Is sun exposure really dangerous? Or is sunscreen and avoiding daylight contributing to the very disease we’re trying to avoid?

We’re an indoor culture of gadget buffs! We trade outdoors for lounge room pursuits of iPad tinkering and staring at SmartTVs. And when we do dare venture outside, we’re told to cover up! Avoid that blazing ball in the sky at all costs to save our skin and our health! A far cry from other cultures who revere it. Our ancestors worked and played long hours under it – with no sunscreen and without so much as a hat.

The Toxins in Sunscreen

The market for sunscreens, sunblocks and lotions is BIG business. It’s a multi-million-dollar market that has people smothering themselves with a ton of chemicals. Those chemicals stop the sun from penetrating the skin. However, those chemicals are also often very toxic! So, now we’re baking ourselves in toxic ingredients that are very detrimental to our health. And we are also missing out on important nutrients the sun naturally provides, such as Vitamin D.

The “Sun Causes Cancer” Controversy

We have been fed a lie. It’s absolutely not the truth that the sun causes cancer. One of the leading dermatologists and scientists in the United States, Dr. Kenneth Nelder, has PROVEN that sun exposure does not cause skin cancer. What causes skin cancer is not eating enough fruit and vegetables and putting products onto the skin that contain known carcinogens (cause cancer in the genes).

Look at the statistics of cancer rates and when they started to skyrocket. It happened at the same time that marketing started to come out. The ads telling people to cover up, put petroleum-based products on your skin because the ‘sun causes cancer’. That’s when people started getting cancer.

The Statistics

The message has been heard the loudest in Australia and New Zealand, with Australasians told because our sun is in close proximity to the depleted O-Zone Layer, we need to be more mindful than the rest of the world in order to avoid skin cancer. Staggeringly two in three Australians will suffer from it by age 70, according to The Cancer Council; that’s four times more than people in U.S.A., Canada and the U.K.

And sunscreen sales Down Under reflect the fear with sales booming! Also soaring are the costs to treat skin cancer. The Cancer Council says it’s the “most expensive cancer.” In their Pre-Budget Submission 2025-26 they state that “Annually, skin cancer costs the Australian government more than $1.7 billion in direct health system costs alone, the highest expenditure of all cancers…”.

However, the evidence against wearing sunscreen is mounting. Research shows blocking the body’s absorption of ultraviolet radiation is detrimental to Vitamin D production which is the very vitamin that protects us against 77 percent of all cancers – from breast and colon cancer to cervical and skin cancers.

Healthier Alternatives

Skincare and wellness entrepreneur Annmarie Gianni, who developed an all-natural skincare line under her own name, suggests using organic and natural lotions, gels and creams that contain nourishing ingredients.

“Zinc oxide is considered the safest option for children and adults, as long as it’s not presented in tiny nanoparticles that penetrate the skin,” she says.

Top Tips for Healthy Sun Exposure

• The biggest thing you can do is up your fruit and veggie intake. Whole foods are packed with antioxidants, which prevent sun damage. Having a morning smoothie is a great way to pack a lot of vegetables and/or fruit in one sitting. Just make sure you “chew” your smoothie in order to get your digestive juices working and get the most out of all the goodness.

• Grounding is also great! And it’s so easy – just put your bare feet on the ground. In the modern world we’ve lost our connection to mother earth thanks to footwear. Walking barefoot in the sunshine is so healing because it allows you to receive Vitamin D from the sun, while getting negative ions from the earth.

• Add avocados, berries, tomatoes, watermelon and turmeric root, as well as green tea to your diet. These amazing foods work from within to protect against damage from prolonged sun exposure.

• Instead of toxic conventional sunscreen, apply extra virgin coconut oil to your skin instead. It works as a natural sunburn protector with an SPF of approximately 6-8.

• Choose commercial sunscreen wisely. If you feel like you must wear a protective cream, just make sure it’s completely natural and organic, such as zinc oxide that sits on top of the skin only.

• Have a hat handy. If you’re spending a lot of time in the sun (especially between 10am and 2pm when the sun is hottest), covering up with a hat and long sleeves is a good way to minimise your chances of sunburn.

• Stay hydrated. Make sure you’re drinking enough water (I suggest 1 litre per 22kg of body weight) and if you are exercising or sweating, add a bit more or snack on something hydrating like melons.

• Avoid wearing sunglasses. These trick the brain into thinking it’s night and that stops the body from producing proper hormones needed for sunlight.

• Expose yourself to sunlight regularly. Don’t go more than three days without getting out into the sun for at least 20 minute. If you live somewhere that this is possible.

• Dry brush or guasha. Cleaning your skin with a dry brush or using guasha will keep it healthy and able to assimilate Vitamin D better when you are in the sun.

Embrace the Healing Power of the Sun

Don’t be scared of the sun! Sun exposure is a very natural and important part of a healthy lifestyle – that’s why it’s one of the 7 Principles of Health!

Get out into the sun, build up a healthy tan in summer to make sure you have enough Vitamin D to get you through the winter and you will be healthy and happier for it.