For a second, I thought the sunscreen profit machine might finally slow down.
A recent article from the World Economic Forum (WEF) revealed that 1,000 to 14,000 tons of sunscreen slop is dumped into coral reef areas of the sea every year.1
The WEF — also known as the “fat cat forum” — is an elite club of the world’s 1,000 most powerful corporations. Companies shell out $52,000 a year just to belong. And every year they all gather at the Swiss town of Davos to hobnob and network.
These corporate fat cats are very sneaky. They put out this article through their WEF front group saying how bad sunscreens are for our environment.
And mind you, their members are the ones already making these toxic products and polluting our world.
And true, toxic compounds from sunscreens have been found in fish, dolphins and even marine birds. Some of these chemicals mimic estrogen. They cause hormone and sex changes in fish. Some are known to bleach coral reefs.
The truth is commercial sunscreens are bad for the environment and worse for you. They’re loaded with chemicals that produce free radicals, disrupt hormones, and can even lead to cancer.
I would never recommend using them. I tell my patients to embrace the sun just like our ancestors did. And in a minute, I’ll tell the easiest ways you can practice safe sun and get all the amazing health benefits that come from it.
But the article never called for an end to toxic sunscreen. Instead, it repeated the chemical industry’s usual hogwash about how sunscreen protects us from the dangerous sun and prevents skin cancer.
Then the WEF went on to report on a huge breakthrough that would replace polluting sunscreens with a “natural” product. This new type of sunscreen mimics a type of amino acid.
It’s produced by some plants and other organisms that thrive in sunlight. They’re called “mycosporine-like amino acids” or MAAs.2
The WEF said MAAs absorb ultraviolet radiation and convert it to harmless light and heat. They’re used by sponges, corals, sea stars, sea urchins, and fish to protect themselves from UV rays. Lab research shows MAAs may be added to sunscreens for humans. They said they’re known as “microbial sunscreens.”
Now, you know I believe in natural options over chemicals. But here’s the thing…
These MAAs are not really natural. In fact, the chemical industry holds 38 patents on these compounds. Controlling those patents means big bucks.
But get this. It gets even worse.
When I dug into their patent application,3 I found that they’re really trying to patent astaxanthin, and the whole MAA thing is a smokescreen to hide their real intentions.
The patent application includes this bald-faced lie:
“The carotenoid astaxanthin has never been suggested as a dietary supplement to [slow] or prevent sunburns or related cancers. Nor have the combined properties of astaxanthin as a potent antioxidant and an immune system [booster ever] been previously recognized […] as a dietary supplement to [slow] or prevent sunburns.”
And the application also has this horrible advice: Avoid all sun from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and cover up with protective clothing, including hats. It also says that we need to keep using sunblocks and sunscreens.
No wonder the World Economic Forum is touting this new source of sunscreen profits.
And the corporate fat cats are laughing all the way to the bank.
Their members are making money hand over fist damaging our health and destroying the environment.
And while they’re pretending to be excited about some amino-acid sunscreen alternative, they’re actually trying to patent astaxanthin!
I’ve recommended astaxanthin to my patients for years as a natural way to protect your skin from within and to protect you from not only burning if you get too much exposure, but also to fend off worse problems, like cancer.
More than 200 studies prove that avoiding the sun is one of the biggest health mistakes you can make. One study in the journal Anticancer Research shows this clearly. The more sunshine you get, the lower your chances are of dying from 15 different kinds of cancer.4
The fact is you were made to thrive in the sun. Just as sea organisms protect themselves with astaxanthin, your skin builds up melanin. This pigment darkens your skin when exposed to sun. It’s your “built-in sunscreen.”
If your skin is light, it just takes about 20 minutes a day without sunblock to stimulate melanin production. It may take about an hour if your skin is darker.
By slowly developing this basic darkening, you can spend more time in the sun without burning. Just don’t overdo it. Increase your time in the sun gradually every day to develop a healthy tan. But if you want to spend more time in the sun, there are real natural ways to protect yourself.
3 Natural Ways to Safely Embrace the Sun
- Use nature’s sunblock — zinc. When I’m in the tropics, I choose zinc as a safe sunblock. Unlike chemical sunscreens that absorb UV light, zinc oxide sits on top your skin. It reflects and scatters both UVA and UVB rays so they don’t penetrate your skin.
Apply zinc oxide generously on exposed skin at least 30 minutes before prolonged sun exposure. Look for micro-fine zinc oxide. It spreads on your skin smoothly and evenly. And it’s so fine it’s nearly invisible. No one will even know you’re wearing it.
- Mix it with cupuaçu (pronounced “koop-oo-ah-soo”). Zinc oxide works even better when you mix it with a little cupuaçu butter. Natural compounds in this Brazilian rainforest fruit act as a sunscreen. They protect you from UVA and UVB damage.
This fruit contains two unique flavonoids — theograndin I and II — that aren’t found in any other plant on earth. Studies show theograndin I is a potent antioxidant. Type II kills cancer cells.5 Cupuaçu is also rich in nine other antioxidants including vitamins A and C, quercetin and kaempferol.
Look online for cupuaçu butter. Just make sure it’s “cold-pressed.” Heat processing can destroy its skin-protecting antioxidants.
- Protect your skin from the inside out with real astaxanthin. Special microalgae produce bright pink astaxanthin when exposed to intense sunlight. It’s a survival mechanism.
In a groundbreaking study, a group of people took 4 mg a day of astaxanthin. After two weeks, they could tolerate much more time under ultraviolet light before developing sunburn damage.6 It keeps you safe from the kind of DNA sun damage that burns your skin.
Wild-caught salmon is by far the richest source of astaxanthin. A typical 6-ounce serving of wild Pacific sockeye salmon gives you 4 mg to 5 mg. I also recommend astaxanthin supplements. Take up to 10 mg per day.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
1. Lawrence K and Young A. “Protecting your skin could be harming the ocean — this is why.” World Economic Forum. September 8, 2017.
2. Lawrence KP, et al. “Mycosporine-like amino acids for skin photoprotection.” Curr Med Chem. 2017.
3. Lorenz RT. “Method for retarding and preventing sunburn by UV light.” U.S. Patent No.6,433,025. United States Patent and Trademark Office, 13 August, 2002.
4. Grant WB, et al. “The association of solar ultraviolet B (UVB) with reducing risk of cancer: multifactorial ecologic analysis of geographic variation in age-adjusted cancer mortality rates.” Anticancer Res. 2006;26(4A):2687-2699.
5. Yang H, et al. “New bioactive polyphenols from Theobroma grandiflorum (“cupuaçu”).” J Nat Prod. 2003;66(11):1501-1504.
6. Lorenz RT. “Method for retarding and preventing sunburn by UV light.” U.S. Patent No.6,433,025. United States Patent and Trademark Office, August 13, 2002.