http://mercola.fileburst.com/PDF/SunlightSpecial.pdf

dr. mercola -pdf

it begins~

A breakthrough study1 was recently published, which demonstrated just how important
getting regular exposure to sunlight is for you.
Regularly spending even relatively short intervals of only 10 to 15 minutes in the sunlight
allows your body to produce vitamin D, and having adequate vitamin D3 levels can
drastically reduce your risk of colon and breast cancer.
The researchers, from the Moore’s Cancer Center at the University
of California, San Diego (UCSD), estimated that by increasing
vitamin D3 levels, particularly in countries north of the equator,
250,000 cases of colorectal cancer, and 350,000 cases of breast
cancer could be prevented worldwide.
In all, that amounts to 600,000 cases of breast and colorectal
cancer prevented, including close to 150,000 in the U.S. alone.
This is an unprecedented study because it’s the first to take
satellite measurements of sunshine and cloud cover in the same
countries where blood serum levels of vitamin D3 had also been
taken. In all, surveys of serum vitamin D levels from 15 countries
were evaluated for the study—during the winter when sunlight
is at a minimum.
www.Mercola.com
Yes, it’s true; this flies in the face of most public health statements and “expert” physicians
recommendations to stay OUT of the sun. Sun exposure, they say, can lead not only to skin
cancer, but also to premature aging of the skin (wrinkles), and cataracts.
It is vital for you to understand, right here and
now, that the dangers of sun exposure have
been greatly exaggerated, and the benefits highly
underestimated.
I am not exaggerating here when I tell you the
very life of you, your family, and your friends
hangs in the balance unless you understand the
truth about this issue. It is more than worth
your time to analyze your belief about this topic
because if you choose wrong, you could easily
leave this world decades before your time.


I believe that the evidence is very clear; you are not nearly as likely to develop deadly skin
cancer as you have been led to believe, and the benefits you will receive from normalizing
your vitamin D levels continue to be documented daily in the scientific literature.
There IS merit to the advice to avoid getting sunburned. You will obviously want to exercise
common sense and always avoid getting sunburned. But that is a relatively simple strategy, and
I will give you some practical guidelines below that will easily help you implement this strategy.
If your skin is unused to the sun, it is important to build up your tolerance regularly and
gradually. It’s good to start early in the year, in the spring and early summer. This will
prepare your skin for the stronger sunlight later in the year. Early morning is, for similar
reasons, the best time to sunbathe if you are not used to sunlight, because there is less
chance of burning than there is later in the day. In addition, it’s best to sunbathe when the
temperature is below 64 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius), so that you don’t overheat.
Regular sunbathing is extremely important; you can’t cram all of your sun exposure into a two
or three week vacation period and expect to experience the benefits. When you do sunbathe,
it’s also important to treat it as a medicine and control the dosage; frequent, short periods
of exposure are best. If you overindulge or skip too many days, it can be dangerous. Regular
exposure protects against skin cancer, but intermittent exposure can actually increase the danger.
HOW LONG SHOULD YOU SUNBATHE?
A common myth is that occasional exposure of the face and hands to sunlight is “sufficient”
for vitamin D nutrition. For most of us, this is an absolutely inadequate exposure to move
vitamin levels to the healthy range of 45–55 ng/ml.

http://www.gazette.com/articles/natu...d%20ients.html

November 24, 2007 - 7:12AM


NEW YORK - Just as consumers are eating more organic foods, they’re looking for personal-care products made with natural ingredients too, and the health and beauty industry is going greener. So it’s only natural that interest in natural toothpaste is also growing.

For shoppers like Ducky Nguyen, 35, the ideal toothpaste not only cleans and freshens but also protects against cavities and gum disease as it whitens teeth. While browsing a Whole Foods Market in New York City, she said she had used Tom’s of Maine, a toothpaste marketed as natural, for eight years — once she got used to the flavors.

But when she realized that Tom’s of Maine didn’t offer “all of the gum protection and tartar control that regular toothpastes do,” she finally felt she had to switch, she said. She wonders if natural toothpastes can provide the same sort of protection without added ingredients and potentially harmful chemicals.

Companies that make natural toothpastes now offer almost as many varieties as Colgate and Crest do. And while the shelves at Whole Foods are stocked with dozens of “natural oral care” products — with or without fluoride, in minty and fruity flavors, gels and pastes — products for consumers interested in natural toothpastes are becoming even more widely available.

But a careful look at these toothpastes shows that the definition of “natural” varies. Some may be referring to key ingredients, like peppermint oil, while others say they don’t use artificial ingredients.

Dr. Eric Shapira of Montara, Calif., a spokesman for the Academy of General Dentistry, said he believes that many of these products try to attract people who are “mindlessly” looking for green products.

He urged consumers to be cautious — some products marketed as natural and homeopathic have ingredients that may cause allergic reactions or worse. “Some of the menthols and eucalyptols in these natural formulas can actually burn tissue,” he said.

Dr. Kelly Maguire, director of professional advocacy for Tom’s of Maine, said more people are apparently becoming more sensitive to ingredients — natural or chemical. Tom’s ingredients come from natural sources, are not tested on animals, and are vegan, kosher and halal-certified. It’s possible to whip up a good, natural toothpaste with baking soda, Maguire said. “We’re offering products that make it more pleasant to brush by adding natural flavors.”

Maguire said Tom’s of Maine, which was purchased by Colgate-Palmolive last year, is the first natural toothpaste to receive the Seal of Acceptance from the American Dental Association. She anticipated that the brand’s new Whole Care line will receive the ADA seal next spring.

Dr. Cliff Whall, director of the ADA Acceptance Program, said that just because a product has been granted a seal doesn’t mean it has been officially endorsed. “It means the product is effective and does what it says it will do,” he said.

For Whall, it’s important that consumers make a distinction between what is commonly considered natural and the ADA’s definition. “Even in toothpastes that call themselves natural, there are ingredients — fluorides, abrasives and humectants — that go through a lot of processing,” he said. “When we say a product is natural, we mean that it has no artificial color, flavors or preservatives.”

To make matters more confusing, there is no official definition of natural health care products. The Food and Drug Administration regulates a toothpaste as a drug if it has fluoride and is intended to prevent or lessen diseases like tooth decay, but if it doesn’t make these claims, it’s considered to be a cosmetic. “If it’s a cosmetic product, we leave it up to the manufacturers to be careful with their labeling,” said Stephanie Kwisenek, an FDA spokeswoman.

As for fluoride, the ADA has officially endorsed its use in oral-care products since 1950 because it strengthens tooth enamel and effectively fights tooth decay.

Shapira said that while toothpastes without fluoride are available, dentists advocate fluoride for its long-term benefits. “It’s absorbed into the structure of the enamel, making it more resistant to bacteria that cause cavities,” Shapira said.

For patients adamantly opposed to fluoride, Jean Connor, a dental hygienist in Cambridge, Mass., and president of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, says formulas with xylitol, a natural anticavity agent, are alternatives. “It’s really about offering as many options as possible to each patient,” she said. “They can make their own decisions.”


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Typical toothpaste is regulated as a drug by the FDA because an average tube contains enough fluoride to kill a small child. Most people in the United States have been living under the false assumption that fluoride toothpaste is essential to preventing cavities, when in reality it is a dangerous poison.

Too much fluoride can lead to fluorosis, a discoloring of your teeth and breakdown of enamel -- itself a result diametrically opposed to the dental health it supposedly is meant to prevent -- and more serious developmental problems such as lower IQ. Excessive use of fluoride also increases your risk of osteoporosis and can damage your nervous system, not to mention its links to:

Cancer
Developmental and reproductive toxicity
Endocrine disruption
Organ system toxicity
Neurotoxicity
As the word about the dangers of fluoride gets out -- even the American Dental Association admitted this year that fluoride is bad -- more of you are seeking out natural toothpaste
Others are seeking natural toothpastes because they’re catching on to the importance of limiting your exposure to as many artificial chemicals as possible. And rest assured that fluoride is not the only skeleton hiding in your typical toothpaste’s closet.

A quick reading of the ingredients in one leading brand of toothpaste reveals:

Triclosan: A preservative and cosmetic biocide that has been linked to endocrine disruption, organ system toxicity, and bioaccumulation
Sodium lauryl sulfate: A cleansing agent linked to cancer and developmental and reproductive toxicity
Tetrasodium pyrophosphate: An oral care agent that animal studies have found impact your brain and nervous system at low doses
Hydrated silica: An anticaking agent that bioaccumulates in people and wildlife
FD&C Blue 1: An artificial coloring linked to cancer
You would think, then, that a natural toothpaste label would be much more, well, natural. Some, in fact, are. But you must be careful to read the label and know what you’re buying. For instance, here are some of the ingredients in a leading non-fluoride natural toothpaste:

Sodium monofluorophosphate: An oral care agent linked to neurotoxicity, developmental and reproductive toxicity, and possibly cancer.
Sodium lauryl sulfate: Same as above.
The bottom line is that personal care products are not regulated, and those that claim to be natural can be far from it.

Look for a simple natural, non-fluoride toothpaste with only familiar ingredients, and skip all of the bells and whistles like “whitening,” “enamel strengthening,” and “multi-action.” If you’re looking for a safe way to make your teeth whiter, you can try this truly natural formula using strawberries and baking soda...