Last week I watched on Television a disturbing documentary about
the effects of sunscreen on laboratory rats, humans and coral.
Margaret Schlumpf of the University of Zurich Switzerland, has
been doing research for a while about the effects of sunscreen on
lab rats. What she discovered was so alarming that she decided to
extend her research to humans.
Here are some of her findings:
She found that many widely used sunscreens products contained
chemicals that mimic estrogen, and triggered genital abnormalities
in the lab rats. A common chemical called 4-MBC, when mixed with
olive oil and applied to the skin of the rats, triggered uterine growth
to twice their normal size well before puberty. In male rats their
genitals were much smaller than the rats that had not been exposed
to the 4-MBC chemical.
Endometriosis which is caused by exposure to excessive estrogen,
is the major cause of sterility in women in the USA. Margaret
Schlumpf believes that the use of sunscreen might be the primary
cause of endometriosis in American women.
Margaret Schlumpf also discovered estrogen in the breast milk of
mothers that use sunscreen in highly concentrated amounts. How
their children will be affected in the future by ingesting this estrogen
is not yet known.
Margaret Schlumpf also said that exposure to high concentrations
of estrogen could increase drastically because of the large quantity
of sunscreen currently used by children, and the chemicals may also
affect their normal sexual development.
Women that are exposed to excessive amounts of estrogen, suffer
from increased fibrocystic breast diseases, painful breasts
swelling and suppression of thyroid hormone production which may
in turn cause muscle and joints pain along with fatigue. The excessive
amounts of estrogen can also increase the possibility of breast cancer,
endometriosis and uterine cancer.
Some studies warn against the chemical in sunscreen because large
amount of sunscreen applied to the skin can pass through the skin
and go directly into the bloodstream. The chemical Oxypenzone has
also been found in the urine of sunscreen users.
These excessive uses of sunscreen could play a factor in the
increase in breast, uterine, colon and prostate cancer. This has
been observed among populations where sunscreen is
heavily promoted as a form of protection against skin cancer.
Adding to the problem is the devastating consequences on the
marine ecosystem. Sunscreen has been killing coral by the
thousands. Sunscreen asphyxiates the coral by covering it with
a coating of oil that prevent the coral from breathing.
If you are at all concerned by the results of this study, you
don’t have to stop using sunscreen protection entirely, instead
choose sunscreen products that are more natural like the ones
sold in health food stores.
