The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has conducted a study on the safety and effectiveness of more than 700 sunscreen products, coming up with less than radiant results.

According to Jane Houlihan, vice president for research at EWG, they “conducted this research because the FDA has failed to do so.”

The study, which looked at name-brand sunscreens, found that 85 percent of the products with an SPF rating of 15 or higher did not offer satisfactory sunburn protection and/or contained potentially unsafe ingredients.

Many of these complex formulations also lead to unexpected problems that are often overlooked by the formulators, like the use of certain sunscreen chemicals that break down when exposed to sunlight.

A new group of sunscreens, formulated with nanotechnology, contain particles small enough to penetrate the skin. What the potential health risks are from the use of these products is unknown.

The sunshine/skin cancer myth is one of the most pervasive ones in our society. The recommendation to stay out of the sun, and to slather on sunscreen every time you do expose yourself to the sun, has increased cancer deaths by more than 50,000 people per year due to lowered vitamin D levels.

Sun exposure actually lowers your risk of contracting not only skin cancer, but a host of other cancers as well, whereas the use of sunscreen increases your cancer risk.

It’s a multi-level-whammy: by decreasing your vitamin D levels, and adding toxic sunscreen ingredients into your system, you increase your cancer risk, which keeps the pharmaceutical companies, the medical industry, the cancer societies and the sunscreen manufacturers rolling in the dough, busy coming up with more fake and costly solutions.

If you haven’t already seen one of my most watched YouTube videos, “How to Reduce Your Risk of Cancer by 50 %,” I highly recommend it. You might also want to keep an eye out for my forthcoming book, Dark Deception, which is due to be published in 2008. It will take an in-depth look at all of the various issues relating to sunscreen, cancer, vitamin D, and sunlight.

Organic Consumers’ Association June 25, 2007

Environmental Working Group (Full Study)