Milk. It does a body good.

Well, thank goodness, because now we are gett8ng news that sunscreen is killing the corals...

Interesting....but just a question... for the medical folks

My third sibling ( out of 6 ) has just been diagnosed with melanoma....so 50 % of my siblings have had melanoma.... Who wants to suggest that I not worry about using sunscreen ??

Sun is like everything else, good in moderation. It also depends on your skin type. Skin cancer is mostly caused by skin that is sunburned (intensity and frequency). It's one thing to go to the pool for 4 hours if you work in an office all week. It's a different thing to spend 7 stray days in the Bahamas at the beach and snorkeling. I'd use sunscreen for the latter. I just did the latter with a Doctor and his family and they religiously used sunscreen everyday. Yet they don't if they're home and just go out on the boat for 1 day on the weekend.

Question for the Original Poster -- Dr. Goodheart -- or other medical professionals:

I have been led to believe that Vitamin D interacts with the nervous system.

I have Guillain Barré Syndrome. Would D3 supplement be beneficial? Harmful?

The correct answer of course, is to ask my neurologist. The one who was treating me has left the area, and to date, I have not been successful in locating a physician who has significant experience with GBS.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
I was an ocean lifeguard for 20 years. Rarely if ever used sunscreen. I think the shit actually cause skin cancer.

We have guys who’ve been guards for 40 years and more and never used it either. They’re just fine.

That's VERY intriguing. There's no substitution for experience. Fascinating.

8 hours a day for 20 plus years in the sun (not counting all the time surfing or playing as a kid at the beaches where we lived) and usually in a speedo (cause that’s how I roll). Add 2 more hours for workouts (swims, runs, rows, etc). On a patrol of over 70 guys, I don’t know of any with skin cancer or getting stuff cut off. My skin is just fine and people often tell me I look like I’m in my early 20s.

My wife on the other hand, a fair skinned beach girl, always wore sun block and still does. Every year she gets skin sliced off at the dermatologist.

There’s probably a genetic component at work...or sunblock is nasty stuff (especially the alcohol based sprays).

I just never applied it due to laziness, then I started to learn about all the chemicals in it. So I just never used it for the most part. My parents never put it on me as a kid.

Who knows though, my skin might melt off in a few years

We evolved millions of years without sunblock and you don’t hear of everyone dying of skin cancers.

My dad looks a bit like Frankenstein. He has scars “zippers” all over his face and head. He’s had Moes (spelling?) surgery several times. He’s had a huge skin graft on his face where you can tell it’s a patch. Obviously the sun can affect us all differently.

A lot of health nuts will tell you they get up and go outside at sunrise in their underwear. They let the sun hit their body for vitamin D purposes. They’ll have a cup of coffee on their back porch in their briefs, then shower and start their day.

They do it daily and it’s not for hours at a time. I think that would be preferable if you live in a place you can do that.

Exposure and prolonged exposure are two different things. If my dad was a life guard and never used sunscreen, I bet he wouldn’t have any skin left!

I’d also imagine that people who get more sun exposure naturally lead more active lifestyles. Wonder if that was in the study.

V-Tail, I don’t know the answer to your question. Do you have residual effects from GBS?
I know of now adverse effects from taking vitamin D supplements, just lack of effectiveness as documented in that randomized trial.

I have a Vitamin D deficiency. Levels should ideally be the in the 30-100 range (with ~40 - ~60 being ideal) and I (as of 8 weeks ago) was sitting at 11.2. And you can see how low they've been previously:



After my latest (low) test in November I'm supplementing again -- I'm hoping to stick with it this time. I usually end up stopping taking it.

... Alas, now it may be pointless to supplement? Ughh.


I feel pretty normal, at least I think -- it doesn't seem that I feel any of the typical symptoms of vitamin D deficiency. Who knows, maybe I could feel a whole lot better.

I think something's overlooked in the conclusion and the correlation of sun exposure with preventing high blood pressure and cancer.

I think it's the activities involved with sun exposure that prevents high blood pressure and cancer. It's not like people go out, stand in the sun for 30 minutes, then turn around for another 30 minutes and call it good. I think they do stuff while out in the sun and are more physically active. This is what's driving the high blood pressure down.