Does The Sun Cause Cancer?

As the sunscreen numbers climb higher, and the news is full of warnings, it is time to take a look at the facts behind the sun’s relationship to skin cancer. The New York Times, July 20 2004, featured an interesting article that explore the mythic links between melanoma cancer and exposure to ultraviolet rays. This article differs from others because it was written from the point of a noted dermatologist who cannot find any link between the two.

This dermatologist took a trip to the Middle East, acquired a deep tan, ignoring the hundreds of moles on his body, and not covering his baldhead with a hat, or wearing sunscreen. Three years later, there is still interest in the results of this dermatologist’s experiment.

Many reports blame a serious sunburn early in life causes skin cancer later on. While other studies believe there is a small link, and others show none. The fact is, there are so many reports generated by leading research centers, that the masses of accumulated data work against each other to disprove the theory that ultraviolet rays cause skin cancer.

Some dermatologist now questions if the "epidemic" of melanoma proclaimed by other doctors as a fact. The definition of the cancer has changed over time. Now, doctors are diagnosing cancerous growths that did not carry the label melanoma.

Not all research blames the sun for the increase in skin cancers.

Dr David G Williams [Alternatives, April 1993; 4: 22] states that the sun might not be the cause, and hiding under sunscreens may increase the chances of developing skin cancer, and increasing the chances of creating problems by interfering with vitamin D synthesis.

According to Dr Williams: "Despite what you may have been led to believe, there is not adequate scientific data to support the belief that sunscreens prevent skin cancer (melanomas or basal cell cancers)."

Some reports, like Dr Williams, blame trans fat oils, like those found in margarine, to offer a more plausible answer to the cancer dilemma than ultra violet rays.

As early as 1950, scientists like Dr Johanna Budwig’s published research that demonstrated certain wavelengths of sunlight vibrate at the same frequency as the chemical bonds in unsaturated fatty acids (trans fatty oils are unsaturated). This, she believes, leads to mutations that become cancerous. Dr Budwig believed that for a free flow of nutrients to your cells and elimination of toxins, your body needs the supersaturated fatty acids (Omega-3 oils) bound to protein (especially bound to protein if your liver is weak).

The World Heath Organization inadvertently proved Dr. Budwig’s report by publishing a paper on rates of cancer around the world. Mexico, which has a large population of people who live in the sun, and has traditionally cooked with lard, had the lowest rate of melanoma cancer – until they started to industrialize and cook with margarine.

The worsening omega-3:6 ratios, not sunscreen, is the cause of the increases in skin cancers. In 2001, the National Academy of Sciences published a paper showing that the omega 6:3 ratio is the key to cancer prevention.

An Australian study published 10 years ago reveals a 40 percent reduction in melanoma for people who eat omega-3 rich fish. This report has recently been validated by a recent study on nurses in North America.