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The experience of sunburn can be a very efficient (i.e. painful) reminder to heed adequate protection on future occasions. However more importantly, it should be a reminder of the long-term effects of sun exposure on our bodies and health – which can include aging of the skin and skin cancer.

In order to more fully understand these consequences, let’s take a look at exactly what sunburn is, its symptoms and its effect on the body.

Sunburn results when the amount of exposure to the sun, or other ultraviolet light source (e.g. tanning lamps and welding arcs etc.), exceeds the ability of the body’s protective pigment, melanin, to protect the skin. Melanin content varies greatly, but in general darker skinned people have more melanin than lighter skinned. (Although fairer skinned people are generally more prone to getting sunburn than darker skinned people, this certainly does not exclude the latter from risk.)

Sunburn destroys cells in the outer layer of the skin, damaging tiny blood vessels underneath. Burns deeper into the skin’s layers also damage elastic fibers in the skin, which over time and with repeated sun overexposure, can result in the appearance of yellowish, wrinkled skin.

The damage to skin cells from UV exposure (either sunlight or tanning lamps etc.) can also include damage to their DNA. It’s this repeated DNA damage, which can lead to a cell becoming cancerous. With the incidence of skin cancer rising dangerously in many parts of the world, and with its ability to develop and establish itself in the body ‘long’ before external signs are detected, — paying attention to this aspect of sun exposure and sunburn should certainly not be ignored if we are serious about preserving our health.

Now while it may be easier to ignore the effects of sunburn occurring at a cellular level, ignoring the external symptoms of sunburn in the days immediately following such exposure is entirely another matter.

While sunburn is usually not immediately obvious, skin discoloration (ranging from slightly pink to severely red or even purplish) will initially appear from 1 – 24 hours after exposure. Although pain is usually worst 6 – 48 hours afterward, the burn can continue to develop for 24 – 72 hours after the incident. Where there is skin peeling, this generally occurs 3 – 8 days after the burn occurs.

While minor sunburns typically cause nothing more than warm/hot skin, slight redness, and tenderness to the affected area, — in more serious cases, extreme redness, swelling and blistering can occur. These blisters filled with fluid may itch and eventually break. This can then cause peeling of the skin, exposing an even tenderer layer of skin underneath.

Severe sunburn can cause very red, blistered skin but can also be accompanied by fever, chills, nausea (in some cases vomiting), and dehydration. In instances of extreme sunburn where the pain is debilitating, medical treatment may be required.

While the immediate effects of sunburn can certainly be painful and cause discomfort, the real deterrent to UV overexposure should be the potential damage to your long-term health – including the risk of premature aging of the skin along with skin cancer.

Don’t let sunburn and sun overexposure kill your chances of enjoying youthful skin, and a healthy body. Remember, the easiest way to treat sunburn will always be to avoid it in the first place!

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If you’ve ever suffered with Thrush, the word ‘Candida’ will be all too familiar. But do you know what it really is, what causes it and how to control it naturally. Candida overgrowth affects both men and women, manifesting in surprising ways, which if left unchecked, can lead to some awful consequences.

WHAT EXACTLY IS CANDIDA?

Candida is a single-celled form of life, a yeast or more accurately a fungus, normally found in your gastrointestinal tract. In the free WellBeing Checklist I offer visitors to my website, you will see the word microforms. Yeasts, fungi, moulds, bacteria and viruses are all examples of microforms. Candida itself, is not a problem; in fact without it we would die. BUT, our modern Western diets lead to serious Candida overgrowth and that is where the problems start because the symptoms of overgrowth range from the mildly irritating to the fatal!

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH MICROFORMS?

Actually their presence would be totally fine if it weren’t for some unwelcome little habits in certain conditions! You see, they feed off the same stuff that our bodies rely on for energy - glucose, proteins and fats. Then after they’ve feasted, they show their gratitude for your hospitality by excreting nasty, poisonous acid wastes into our bloodstreams and inside our cells. Lovely - thanks very much! These wastes are called myco- (meaning fungus) and exo- (meaning bacterial) toxins.

WHAT CAUSES MICROFORM OVERGROWTH?

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

In fairness, Candida and other microforms shouldn’t shoulder all the blame for the damage they do. Sure, symptoms like (deep breath) pain, fatigue, adrenal/thyroid failure, indigestion, diarrhoea, depression, hyperactivity, eczema, asthma, colds and flu, haemorrhoids, arthritis, endometriosis, thrush, ulcers, colitis, lack of sex drive, irritability, hay fever, acne, tumours, hormone imbalances, insomnia, allergies, malabsorption (I could go on but won’t) and that oh-so-common ‘feeling tired and fed up’ all the time are indeed caused by the little critters chucking out their poisons, but they couldn’t do it without our willing co-operation!

Microforms love an acidic body you see. Their idea of heaven is splashing about in their own waste. They don’t like too much oxygen so acid is perfect. So if our diets are largely acid-forming then we provide them with the perfect breeding ground and give them carte blanche to literally eat us alive and cause damage to tissues, organs and processes. As Rudolph Virchow* pointed out, ‘Mosquitoes seek the stagnant water, but do not cause the pool to become stagnant.’

Now at this stage, you are either thinking - ‘yikes, I can relate to that, how do I regain control?’ or you are looking smug and thinking ‘yeah well, I don’t have any of those symptoms so I can’t have a microform problem.’ If you are in the second group, take heed:

If you are not maintaining the right acid/alkaline balance for your body, you may only be in the first stages of microform overgrowth where you have no outward symptoms, but it’s only a question of time before your body will start ‘having a pop’** by throwing out warning signs in the form of symptoms like the ones above.

OK - so now for some good, cheery stuff…

HOW DO I (YOU) REVERSE OR PREVENT MICROFORM OVERGROWTH?

You create an internal environment in which they cannot party! And whether it’s Candida or any other microform, that environment is an alkaline one which can be achieved by diet and, ideally, supplements. As your body alkalizes, the yeasts, fungi, moulds etc stop growing and stop harming you. Any toxins still hanging around can be mopped up by certain fats and minerals and be eliminated from the body. Job done! The Wellbeing Checklist will tell you more about what constitutes an alkalizing diet but if you want a quick rule of thumb to play by - think green - green is good!

The theory of how to do it is simple, but the practice can be challenging. If you suffer with any of the symptoms mentioned above (or suspect that your diet has you headed that way) and want to regain control of your health and wellbeing the natural way, then a wellbeing coach or nutritionist can really help. Your health is the most valuable thing you have and we’re all living longer - wouldn’t it be wonderful to live ‘weller’ too?

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*Rudolph L. K. Virchow (1821-1902) A German cytologist who established the law that all cells arise from pre-existing cells. He also stated that pathology was a cellular science (1858), which gave a new emphasis to the explanation of diseases in animals.

** For the benefit of any readers outside the UK: ‘having a pop’ or more accurately ‘ ‘aving a pop’ roughly translated means to complain in an animated fashion! It’s a London thing.

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