Monday, May 23, 2005

And now another reversal

I remember as a kid that scientist came up with a theory that too much milk caused cancer. Then, there was the egg scare. It seems from time to time, some scientist will overdose a poor unsuspecting rat (that just took the job cleaning cages in the lab for extra money to pay for his kids tuition to Rattown University) on some everyday product (that rats never use on a regular, let alone excessive, basis) and declare that he has found a link to some carcinogen. The effect of this is twofold and immediate. The scientist gains notoriety and the public (in all their wisdom) rushes into a panic. The scientist stock (value) goes up and the product stock goes down.

Of course, I also remember when some other scientist or group of scientists came out and refuted the milk claim.

In my professional opinion as a licensed Master Electrician, we all have the potential for cancer within us. It is locked away in our cells. It lies dormant until some key, some product, some combination of things in our lives, unlocks the door. It isn't the same thing for everyone. For you it might be milk. For me it might be orange juice, or Bologna/cheese/onion/Mayo sammiches. Who knows ? There are (unfortunately) millions of cancer patients out there. Some have some things in common and some have nothing in common. Each did something, or did nothing (interesting theory that the right combination might cause or prevent cancer) to cause the disease to grow within them. It is deadly, yet non-contagious. How else do we explain, two people, living in the same house, eating the same foods, going to the same places, and one gets cancer and the other doesn't ?

Anyway, I digress.

The recent study/story I read is that sunshine may prevent cancer. WHAT ?!?!?!? (Hiding my bottles of sunscreen #5000 .. Mayonnaise)

Scientists are excited about a vitamin again. But unlike fads that sizzled and fizzled, the evidence this time is strong and keeps growing. If it bears out, it will challenge one of medicine's most fundamental beliefs: that people need to coat themselves with sunscreen whenever they're in the sun. Doing that may actually contribute to far more cancer deaths than it prevents, some researchers think.

The vitamin is D, nicknamed the "sunshine vitamin" because the skin makes it from ultraviolet rays. Sunscreen blocks its production, but dermatologists and health agencies have long preached that such lotions are needed to prevent skin cancer. Now some scientists are questioning that advice. The reason is that vitamin D increasingly seems important for preventing and even treating many types of cancer.

There ya have it, sunworshippers.

I think the key to cancer control is moderation. All things in moderation. We are such people of excess. God's children were desert people. They toiled in the sun. They dressed moderately. Their exposure to the sun was inevitable, but they covered their skin. I know the ultraviolet rays penetrated their clothes, but did not expose their skin to the volume of rays that laying by the pool for days does. AND I am not just picking on sunworshipping. It is everything we do. We don't know how to do anything in moderation. We are raised in a culture where excess is king. The man with the most toys wins. Obesity is the reigning cause of our ills. We over work, over eat, over spend, and over compensate. We aren't happy unless it is over the top. We over dress. We are the Dukes of overkill. Our shelves are overstocked. We are regularly over the edge.

Where was I ? Oh yeah ... Sunshine ...

So, get out there and enjoy the sun this summer, in moderation.

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