The evil sun?

THE EVIL SUN1 ?© 2016 Danièle Starenkyj www.publicationsorion.com

The evil sun seems to have risen in the 1950s, which saw social changes towards the sun, changes characterized by the appearance of the bikini, the fashion for tanning and the privilege of paid holidays synonymous with extended vacations for everyone at the seaside or in the mountains.

The Impressionists' paintings are suddenly archaic: holidaymakers at the seaside strolling with hats and parasols and bathing fully clothed; city dwellers in black suits and ladies in long dresses walking in the shade of plane trees on the grand boulevards; peasants dressed from head to toe plowing, making hay or harvesting wheat... We want to describe this world as being enslaved by a restrictive modesty. According to current science, it seems that it was more sensitive to common sense and knew how to enjoy the indispensable benefits of the sun without suffering from it.

The increase in skin cancers occurring in the 21st century among increasingly younger people is linked to excessive sun exposure. It is admitted that the search for miracle creams and ever more aggressive corrective surgeries are paradoxical and powerless in the face of increasing and indiscriminate solar irradiation. The only hope, we are told, lies in a radical change in the sun-bathing habits of younger generations.

In the first line, it is stated again that "clothing (and hats) constitute the simplest and most effective form of protection (against the sun)."

Second, we are beginning to place skin cancers in the context of excess calories, and more specifically excess fat. A leading Canadian dermatological organization, in May 2008, stated: "Research shows that a low-fat diet (less than 21% of calories from fat) can reduce the incidence of actinic keratoses. So, what's good for the heart is also good for the skin."

Dr. Zane Kime, a specialist in heliotherapy, told the American scientific community in 1980: "Nutrition and sunlight are intimately linked. Through its action on the skin, the sun can produce certain hormones and nutrients such as vitamin D. Unless one has a good diet, the sun will have a negative effect on the skin. (…) Those who follow the high-fat American diet should not expose themselves to the sun or they should protect themselves from it: but then, they will suffer from the consequences of both a high-fat diet and sun deficiency."

Let us remember here that Westerners get 45% of their calories from fats. The worst fats, absolutely carcinogenic and toxic for the skin? Trans fats, these new fats that date back to the 1960s, banned in 2000, denounced as early as 1939 as causing skin cancers caused by ultraviolet rays. The fight against photoaging and skin cancers must therefore begin with a judicious diet based on unrefined cereals, of a

abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes, as well as a moderate amount of olive oil, a “neutral” oil.

Thirdly, dermatologists speak very seriously of toxidermia, a skin intoxication by medication in the form of tablets, injections, creams, aerosols, etc., which aggravates and multiplies the harmful effects of the sun on the skin, the mucous membranes of hollow organs in contact with the air (mouth, nose, ears, eyes) and the appendages (nails, body hair, hair). The people most affected by this problem are the elderly who generally consume a lot of medication, and women who, at a very young age, take the contraceptive pill, undergo hormonal therapies for acne, and then undergo hormone replacement therapy for menopause, all based on estrogen, a substance known to trigger "sun intolerance" or porphyrias2.

Besides estrogens, which can also be present in animal products and by-products, the substances most frequently implicated in drug eruption are: antibiotics, aspirin, antidepressants and alcohol, touted to women as a chic, refined drink, as their symbol of emancipation, social success, etc.

The evil sun? No. Once again, we must realize that our lifestyle, our way of eating, and the means we use to treat our ailments, those of the body and those of the soul, are unavoidable causes of our pain, our ugliness, our fears, and our tears.

Beneficial sunshine? Yes! Starting in 2007, amazed science rediscovered the benefits of solar vitamin D. "Sun vitamin D is a key element that helps the body cope with many different kinds of aggressions and stimuli. A body deprived of vitamin D fights with one arm tied behind its back." The dangers of current sun deficiency are lamented: rickets in children, osteomalacia (propensity for fractures) in adults, an increased risk of 16 cancers including breast, ovarian, prostate, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and an increased risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, and tuberculosis.

And what was not thought yesterday must now be affirmed: Sunscreens, and all beauty products that contain them, once applied to the skin, no longer allow the production of cutaneous vitamin D...

So? Let's return to the laws of life, the laws of health, one of them being "wise sunshine" because, as Dr. Oswald said, "life is the child of the sun." Danièle Starenkyj©2016 www.publicationsorion.com

1. This text in part, and its scientific references can be found in the book TOTAL HEALTH by Danièle Starenkyj at ORION. See the chapter “The wise sunshine”.

2. Starenkyj D., My Little Doctor, “Sun Intolerance”, Orion, 2012.