Protection from the sun.Yes! Protection from sunscreens that can lead to damage. What? Not all sunscreen are created equal.

Things to consider:

• Don’t be fooled by high SPF.  High-SPF products tempt people to apply too little sunscreen and stay in the sun too long. The FDA has proposed prohibiting the sale of sunscreens with SPF values greater than 50+, calling higher SPF values “inherently misleading.”

• The common sunscreen additive vitamin A may speed development of skin cancer.  The sunscreen industry adds a form of vitamin A to nearly one-quarter of all sunscreens. Retinyl palmitate is an anti-oxidant that slows skin aging. But federal studies indicate that it may speed the development of skin tumors and lesions when applied to skin in the presence of sunlight.

• Some sunscreen ingredients disrupt hormones and cause skin allergies.  The ideal sunscreen would completely block UV rays that cause sunburn, immune suppression and damaging free radicals. It would remain effective on the skin for several hours. It would not form harmful ingredients when degraded by sunlight. It would smell and feel pleasant so that people would use more of it.

No sunscreen meets these goals. Americans must choose between “chemical” sunscreens, which have inferior stability, penetrate the skin and may disrupt the body’s hormone system, and “mineral” sunscreens, made with zinc and titanium, often “micronized” or containing nano-particles.

• If you avoid sun, check your vitamin D levels. Sunshine serves a critical function in the body that sunscreen appears to inhibit — producing vitamin D. This is enormously important in our bodies: it strengthens bones and the immune system and reduces the risk of breast, colon, kidney and ovarian cancers, and perhaps other disorders.  Note:  cholesterol is a key element in turning sunlight into Vitamin D.

About one-fourth of Americans have borderline low levels of vitamin D, and 8 percent have a serious deficiency. Check with your physician to have your own Vitamin D level checked.

The Environmental Working Group has created a list of safe sunscreens for you and your family.  Check it out here.