©2004 Suzin Stockton
We've been taught that sunlight causes cancer.
That's the theory. To take it a step further,
the reason it is thought to cause cancer
is that certain ultraviolet (UV) rays create
renegade chemical fragments known as free
radicals in the body. These fragments are
molecules with unpaired electrons that cause
biochemical havoc by snatching electrons
wherever they can.What has been largely overlooked is that free radicals come from other sources as well, including oils that have turned rancid. Oil does not have to smell bad to be bad. There are three things that cause oil to become rancid: exposure to heat, light and oxygen. When we consume it or rub it into our skin (as a lotion or suntan oil), our tissues provide the heat and the oxygen. If we then go bask in the sun, it provides even more heat and light, and the oil is guaranteed to become rancid. This rancid oil causes free radical damage in the body, just as certain UV rays of the sun can do.
If the body has a sufficient supply of antioxidant nutrients (vitamins A and E, the minerals selenium and zinc and certain enzymes with exotic names like superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase), then free radicals are neutralized or scavenged by these antioxidants, and damage is avoided. If, however, the body is deficient in these protective nutrients, free radical damage will occur, regardless of sun exposure.
Deficiency of these elements is widespread today. Today's produce is lacking in these, as well as other important nutrients, due to high yield agricultural practices which incorporate the use of chemical fertilizers. These fertilizers, due to their acidity, have the effect of locking up soil minerals, making them unavailable to plants. Once produce is harvested, it is processed. Food processing procedures create further nutrient loss due to the use of heat. Cooking causes even more deficiency of nutrients. As a result, most Americans are deficient in antioxidant nutrients and, therefore, susceptible to free radical damage.
Rather than causing cancer, the sun may serve merely as a catalyst in the process (because it supplies heat and light) in the antioxidant-deficient body. The real key to cancer prevention lies in supplying the body with an ample amount of antioxidant nutrients from whole foods grown on mineral-rich soils. Such food provides the full spectrum of nutrients needed to maintain health. Moderate sun exposure is well tolerated by the well nourished body.
It is not the sun against which we need protect ourselves but rather the nutrient deficiencies which make us vulnerable to solar damage. The world is full of well nourished 'primitive' people who live in the sun without 'protection' and have never experienced cancer. It is strictly a disease of civilization, deficiency and toxicity.