Doesn’t it seem like everything you learned about health is completely wrong?

We were told low fat was the key to preventing heart disease. Turns out its sugar that causes heart disease and that our body thrives on fat.

Then we were told to stay away from salt because it will raise your blood pressure. Well actually, research is proving that sugar, stress, and a misaligned atlas will raise your blood pressure more than salt. And some salt is needed for normal thyroid function, like sea salt.

Hours on the treadmill is the key to weight loss, right? No, actually 15-minute burst workouts raise your metabolism higher than long slow cardio workouts.

The list goes on and on. Science is proving to us that many health concepts we’ve been taught are wrong.

Well today, I am going to throw another curve ball at you.

Your sunscreen may be causing you cancer.

Before you scream in frustration and decide it’s too difficult to stay healthy, I want to simplify this for you.

It all comes back to toxins. When you spray toxic chemicals on your skin and bake in the sun for hours, you’ve got problems.

There are two kinds of sunscreen; mineral and non-mineral.

Non-mineral sunscreens get absorbed into your skin are potentially disruptive to hormones, are allergenic, and can release free radicals when they break down.

Oxybenzone is the most common ingredient found in non-mineral sunscreens. Scientists recommend not using sunscreens containing oxybenzone on children because of this hormone disruption. And any toxin not good for your kids is not good for you.

Mineral sunscreens are ones containing zinc or titanium. These do not break down in sunlight, are not usually absorbed (so do not disrupt the body’s hormones), are not allergenic and are more effective at blocking UVA rays than non-minerals. These sunscreens are a good choice for children and according to EWG have the best safety profiles of the choices in the United States.

Usually, mineral sunscreens take a long time to rub in. So don’t be annoyed, know the extra time is potentially saving your life.

Now I like shortcuts, so I highly recommend you go to the Environmental Working Groups database and look up your sunscreen. Here’s the link for you:

I also like to scan any sunscreen I might use on myself or my family through an app called Think Dirty. You can scan all your beauty products there. It’s sponsored by The Breast Cancer Prevention Partners.

If this is all new to you, remember that what you put on your skin can be as harmful as toxins you put in your mouth. But tools like the one above make it really easy to identify which ones you need to avoid.

I did a video on my FB page on this topic today. I gave tips on what you can do to avoid sunscreen altogether and show you the sunscreens we use in my family. Join me. Follow me at Dr. Mindy Pelz on FB to watch my FB lives.

Have an awesome day!

Dr. Mindy