Food Intolerance

1. Food Intolerance

What causes food intolerance?

 

2. Food Allergy

What causes food allergy?

How can food intolerance and food allergies be treated or dealt with?

Is taking medication and pills to fight the food intolerance healthy?

 

The Sun, a Natural Health Source: Disadvantages from Overexposure

There are advantages and disadvantages of being in the sun. Better to start with the disadvantages since they are the most documented. The disadvantages occur due to overexposure. This is not a one-time overexposure. It is overexposure over a year or more, spending more time than is healthy.

How much constitutes sun overexposure ? According to dermatologists this depends on the skin type one has. This is the rate of melanin production in a person's epidermis (outer layer of skin). Melanin is a skin pigment or a substance that gives color to skin tissue. The skin color we see in people basically shows the amount of melanin they each have, with darkest skin indicating a high level of melanin. It is this melanin which acts as a sunscreen in protecting the skin from ultraviolet (UV) radiation that the sun emits (produces).

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) has established six different classifications of skin types. (Dermatology is a medical specialty concerned with treating diseases and disorders of the skin, hair, and nails.) If race was defined by dermatologists we'd probably have these six categories rather than the political ones we now have that have evolved over time.

Each skin type represents a level of tolerance or sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. Skin type 1 has the least tolerance while skin type 6 has the most. The easiest way to determine your skin type is by your natural skin color and hair color. The table below gives the six categories by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD).

Skin Type Sun Reaction History Exa m ple Type 1 Always burns easily, never tans, extremely sun sensitive skin Red-haired , freckles, (people of Celtic origin – mainly Irish, Scots, Welsh. Children too have very sensitive skin) Type 2 Always burns easily, tans minimally, very sun sensitive skin Fair-skinned, red or blonde hair, fair-haired, blue or green-eyed Type 3 Sometimes burns, tans gradually to light brown, sun sensitive skin Average skin ( the most common skin type found in races native to the British Isles and Northern Europe) Type 4 Burns minimally, always tans to moderate brown, minimally sun sensitive Mediterranean-type Caucasians (Southern Europe, some Middle Eastern, some Asian) Type 5 Develops a darker tan (skin complexion) while rarely burning, sun insensitive skin Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, native American, some Hispanics, some African-Americans Type 6 Never burns, deeply pigmented, sun insensitive skin African-American (African decent), African, native Australian, native South Pacific (Oceania), some south Indian

MedicineChest at MedicineChest.co.uk gives more detailed info on the skin types and how each category can have better protection from sun overexposure. The table below gives the six skin-types, adapted from MedicineChest.co.uk, “Sun protection Section 2”:

Skin Type 1: skin is very pale and naturally freckled, with red or pale blonde hair and green or blue eyes. This skin type burns easily in the sun, and becomes bright red rather than a bronzed brown. If you have Type 1 skin, then you are at significant risk of not only burning badly, but of developing the symptoms of premature ageing and eventually skin cancer. This skin type is often seen in people of Celtic origin, found in Scotland and Ireland.  Type 1 skin will burn within ten minutes of exposure to the sun.  Skin Type 2 skin is also pale, but has dark blonde to light brown hair and blue or hazel eyes. This skin type also burns easily but could become brown if sun exposure is introduced gradually. However, it is not advisable for Type 2 skin to undergo the amount of sun exposure required to induce a sun ‘tan'. We associate this skin type with people of Germanic and Scandinavian origin but it is also found in the UK.           Type 2 skin will burn in under 20 minutes Skin Type 3 skin is fairly pale, with light to dark brown hair and blue, green or brown eyes. This skin type sometimes burns, but otherwise will eventually go brown. Type 3 is the most common skin type found in races native to the British Isles and Northern Europe. Burning time for Type 3 is around 30 minutes  Skin Type 4: skin is well adapted to the sun and rarely burns. Sometimes described as Olive, it is pale brown thanks to its naturally high levels of protective melanin. People of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Central European origin tend to be Type 4.  Skin Type 5: skin has a great deal of natural sun protection. This skin type is naturally light brown, and hair is very dark brown or black, with brown eyes. People of Asian or Far Eastern origin tend to have this type of skin.  Skin Type 6: skin is the best protected of all. It is typically mid to dark brown, with black hair and brown eyes. It is well adapted to the sun and requires little topical protection. People of African, African-Caribbean or native Australian origin tend to be Type 6.

Burning time is the amount of time it takes for one's skin to receive a sunburn. A sunburn is an inflammation of the skin caused by overexposure to UV radiation from the sun. The table above gives a burning time estimate for some skin types. Because this is so important, particularly for susceptible skin types, the disadvantages of the sun end up outweighing the advantages once a person proceeds to repeated overexposure.

Overexposure is not worth it in the long run. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) and many related institutions worldwide caution against it. “There is no safe way to tan.  A suntan is the skin's response to an injury.  Tanning occurs when the sun's ultraviolet rays penetrate the skin's inner layer, causing the skin to produce more melanin as a response to the injury.  Chronic exposure to the sun results in a change in the skin's texture causing wrinkling and age spots… Every time you tan, you accumulate damage to the skin.  This damage, in addition to accelerating the aging process, also increases your risk for all types of skin cancer, including melanoma,” (AAD, Facts About Sunscreens).

Tanning therefore comes from overexposure to the sun or "sun" (tanning) lamps. As AAD says it's an indication of skin damage or injury from the UV radiation. This is more so when it comes after sunburn. That is why many say tan but don't burn. And if you're in skin type 1 that cannot tan then avoid the attempt to tan altogether. Cover your body while in the sun.

Tanning particularly that done through sunburn rather than gradually is not a healthy outcome – at least when overexposure is done over prolonged repeated periods. The skin darkens, tans or produces more melanin (color) in an attempt to protect the skin from the sun's UV rays.

The Sun, a Natural Health Source: Advantages from Modest Exposure

I have already covered on the disadvantages that come through overexposure. How overexposure can be avoided for each skin type has also been addressed. It is now fitting to proceed to all the health benefits that can be derived from the sun when exposed to it within limits.

“The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun,” Ecclesiastes 11:7.

“And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good..” Genesis 1:3-4.

“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall,” Malachi 4:2.

Thus even the bible touches on the health benefits of the sun - psychological and physiological benefits. Here is a worthwhile excerpt from Project Restore Ministry on the benefits of the sun:

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