Will you be Baking in Chemicals this Summer?

I have been happily planning our family summer vacation. I am stocking up on all the necessities a bit at a time in hopes of saving myself from a frantic last minute trip to the store the night before we leave.

The little man is ready to go!

Were heading to the beach this year and one thing at the top of my list is sunscreen. So far I have purchased and returned two. Ugh! The first one I purchased, brought it home and opened the package to use on my kids (one of those rare sunny days we've had) and looked closely to see it was expired! When I say expired, I mean not a month over not even two months over....but a whole year old! I couldn't believe it! Check your dates peeps because that was ridiculous! Purchased my next sunscreen and happened to get an email from one of my favorite Natural Doctors Dr.Mercola about sunscreens and chemicals. The article states about the fact that the FDA has been aware of the dangers of Vitamin A and its derivatives retinol and retynl palmitate used in sunscreen but have yet to alert the public. Read an excerpt below:

The sunscreen industry uses vitamin A in its formulations because it is an anti-oxidant that is thought to slow skin aging. But according to the AOL story cited above, the FDA's study of vitamin A's photocarcinogenic properties revealed that:

"tumors and lesions developed up to 21 percent faster in lab animals coated in a vitamin A-laced cream than animals treated with a vitamin-free cream."

The article goes on to say how those chemicals can enter the bloodstream and may actually increase the speed of malignent cells that cause cancer.  What?! Scary, especially when I will be lathering that on my kids! Why is it still even on the market if that is a possiblity?

The Environmental Working Group  is a great site to refer to when looking for a sunscreen that is safe for your family. They have done the research and work measuring the levels of toxicity in sunscreens. 

You can enter in the sunscreen you have and see how its rated and what possible toxins you are being exposed to. Check your sunscreen Here. Read more of that article Here and be sure to scroll all the way down. Lots more information near the end.  Be safe this summer while having fun in the sun!