Today, more and more people are being diagnosed with skin cancer. In fact, 1 million new cases are diagnosed in the U.S. every year. This is a devastating number, considering the large amount of cases that will result in death. There is so much information out there about the dangers of the sun, but the 
numbers keep rising.
There are two types of harmful rays that come from the sun. They are:
- UVA rays—penetrate the skin and cause genetic damage
- UVB rays—do the “burning”
UVA and UVB rays are dangerous for the skin. They have both been proven to cause cancer in humans. Think that you don’t spend enough time in the sun do be affected? Think again. Damaging rays can shine through windows (of your home, even your car!). Even taking a short walk through the neighborhood can be enough to damage your body because UV radiation accumulates over time. However, the main factor that causes skin cancer results from sun damage from tanning.
Whether you tan from the sun or an artificial tanning bulb, you are damaging your cells. Your tan might look great, but what you are actually doing is shortening your life. Cell damage from tanning accumulates over time. Also, tanning is not healthier than sunburn. They both cause skin damage that cannot be reversed. Artificial tanning beds are just as likely to cause skin cancer than the sun is, especially when people use them in excess.
Of course you need to get your vitamin D. So how do you get it without harming your health? All you need is 10 minutes in the sunshine a day. After those 10 minutes, the sunscreen should be slapped on right away. If you don’t feel safe going outside without sunscreen, talk to your doctor about taking a vitamin D supplement.
How do you protect yourself from the sun? One word: Sunscreen. Yes, we’ve heard it over and over again. But the right ways to use sunscreen are not always known, therefore people put themselves at risk without even knowing it. Most sunscreens with an SPF of 15 or higher are great to use for protection. It takes 20 minutes for the skin to burn without protection, so and SPF of 15 means that it protects you 15 times longer (about 5 hours). Even if your sunscreen says “waterproof” you still need to reapply it after swimming and heavy sweating—just to be safe. Always apply it 30 minutes prior to going outside so your skin can absorb the ingredients and provide you with optimal protection.
There are other ways to protect yourself from the sun besides applying sunscreen. First of all, you should cover yourself up with dark covered clothes. UV light can get through material that you can see light through, so test your clothes by holding them up to a window. It is hard to do this during the summer time because of hot temperatures, but try your hardest to cover your skin. You can also opt to wear a hat when you go outside. Depending on the size, it can protect your face, ears, scalp and neck. Broadly brimmed hats are the best choice. Protect your eyes by wearing sunglasses that block UV rays. Your eyes are the perfect spot for skin cancer to develop, so it is very important to protect them. There are certain types of chapstick and make-up that protect against UV-rays.
So now you know. A suntan is not healthy. It will not decrease acne or wrinkles. The sun does help our bodies produce vitamin D and can combat depression, but we don’t need a sunburn or tan in order to do that. All the sunburns and tans you get throughout your life accumulate deadly skin damage. Keep yourself healthy and prolong your life by skipping the tanning and applying the sunscreen.
Brianna Elliott is a third year dietetics student and has grown a passion for nutrition through her years of studying. She is a regular contributor at PSCLife.com which carries such popular products as Tyme Zyme enzyme supplement (designed for a quicker healing response) and Cosamin ASU (designed for sore muscles and joints). Although skin cancer doesn’t apply exactly to nutrition, it’s still an important health topic to be addressed…Brianna believes it is important for people to learn more about it.