Protect your Assets
 Beautifully bronzed bodies might be a fashion must-have, but the side effects can be lethal.
Relaxing at the beach and enjoying the summer sun is part of our home-grown culture. Our wonderful weather is Australia’s star tourist attraction and tanned bodies are associated with health and fitness. Whether the tones are achieved by sunning yourself outdoors or inside a solarium, the damage can be the same. The fact that Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world shows that we need to be more aware of what we are doing to our bodies. But it’s not all doom and gloom – with sunscreen, a hat and the right intake of vitamins you can make sure you protect your best asset, your health.
Health versus Fashion
The thought of heading down to the beach in summer is a notion that keeps many locals going through the colder months. “Slip Slop Slap” has become a household slogan thanks to the hard work of organisations such as the Cancer Council, but the message needs to reach the thousands of Australians who develop skin cancer every year.
It’s not just the young teenagers sunning themselves for a ‘fashion accessory’ tan – there are many generations who believe that sun is good for the skin, and it is – but only in very small doses.
GNC naturopath Tania Read says that in her experience people attribute tanned skin to being healthy, but this is a dangerous perception to have.
“The damage caused by repeated injury will lead, in most cases, to aging, loss of elasticity, random pigmentation, age spots, dehydration, and/or cancer. The 2005 World Health Organisation (WHO) believes 90 percent of skin cancers are derived in part from sun damage and that women under 40 years of age are twice as likely to develop skin cancer than men in the same age group.”
Read explains that the UVA and UVB light from the sun damages our skin’s DNA.
“When repeated doses of sun damage occur, this leads to gene mutation, which stops our skin cells protecting us from UV rays. The skin cells can then mutate and proliferate to form tumours commonly known as non-melanoma cancers. Melanomas are less common, but more deadly and these potentially fatal skin cancers develop on existing freckles or moles.”
Melanoma rates are alarming, and in our sunburnt country they are four times higher than in the US, Canada
and the UK. Each year, Australians are four times more likely to develop a common skin cancer than any other
form of cancer.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and the Australasian Association of Cancer Registries (AACR), more than 380,000 Australians are treated for skin cancer each year – that’s more than 1000 people a day, costing the health system
in excess of $300 million annually.
Warning Signs
Your skin type plays a major role in how at risk you are to skin cancer. If you have fair skin you will be more prone to burn than people with olive or
dark complexions.
We have all felt the hot sun on our back and have asked ourselves “Have I started to burn?” and the answer is usually yes. If you already have sunscreen on, this should be the time to grab a shirt and a hat or a spot under a shady tree.
Helping Hand
There are a range of products on the market to assist your body’s natural skin cell functions.
Antioxidants can protect the skin cells from free radical stress caused by sun damage, particularly ascorbic acid, d-alpha tocopherols, selenium, zinc, alpha lipoic acid and histidine.
These supplements, as well as essential fatty acids, are of great benefit in preventing damage and encouraging proper skin cell function and health. Grape Seed Extract, which is high in procyanidins, and French Maritime Bark extract, which is often marketed as Pycnogenol, are two antioxidant compounds which are believed to help protect and maintain healthy skin.
Studies suggest that these antioxidants inhibit elastase, an enzyme which breaks down the elastin in the skin. Protecting elastin may delay the appearance of wrinkles and loss of skin tone caused by age and sun damage.
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Read points out that if you have been sunburnt and notice any moles or freckles that change shape, are itchy, bleed, have an irregular border or change colour, you should contact your doctor or Sun Cancer Clinic immediately.
“Moles in areas around the spine or on breast tissue must be monitored carefully as these areas are susceptable to extremely dangerous metatsis. Any unusual or new ulcer or pigmentation on the skin should be immediately seen to by a qualified doctor. Early treatment has a 90 percent success rate for a cure.”
Risky Business
For a quick ‘tan top-up’ before a special event it is tempting to drop by the solarium. A lot of us have done it, and after a quick 15-minute session you are left with revitalised colour. Many women looking to jump straight into the summer season book a number of sessions to achieve a nearly instant glow.
Unfortunately, tanning salons don’t warn people about the damage sun beds can cause on younger, lighter skin, but impressionable under 18s will soon
be protected.
“The Australian government has finally announced impending regulation of tanning beds after the WHO statement which warned of the dangers to sun beds and advised that no person under 18 should use them,” says Read.
“The legislation has become necessary due to the increased risk of skin damage from tanning beds and their intentional or unintentional mis-use, and the lack of industry self-regulation. Solariums will soon be forced to display warnings and people under 18 years will be banned from using them.”
Arming Your Defences
The best measure to protect yourself from the sun’s UV rays will always be to cover up with hats, clothing and sunglasses and find some shade. Protecting your body from the inside isn’t easy as our natural defence comes from skin pigmentation. Melanin is the pigment that darkens our skin and protects us from sun damage, so if we have more pigment it decreases the risk of sunburn.
There’s a new theory gaining momentum that looks at the way antioxidants in plants protect the plant from too much sunlight. “This contributes to the idea of prevention of UV damage in human skin. Immune stimulants, antioxidants and natural anti-inflammatories will help to protect our skin; studies have included Vitamins A, C, E, zinc and essential fatty acids with positive effects,” says Read.
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