Expert advice on how to maintain healthy skin hasn’t changed much over the years. From cancer experts to beauty gurus, the bottom line remains: wear sunscreen. Apply it liberally and wear a hat for insurance. Maybe just try to stay in the shade.
But what if, instead of coating yourself in a cream that blocks the sun, you could protect yourself from the inside out? That is the purpose of UVO, a drinkable sunblock developed by Bobby Awadalla, a US dermatologist.
“I would see patients every day (who) had long- and short-term effects of sun damage,” says Awadalla. “And despite the consequences, they were hesitant to use sunscreen.”
And whatever about coating your own body, if you have ever tried to protect kids from the sun’s rays, you will know how messy that battle can be.
Research indicates people are not very consistent when it comes to applying anything topically. Researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that only about 14 per cent of men and 30 per cent of women report regularly using sunscreen on both their faces and bodies.
A recent survey by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) showed 62 per cent of Irish people do not always check the label of sunscreens for protection against the two harmful rays (UVA and UVB).
Almost 30 per cent of people admitted not understanding the term UVA, while 27 per cent did not understand the term SPF (sun protection factor).
What’s more, says Raja Sivamani, assistant professor of clinical dermatology at the University of California Davis, the average person who uses sunscreen applies only a fraction of what is needed to protect their skin: one-fourth to one-half the recommended amount sunscreen.
So Awadalla developed what is basically a vitamin cocktail in liquid or powder form that he says protects a person from sun damage for three to five hours, depending on the individual’s skin tone and ability to absorb the vitamins. The drink, which comes in an orange-peach flavor, can be purchased in a small number of locations in California and Florida as well as on amazon.com.
While all the ingredients in his drinkable sunscreen are supplements you could find elsewhere, you would have to source the many vitamins individually and take between six to eight capsules in order to get the quantity that Awadalla’s drink provides, he says.
Awadalla has conducted one study, available on his website, that shows the drink protects against sunburn. The sample size was small – 15 subjects – and the dermatologist says he plans to conduct additional research. He also says that he plans on submitting the study to a peer-reviewed journal.
While Awadalla says UVO gives users protection from the inside out, he cautions that people should not utilise only one method of sunblock. Like with conventional sunscreen, he recommends using a hat or umbrella, too.
Sivamani, who studies nutritional dermatology, says that more research into drinkable sun protection supplements is needed to learn exactly how they work and what layer of the skin they protect. At the same time, the professor says he would never tell a patient not to add extra sun protection to their existing arsenal if there is science supporting it.
"Studies have shown that eating or drinking certain compounds, including tomato paste and green tea, can give you some protection from burning," says Jessica Wu, a Los Angeles dermatologist and assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the University of Southern California School of Medicine. UVO contains antioxidants including lycopene, found in tomatoes, and polypodium leucotomos, a fern extract, both of which have some UV protecting effects."
But when it comes to drinkable sunscreens, they should be seen as “backup protection”, according to Wu.
“I think the science is still early and we have to be careful before we talk about replacing tried and true methods,” Sivamani adds.
When it comes to the tried and true, people often forget how important sunscreen is year round. Skin care experts, including Sivamani, advocate that a daily sunscreen habit is a good habit. Incidental exposure, like the kind you get from walking to the train or office in the morning, can add up over time. And that stroll in the sunshine is not the only time you need to be cautious. UVA rays from the sun, which can cause both wrinkles and skin cancer, can pass through window glass,.
“If it’s a bright day, summer or winter, it’s a good idea to use sunscreen whenever you’re outdoors – (or)if you sit (inside)by the window,” says Wu.
It’s also important to use a sunscreen with “broad spectrum” coverage, like those that contain physical blockers, such as zinc oxide, Sivamani says.
A broad spectrum sunscreen will protect against both UVB and UVA rays. While UVB makes the skin burn, UVA can penetrate to the collagen layer and create damage that leads to wrinkles and other skin damage.
The HPRA survey found that only 25 per cent of people understood the term “broad spectrum” – which indicates that a product provides protection against both UVA and UVB rays.
These days there are sunscreens in SPFs as high as 100, but after SPF 30 it really does not make a significant difference, Wu says. “An SPF 30 sunscreen blocks 97 per cent of UVB (burning) rays, while SPF 50 blocks 98 per cent of UVB,” she explains. She recommends using an SPF ranging from 30 to 50.
While all that sun blocking action may make people skittish at a time when there is greater awareness of vitamin D deficiencies, people can always supplement their oral intake of the vitamin rather than risking sunburn, Sivamani says.
Every time a person gets a sunburn, the cells in the skin are damaged and have to work very hard to repair themselves, Sivamani explains. And each time the cells repair themselves, there is a risk of a mutation that can potentially lead to skin cancer. “One sunburn is one too many,” he says.
Having darker skin does not mean you are immune to the damage and can skip the sun protection.
“The darker your skin tone, the more natural melanin pigment you have in your skin, so it will take longer to burn,” Wu says. “However, even those with very dark skin can still burn if the sun is very intense. And those with dark skin are not immune to skin cancer.”
Bottom line, say the experts: whether or not you decide you want to drink a sun-blocking cocktail, it’s wise to apply a generous amount of broad spectrum sunscreen lotion and wear a hat or long sleeve shirt for good measure. Even UVO’s founder will concede that “there is not going to be one magic bullet that is going to solve sun protection”.
Guardian service
