From: arnett@unixg.ubc.ca (Bill Arnett)
Subject: Re: Tanning
Organization: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 11:39:12 GMT

In article <BRUCE.92Oct1171343@suprenum.uxb.liv.ac.uk> bruce@uxb.liv.ac.uk (Bruce Stephens) writes:
>>>>>> On 1 Oct 92 06:47:28 GMT, ecsd@tfs.com (Eric C. S. Dynamic) said:
>> Am I wrong, it seems to me that say, 20 years ago, people were not worried
>> so much about ill effects of tanning. I know that tanning, or over-tanning,
>> has been linked to skin-cancer, but does anyone know the statistics about
>> skin-cancer in this regard? Because I suspect people may now be being
>> overcautious. I know about the Ozone hole, but those effects do not
>> significantly reach down to our latitudes, do they? Being here 37 North.
>
>Skin cancer has gone way up.  I don't know the stats, but in Australia
>it's become a major cause of death.

As has every other form of cancer *not* related to ozone depletion.

Medical science likes to believe every illness has a *single* cause (in
this case UV radiation) which can be compensated for to prevent the illness.
Complex causes (eg., higher fat intake, more toxic chemicals in food/air/
water, higher stress levels,....) affect a person's immune system.  There
is a distinct *possibility* that higher rates of skin cancer have nothing
whatsoever to do with the increased UV levels.  <<Note that I only said
"possibility", so don't flame me with "evidence" "proving" that it *is*
the UV...I've heard it all before---we've all heard it before---and none
of it considers that any other factors might influence the cancer rates.>>

A recent issue of _Going Natural_ (published by the Fed. of Canadian
Naturists) contained an interesting article on the health BENEFITS of
exposure to the sun's rays (and some cautions, too).  I believe it was
translated from some INF publication.  The author admitted that he
wasn't a doctor, but had obviously given the matter a considerable amount
of research.

A few points the author made:
 - UV stimulates the immune system.
 - Suntanning lowers stress levels. (this effect supposedly can be
  *measured* for several days afterward.)
 - Stress impairs the immune system.
 - UV creates vitamin D in a healthier form than is added to milk, etc.
 - Fats exposed to UV become carcinogens.  (This includes fatty foods
   and LOTIONS APPLIED TO THE SKIN.)
 - Sun *burn* probably can cause skin cancer, but there is no evidence
   that *tanning* causes cancer.  (the early studies that concluded this
   didn't make any distinction between tanning with burning and tanning
   without burning.)
 - The chemicals contained in some sunscreens might be carcinogenic.
   (Isn't this why PABA isn't used anymore?)
 - Studies in Britain have concluded that office workers are more likely
   to be killed by skin cancer than farmers are, even though they have
   less exposure to the sun.  (PossiblODy because they
   are more likely to get burnt on their few occasions in the sun.)

I'm not going to defend any of these statements, but I think the article
raised a lot of intersting points about how little we understand about the
causes of cancer, how the medical profession does *not* take a holistic
view of health, how our efforts to avoid skin cancer *may* only contribute
to it.

Another comment I read a while back (I think it was in a Statistics Canada
publication) was that death statistics are misleading because there are
only a few things that still kill people anymore (in North America and
Europe).  All the major causes of illness of the last century can be
cured now.  (Even the Plague is curable in most cases.)  This means all
those people that "should have" died from other causes now survive long
enough to die from cancer or heart disease, thereby increasing the incidence
of those diseases.

Sorry. This turned into a discussion of health, not nudism.  I'm not
saying everyone should believe these statements, but perhaps at least
consider them for a few moments.  As I said before I'm not going to
defend anything I wrote (hell, I'm not a doctor) but I will discuss
it by email.

Bill.
-- 
Bill Arnett                            Internet: arnett@unixg.ubc.ca
Newsgroups: rec.nude