Cant tolerate the sun/getting burnt

[White shark]

I have a very pale skin, and every summer I always get burnt in my face. It's only my face. I get very red, and then it disappears and my skin is pale again, and then I get burnt again. So I can't be out in the sun for very long, and I try to avoid it for the most, though I know that sunlight is healthy. I used to use sunblockers, but they didn't work very well, and I don't want them because they are not healthy. I have started eating some raw food, but i'm not yet 100% raw paleo, but I will be. Do you think it will help my skin to tan? Does anybody know about that?

[CitrusHigh]

Unfortunately this is purely speculation for now, though there has been some recent anecdotal evidence here if you saw those posts, but I would think as you get more pastured or other high quality animal fats in to your diet, especially raw, the cholesterol will become part of your skin and do it's job, which is to help protect you from the sun's intense rays, and also to help you make vitamins like Vitamin D. Cholesterol is used in Vitamin D synthesis, when your skin is exposed to the sun, the UVB rays react with a form of cholesterol present therein and form vitamin D, which is then excreted on to the skin, and slowly absorbed over the next 24-48 hrs....so long as you don't wash it off in the shower with harsh soaps!

It's important that your exposure to the sun for the purposes of manufacturing vitamin is between 10AM and 2PM, earlier or later than that period and the sun is at too low of an angle for the Vitamin D-producing UVB to penetrate the atmosphere.

Also if you are right now proned to burning, then you have to be extra careful with your sun exposure. That means when spring rolls around and it gets warm enough to lay out, the first day 5 minutes, the next day 6 minutes, the next 7, until you're up to the maximum you can tolerate. Mercola claims you should only be tanning until your skin turns the very slightest shade of pink, that is when you've reached your limit for the day. I tan longer than this because I just love the sun, and as long as I get a good base I can tolerate quite a bit of it, though I'm of Irish-anglo descent. But he is probably right, strictly speaking, especially for folks who are very sensitive to the sun.

[HIT_it_RAW]

I have a very pale skin, and every summer I always get burnt in my face. It's only my face. I get very red, and then it disappears and my skin is pale again, and then I get burnt again. So I can't be out in the sun for very long, and I try to avoid it for the most, though I know that sunlight is healthy. I used to use sunblockers, but they didn't work very well, and I don't want them because they are not healthy. I have started eating some raw food, but i'm not yet 100% raw paleo, but I will be. Do you think it will help my skin to tan? Does anybody know about that?

I have a very light skin as well being blond haired, blue eyed. Used to get sunburn very easily. I would always burn at least ones a year in the spring. Since going raw I tan easily and never get sunburn. Where i used to need a lot of suncream to prevend sunburn i now can easily remain in the summer sun whole days without any problems.

also I noticed i do not get as pale in winter as i used to get.

[HIT_it_RAW]

I agree that animal fats seem to be the most important factor. Personally i find raw dairy is especially good when being exposed to extreme amount of sunrays. Like being out on or near the water whole days wearing just swimming shorts.

[cherimoya_kid]

Saturated fats are better for producing sun resistance, like coconut oil, palm oil, etc.. That makes sense, since the sunlight is much more direct and consistent in the tropics, and tropical oils tend to be more saturated.

[jessica]

wear a hat during intense sun but try and work up a tan while increasing your health and nutrition, start at 8 am for as long as you can then wear a hat and then try taking it off in the evening, eventually your health and skin should improve and hopefully you can get a slight tan.  definitely work on improving your  nutrition though.  i know at times my hands have been really sensitive to sun to the point of bloody rashes in the spring when the sun would first become intense but it was before i was eating enough animal and saturated fats and i no longer have any issues.

[White shark]

Thanks a lot for the answers! I am glad to know that some of you can tolerate the sun better, when you eat raw paleo and are getting enough fat. I have been thinking that maybe more fat would be better. I hope it will work for me too. Its really a big proplem when you cant be out in the sommer.

[Adora]

I'm not sure it's the fat. I was raw vegan and in the sun long hours in Ca and Ga. I never burned. For the last few years I was SAD in Syr. NY and I burned badly. I haven't burned or tanned yet. I think I'm just not outside enough, but I'm wondering how my skin will react to the sun with RAVF. Post your progress, I'm curious too.

[Bacchal]

I definitely think adding more healthy fats and cholesterol into the diet and eliminating the processed garbage helps protect the skin. I have noticed it in myself. I can be out in the sun for hours and get no more than a slight flush that quickly fades and becomes tanned. I think gradual exposure, working up to longer periods is a good tactic, especially with more sensitive parts. I've found that with my shoulders it takes a little more time to adjust, but I definitely haven't had a severe burn since adolescence.

Here's a list from Mark's Daily Apple:

8 Natural Ways to Prevent a Sunburn (And Sunscreen’s Not One of Them)
1. Eat Some Lycopene
2. Get Some Astaxanthin
3. Get Some Vitamin D
4. Get Your Long-Chain Omega-3s and Ditch the Omega-6s
5. Eat Plenty of Saturated Fat
6. Drink Tea
7. Get Some Proanthocyanidins
8. Consider Resveratrol

Here's the link. It goes into more detail about each one: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/8-natural-ways-to-prevent-a-sunburn-and-sunscreens-not-one-of-them/#ixzz2KMiwBLuq

[Alive]

In my opinion on a raw diet our bodies have less work to do housekeeping, so there is more time available for skin repair & tanning, plus the evolutionary correct nutrient building blocks are present to make this easy.

There are good options available to control sun exposure like natural mineral sunscreens, thin cotton clothing, long hair (& beard for men:), sun hats, time in the shade looking at the sky.

I have been enjoying getting sun time each day to build up a tan, and it was really helpful going to the beach today, along with sunscreen and clothing (especially sunscreen on nose).

On a kayak island hopping holiday in Thailand I stopped taking anti-malaria tablets due to them increasing the burning effect of the sun. This reinforces the fact that sun burn resistance is a metabolic process affected by what we ingest.

[William]

Sunburn is a symptom of iodine deficiency, shown by the experience with the Iodine Protocol of the palest of the pale, a Norwegian blond during a recent trip to SE Asia.

Malaria is another symptom of iodine deficiency, shown by the successful treatment of it with Magnascent of black East Africans.

Illiteracy may be considered a symptom of iodine deficiency, due to the low IQ.

[Löwenherz]

Sunburn is a symptom of iodine deficiency, shown by the experience with the Iodine Protocol of the palest of the pale, a Norwegian blond during a recent trip to SE Asia.

Another reason are PUFAs in our diet.

My experience: If I eat avocadoes, walnuts (or other highly unsaturated raw vegetarian fats which I consider TOXIC) I get extremely (!) sunburned, even in Germany. Raw beef fat and coconut milk protect my skin against the sun perfectly. Very low PUFA + high sat. fat intake = no sunburn.

Löwenherz

[Alive]

Sunburn is a symptom of iodine deficiency, shown by the experience with the Iodine Protocol of the palest of the pale, a Norwegian blond during a recent trip to SE Asia.

Malaria is another symptom of iodine deficiency, shown by the successful treatment of it with Magnascent of black East Africans.

Illiteracy may be considered a symptom of iodine deficiency, due to the low IQ.

@William - do you do anything special to increase iodine?

[Polyvore]

Definitely astaxanthin, that is the cure for sunburn, you literally cannot get burned if you eat 12-20mg astaxanthin for a couple of weeks.

Almost everyone who doesn't eat loads of seafood has an astaxanthin deficiency. And of course these same people have an iodine deficiency too, so iodine comes in to it strongly also.

[William]

@William - do you do anything special to increase iodine?

I'm doing the iodine protocol:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/139Xa8u8kgNVT-K17TxYvsM7qsSfusxyvloIXWbU92rg/edit?pli=1
presently taking 200 mg/day of Lugol's.

[White shark]

Im glad to hear that saturated fat, cholesterol, astaxanthin, and other things can help, because I know that I did not get enough of that before. Some years ago I lived almost like a vegetarian, with very little fat and meat, and for some years I used plant oils as a supplement. Those were the years when I got most burned. I was sick all the time too. I have been eating some raw paleo for over a year now, but not every day. I think its hard to eat that way, and I have gotten better as I get more and more used to the raw foods, and found out where I can get the products I want, because it has been hard to find good quality foods. There is still some months until summer, and I will really try to stick to the raw paleo foods until then.

[LePatron7]

Definitely astaxanthin, that is the cure for sunburn, you literally cannot get burned if you eat 12-20mg astaxanthin for a couple of weeks.

Almost everyone who doesn't eat loads of seafood has an astaxanthin deficiency. And of course these same people have an iodine deficiency too, so iodine comes in to it strongly also.

What food sources have astaxanthin? I think salmon has some right? How much salmon would you need to eat to get a sufficient amount?