

    - Dr Bruce Litpon - gene/DNA expression (turning on and off)

    *Also, through numerous recent studies (and a few people who have said for a long time now, but were disregarded by mainstream allopathic dr's and western scientists) vitamin D is being shown to have a huge affect on our immune system, and overall health and vitality. Vitamin D actually helps prevent colds and flus, depression, cancers,bone disease such as osteoporosis, as well as autoimmune diseases, asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, Parkinson's disease and Multiple Sclerosis. And the BEST source of real vitamin D is from sunlight on our skin. Most fair-skinned people can produce enough if they expose their arms and face to 15 min a day, darker-skinned people need a little more. And yes, "regular" sunscreens are loaded with cancer-casuing chemicals. :0( **There is LOT of info and articles on the internet about these if you Google them.

    http://www.wellnessuncovered.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=634:sun-exposure-cancer-warnings-lead-to-vitamin-d-deficiencies&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

  • I can't remember when I read in a book that if you eat lots of green leafy vegetables your skin will not burn and you won't have to use sunscreen. I personally can't because of what they put in them. I try to stay away from anything manmade because of how they change the natural products.

    It's like when you buy something now a days, you will find citrus acid in everything, that is a mixture of corn starch and citrus peels, that kills me because I'm allergic to corn. It's suppose to keep the color of things, well just use lemon or lime juice will keep the color.

    Sorry off on one of my man made stuff.

    I don't use sunscreen haven't in years, I have no skin cancer and I don't burn. I live in Florida, I just know when the best time to go out is and to stay inside when it's cloudy because you will burn faster on a cloudy day than a sunny one.

    Have a great day

    God bless

    take care

  • have_merseyhave_mersey Raw Newbie

    Eating high-green prevents my paleness from burning. I can't say that I could stay out ALL day, but I can stay out for several hours and not burn now (it used to be half an hour and I was painfully red).

  • RawEverythingRawEverything Raw Newbie

    Hi, next year I'm doing a sun experiment. I never used sun screen in my live. But since i'm on raw food moles started to vanish (last year after years of mostly vegatarian cooked food the moles where black now the are very light brown/pinkish and some are almost gone). I think the sun and moles don't have anything to do with each other. It's more likely that bad food gives moles. Next year i'm sun bathing big time and see if the moles come back 8).

    Lauri Rottmayer
  • threnodythrenody Raw Newbie

    I, too, have skin cancer in the family, and my body is adapted to northern, low-sun intensity regions where I don't currently live, so I use sunscreen daily. I don't wear shorts or short sleeves outside, so it is just my face, neck, and hands. I use the least toxic/cleanest organic brand available, badger spf 30.

  • SimplyRawesomeSimplyRawesome Raw Jr. Leader

    Hmmmm... interesting thread. I was born blonde, have blue eyes and fair skin. (Hair turned brown after pregnancy.) I grew up in South Florida and spent a lot of time in the sun, sailing competively, and just plain soaking up the rays. I never wore sunscreen and, now at age 50, I am blessed to be free of skin cancer. About ten years ago, I got a pretty good burn on my stomach and I started using a vitamin c cream. The burn did not peel but turned brown. I continued to use the vitamin c cream for many years and now my skin has no sun damage and is soft and supple. Had it not been for the vitamin c cream, I truly believe my skin would be leathery now.

    I've been raw since 2004 and up until 2007, I still enjoyed basking in the sun with no sunburn. It's really difficult to say if raw foodists should not use sunscreen. Everyone's body is different and reacts differently. My advice to Koolieaided would be to experiment and see how your body reacts to the sun without sunscreen. If you still burn, seek out natural sunscreens such as those recommended above. =o)

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