Every summer we warn against using sunscreens. First, sunscreens contain toxic ingredients. Some are better than others, but we haven’t found a single one we’d want to use or recommend. Second, sunscreens are designed to block out the sun’s ultraviolet rays. This prevents sunburn, but it also blocks out many of the sun’s benefits. We’ve been sold a bill of goods on sunlight being dangerous. Sunlight is essential to our health and well-being. While too much sun can give you a sunburn, too much of anything can be harmful. Used intelligently, sunlight is nourishing and energizing. Our bodies convert the sun’s rays into vitamin D. Sunlight increases production of the “happy hormones” that prevent anxiety and depression, it enhances immunity, and increases the oxygen content in our blood. It helps to prevent and reverse cancer. Sunlight has even been shown to lower blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides, and to heal wounds and any number of skin diseases. So what is “intelli…

Humans evolved to spend our days hunting and gathering in the great outdoors, getting plenty of exercise, excitement, camaraderie, fresh air and sun. Those were the good old days when the best things in life were free, including a flood of summer sunlight that created as much vitamin D as it penetrated our bare skin as we would need all year round.  But we moved further and further from the equator, where sunlight is most abundant, and began spending more and more of our lives indoors. We adopted a less healthy diet with fewer and fewer fresh fruits and vegetables with their antioxidants that protected us from potential damage by the sun, and medical authorities began recommending sun avoidance and sunscreens, the weakest of which (PF8) block 95% of the sun’s vitamin-D producing UVB rays. (See here on using the sun intelligently to still get free vitamin D.) Vitamin D deficiency is now so widespread that alternative doctors say virtually every new pa…

Chlorinated Pools and Health: What the Research Actually Shows Swimming is widely viewed as a healthy activity—especially for children. However, research over the past two decades suggests that frequent exposure to chlorinated pool environments may carry unintended health risks, particularly for young children and for people who spend long hours in heavily used pools. Understanding why this matters allows families to make informed, practical choices. Why Chlorine Exposure Raises Concerns Chlorine itself is not the only issue. The larger concern is what happens when chlorine reacts with organic material introduced into pool water, including: Sweat and urine Skin cells and hair Sunscreens and cosmetics Personal care residues These reactions create compounds known as disinfection byproducts (DBPs). What the Science Has Found A study published in Environmental Science & Technology reported that when chlorine reacts with organic matter in pool water, it forms new chemi…