Sat Apr 12, 2008 5:11 pm (PDT)
97 Percent of Americans Contaminated by Sunscreens
_http://www.naturaln ews.com/022990. html_
(http://www.naturaln ews.com/022990. html)

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) released a new study showing that
nearly all Americans are contaminated with oxybenzone, a widely-used
sunscreen
ingredient. This chemical so far has been linked to allergies, hormone
disruption, and cell damage, as well as low birth weight in baby girls
whose mothers
are exposed during pregnancy. Oxybenzone is also a penetration enhancer, a
chemical that helps other chemicals penetrate the skin. So where has
the FDA
been on this?

Apparently in the back pocket of the _sunscreen_
(http://www.naturaln ews.com/sunscree n.html) industry. The Food and
Drug Administration, again, has
failed in its duty to protect the public from toxic chemicals like
oxybenzone.
Caving to the industry lobbyists, the agency has delayed final
sunscreen safety
standards for nearly 30 years. FDA issued a new draft of the standards
last
October under pressure from _Environmental Working Group_
(http://www.naturaln ews.com/Environm ental_Working_ Group.html)
(EWG), but continues to delay
finalizing them because of pressure from the industry.

In their online cosmetic safety database, EWG identifies nearly 600
sunscreens sold in the U.S. that contain oxybenzone, including leading
brand names
like Hawaiian Tropic, Coppertone, and Banana Boat, and many facial
moisturizers
as well. On top of that, they also show many of these so-called sunscreens
offer inadequate protection from the sun. In fact, they found that
sunlight
also causes oxybenzone to form free radical chemicals that may be
linked to
cell damage, which is the exact opposite reason many women mistakenly
use the
sunscreen - to protect them from damaging free radicals which lead to
premature
_aging_ (http://www.naturaln ews.com/aging. html) !

And interestingly, as sunscreen sales have risen, so has the rate of skin
cancers. Go figure. We've been pressured to believe that the sun is
our enemy
and we need to slather on loads of sunscreen to protect ourselves, when in
actuality we need sunlight for our bodies to manufacture vitamin D.
For those of
us who are either fair skinned or just plain vain and worry about age
spots
and wrinkles, limiting our unprotected sun exposure to 20 minutes a day is
adequate for our daily dose of vitamin D. For more fun in the sun,
overexposure
can be avoided by using a natural or organic sunscreen with a reflective
barrier like zinc, instead of chemical sunscreens. Even a small amount
of shea
butter rubbed into the skin daily offers a bit of natural UV protection.
Whatever you do, don't wait for _the FDA_
(http://www.naturaln ews.com/the_ FDA.html) to help you in your
choice. Based on their history in this category, it
could be another 30 years before safety standards are improved.

References:
1. Environmental Health Perspectives: Concentrations of the Sunscreen
Agent,
Benzophenone- 3, in Residents of the United States: National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey 2003â€"2004
_http://www.ehponlin e.org/docs/ 2008/1126. .._
(http://www.ehponlin e.org/docs/ 2008/11269/ abstract. html)

2. Environmental Working Group: Comments from EWG on the U.S. FDA's
Proposed
Amendment of Final Monograph for Sunscreens
_http://www.ewg. org/node/ 25705_ (http://www.ewg. org/node/ 25705)

3. Environmental Working Group: Americans Carry 'Body Burden' of Toxic
Sunscreen Chemical
_http://www.ewg. org/node/ 26212_ (http://www.ewg. org/node/ 26212)