The Best Exercise and Diet For Longevity

The Best Exercise and Diet For Longevity

by | Oct 12, 2021 | Wellness - Blog

The Best Exercise and Diets for Longevity

What are the best exercise and diets that you can follow for longevity? If you want to learn about this, our episode can explain that to you.

Exercise has changed both of our lives since we were young. We played sports, ran around playing cops and robbers, biked around our neighborhoods, and now we are involved in combat sports.

Even a simple, 30-minute workout run in the morning can help achieve a mental sharpness ready to kick start the day.

Blood cells that don’t move cannot transport oxygen. It goes the same for the lungs, heart, and spine – all need a motion for proper joint nutrition.

That said, you must always have the best exercise and diets included in your daily life. This way, you can perform activities of daily living and stimulate the joint-brain pathways.

Both are required for brain and body function. That said, without movement, there is no life, and it’s understandable on a purely biological level.

It’s the same way with diet, believe it or not. Eating foods high in nutrients means they can be absorbed well by the body and delivered to cells.

Eating high-fiber foods ensures timely digestion and elimination of wastes, whereas overconsumption of animal fats and low-fiber foods leads to colonic inactivity and constipation.

Blue Zones

To understand longevity, we need to look at the Centenarians, which are located mainly in the world’s blue zones.

Blue Zones are regions or parts of the world where a higher than the usual number of people live much longer than average. The Five “Blue Zones” have been posited: 

  • Okinawa, Japan
  • Sardinia, Italy
  • Nicoya, Costa Rica
  • Icaria, Greece
  • Loma Linda, California

Here are some characteristics of people inhabiting the Blue Zones:

  1. Moderate, regular physical activity
  2. Life purpose
  3. Stress reduction
  4. Moderate caloric intake
  5. Plant-based diet
  6. Moderate alcohol intake, especially wine
  7. Engagement in spirituality or religion
  8. Involvement in family life
  9. Active in social life

Dr. Valter Longo is one of the world’s experts on longevity. He is the director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Dr. Longo has studied longevity for more than 30 years and has concluded how to exercise to increase a healthy lifespan. His research shows that physical activity is the number 2 factor affecting lifespan, behind the only diet.

Here is the routine that Dr. Longo recommends to maximize your longevity: 

1. Walk fast for an hour every day.

This doesn’t have to happen all at once, be conscious of where you can implement walking, for example, a 15-minute walk away from your house to the coffee shop instead of driving.

Find walkable places and go there every day.

2. Do cardiovascular exercise for 2.5–5 hours per week.

The key is working your body to the point of breathing rapidly and sweating. Running, biking or swimming are all great options.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends doing exercise that increases a person’s heart rate to between 50 to 85 percent of their maximum heart rate. This range is called the target heart rate zone.

3. Use weight-training or weight-free exercises to strengthen muscles

You have more than 600 muscles in your body that contribute to about 40% of your total body weight. By exercising, you are strengthening your muscles, which improves stability, balance, and coordination.

A large Australian study from 2015 of over 200,000 people aged 45–75 found that those who exercised (at moderate to vigorous levels) at least 2.5 hours per week had a 47% reduction in overall mortality.

Going up to 5 hours per week led to a 54% reduction in mortality.

The Best Diet for Longevity 

The diet suggestions are based on Dr. Valter Longo and his book: The Longevity Diet

  • Eat mostly vegan, plus a little fish, limiting meals with fish to a maximum of two or three per week. Choose fish, crustaceans (crab, lobster, shrimp), and mollusks (Oysters, squid, Oysters, Scallops) with a high omega-3, omega-6, and vitamin B12 content (salmon, anchovies, sardines, cod, sea bream, trout, clams, shrimp.  Pay attention to the quality of the fish, choosing those with low levels of mercury.
  • If you are below the age of 65, keep protein intake low (0.31 to 0.36 grams per pound of body weight). That comes to 40 to 47 grams of protein per day for a person weighing 130 pounds and 60 to 70 grams of protein per day for someone weighing 200 to 220 pounds.
  • Over the age of 65, you should slightly increase protein intake but also increase consumption of fish, eggs, white meat, and products derived from goats and sheep to preserve muscle mass. Consume beans, chickpeas, green peas, and other legumes as your main source of protein.
  • Minimize saturated fats from animal and vegetable sources (meat, cheese) and sugar, and maximize good fats and complex carbs. Eat whole grains and high quantities of vegetables (tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, legumes, etc.) with generous amounts of olive oil (3 tablespoons per day) and nuts (1 ounce per day).
  • Follow the best exercise and diets with high vitamin and mineral content, supplemented with a multivitamin buffer every three days.
  • Select ingredients among those discussed in this book that your ancestors would have eaten.
  • Based on your weight, age, and abdominal circumference, decide whether to have two or three meals per day.
  • If you are overweight or tend to gain weight easily, consume two meals a day: breakfast and either lunch or dinner, plus two low-sugar (less than 5 grams) snacks with fewer than 100 calories each. If you are already at a normal weight, or if you tend to lose weight easily or are over 65 and of normal weight, eat three meals a day and one low-sugar (less than 3 to 5 grams) snack with fewer than 100 calories.
  • Confine all eating to within a twelve-hour period; for example, start after 8 a.m. and end before 8 p.m. Don’t eat anything within three to four hours of bedtime.

Want to change your diet? Learn more about it in this full episode 👇👇👇

 

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Cup of Nurses Introduction
2:00 Episode Introduction
3:36 Exercise
6:07 Blue Zones
7:50 Walk fast for an hour a day
10:35 Cardiovascular exercise
13:25 Weight training
19:40 Best Diet for Longevity

 

 

EP 132: Women’s Health With Isabella Bogdan

EP 132: Women’s Health With Isabella Bogdan

by | Oct 8, 2021 | Podcast

EP132: Women’s Health with Isabella Bogdan

In this episode, we would like to introduce our guest Isabel Bogdan, the owner and founder of belev.co. Isabel is a women’s health nurse practitioner with a doctorate in nursing practice. Dr. Bogdan’s vision is to intertwine traditional medicine with a holistic approach to transformational change.

Join us as Isabel shares with us the importance and the different ways to maintain women’s health and the answers to the following questions:

  1. How did you get involved in women’s health?
  2. What is holistic and preventative medicine to you? Body, mind, soul
  3. H b 
  4. What is the biggest concern for women? What are the highest comorbidities?
  5. How important is mental health for women?
  6. How do you help someone boost their mental health? Yoga, meditation?
  7. What are some things every woman should know? 
  8. What is belev.co?

Learn more about women’s health by watching the full episode here 👇👇👇

SHOW NOTES:

0:00 Cup of Nurses Introduction
1:28 Guest Introduction
1:55 Isabella Bogdan’s Background
7:14 How do you Assess Spirituality
12:22 How to switch from being a victim to being in control?
14:21 What is the biggest impact of the pandemic on women?
18:10 How do you keep the mind, body, and soul connected?
25:00 What do women have to change for their health?
28:30 What do a lot of women suffer from?
33:31 How to keep motivated
39:45 Why do you celebrate the equinox?

Nutrition Label Certifications and Healthy Snack Bar Choices

Nutrition Label Certifications and Healthy Snack Bar Choices

by | Sep 27, 2021 | Wellness - Blog

Food Labels and Healthy Snack Options

When it comes to what snacks or even foods to eat, always look at the nutrition label certifications and ingredients.

There are various choices in grocery stores, so there is no excuse for the inability to find one that fits you. You need to watch out for their marketing and what they promote.

Food Labels Explained

Besides the nutrition label for food labels, there is another label to pay attention to. That is the loss of certifications.
 
We have found that not all these so-called “certifications” are actually certified. That said, it would be best if you pay attention to food labels and what they contain.

Organic

USDA’s National Organic Program regulates labeling requirements for organic agricultural products. Organic labels are found on produce, dairy, meat, processed foods, condiments, and beverages.
 
Food products labeled as “organic” must contain at least 95% organic ingredients. It means no synthetic growth hormones, antibiotics, or pesticides. No biotechnology, artificial ingredients, or irradiation is used in production or processing, too [1]. 
 
Products containing at least 70 percent organic ingredients are produced without synthetic methods. They are labeled “made with organic ingredients. Yet, they cannot use the USDA organic seal on their packaging.
 
Farmers pay $1,200 and add an extra $700 or more for a new organic farm and organic processor to be “certified”.  

 

Certified Naturally Grown

The food was grown using the same standards as those for organic, but not on a farm certified by the USDA’s National Organic Program.

Some farmers have criticized the cost and process they need to participate in the USDA’s organic program.

It is an alternative, non-governmental certification system where other farmers act as inspectors in a program administered by a non-profit organization called Certified Naturally Grown.

 “Natural” is a term present in many food products, so look closely at the label. The Certified Naturally Grown title indicates that someone certifies that it is natural, rather than just using “Natural” for marketing purposes.

Fair Trade

Fair Trade USA enforces fair trade standards. Fairtrade products must be produced in accordance with the following guidelines: Workers must receive fair wages, safe and equitable working conditions, and the right to join trade unions; child or forced labor is completely prohibited.

Crops must also be grown, produced, and processed in a manner that supports social development, economic development, and environmental development.

Fairtrade standards have been established for coffee, tea, cocoa, honey, bananas, juices, cotton, flowers, gold, rice, spices and herbs, sports balls, wine, composite products, fresh fruit, and sugar. 

Animal Welfare Approved

Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) is a division of the non-profit organization Animal Welfare Institute that started in 2006.

Its standards cover the way it’s participating farms raise their animals (including beef and dairy cattle, bison, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and rabbits).

AWA states that the basic premise of their standards is that animals must be able to behave naturally and be in a state of physical and psychological well-being.

They only certify family farms (charging no fees to participating farmers) and state that animals must be raised on pasture or range.

American Humane Certified

The American Humane Certified program was created by the American Humane Association in 2000 to ensure that animals raised for dairy, poultry, beef, veal, goat, swine, turkey, and bison products are raised in a humane manner.

These guidelines, created with input from animal science experts, ensure that livestock has access to clean and sufficient food and water.

It also checks the healthy living environment and that staff and managers are thoroughly trained to care for animals in a humane manner.

Non-GMO Project Verified

The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit organization that provides the only third-party labeling program in North America for products grown without using genetic engineering.

They verify that the process products go through, from seed to shelf, are produced according to their rigorous best practices for GMO avoidance.

Grassfed

USDA has a grass-fed standard for ruminant animals like cows and goats, which states that these animals must be fed only grass and forage during the growing season.

The American Grassfed Association is one organization that certifies beef, bison, dairy, lamb, and goat that is fed only on pasture, in addition to being raised without antibiotics, synthetic hormones, confinement, and with standards for high animal welfare.

Other animals, like chickens and pigs, can be pasture-raised (and USDA organic standards require at least some access to pasture).

Still, there are currently no specific certification standards for non-ruminant animals being grass-fed or pastured.

Non-Certified Food Labels

The following nutrition labels depend on farmer and processor information to support the claim that the food products were raised in compliance with each set of standards.

They do not go through third-party testing or certification. They do have certain standards they must prove. 

Hormone-free/RBGH free

This label means that the farmer has chosen not to inject his or her cows with any artificial growth hormones, like rBGH, a genetically engineered growth hormone.

The nutrition labels are also used on beef and chicken products, where the animal was raised without growth hormones or steroids.

However, the USDA prohibits giving hormones to chickens, so the label doesn’t mean much there — all chicken you buy will be hormone-free whether it’s labeled or not.

Hormones are not allowed in raising hogs or poultry. Therefore, the claim “no hormones added” cannot be used on the labels of pork or poultry unless it is followed by a statement that says, “Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones.

Raised without antibiotics

Chickens, pigs, and cattle raised on industrial farms are routinely fed low doses of antibiotics (the same drugs we rely on to keep ourselves and our families in good health) to make them grow faster and compensate for overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions.

This label states the meat or dairy was raised without the use of antibiotics.

The following are not certified or tested by any third-party regulatory agency and do not have a set of standards:

All-natural

While many products have “all-natural” nutrition labels or packaging, there is no universal standard or definition for this claim.

Free-range

Free-range poultry is poultry that spends part of its time outside and does not live in cages. These could be chickens, turkeys, or ducks. The USDA does not have a legal definition of free-range.

Thus, free-range chicken eggs, beef, or pork are not regulated.

Healthy Snack Bars

There are so many varieties of snack bars it can seem impossible to choose from. With a wide variety, there will also be a variety of healthy choices.

Some use marketing gimmicks that you should stay away from. Just because the box looks nice does not always mean it should be your choice.

While they sound healthy, always pay attention to the nutrition label certifications. It will tell you what you are actually consuming, no matter how healthy it seems. 

Labels to Pay Attention To 

Before buying food that’s packed, make sure to pay attention to the following. It will give you an idea of what you are actually putting inside your body [2].

Ingredients

This is the most important place to look in nutrition label certifications. You should always try to avoid ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, soy protein isolate, and inulin (“fake fiber”).

The first ingredient or ingredients should be whole foods like apples, bananas, dates, etc.

Protein content

Protein and amino acids are the building blocks of your muscle. They are also for optimal organs and function.
Many dieticians recommend getting snack bars with at least 5g of protein. But many protein bars are made of fruits so they also recommend some protein to go with it.
 
Protein is important because it supports and strengthens your cartilage, bones, and muscles. It also boosts your immune system and regular functions.
 
It will also up the satisfaction and satiating factor of your snack. Protein should also be a part of the nutrition label certifications of the food you eat. 

Fiber

This is something the majority of people never get enough of; we are even guilty. It is important to try and get as much of it whenever you can.

It will make you feel fuller for a longer period of time. Fiber helps to regulate digestion, improve heart health, prevent type 2 diabetes, combat inflammation, and reduce your risk for cancer.

Sugar content

Beware of added sugar! Try to select a bar that doe not contain any added sugars. There is a difference between natural sugar and added sugar.

Snack bars will always have carbs and sugar because they usually come from fruit but avoid the added ones. 

RX Bar

Lara Bar

Quest Bar

Natures Bakery

Chewy

 

Kind Bar

Luna

Cliff Bar

Don’t skip reading the labels. Learn more about them in this video 👇👇👇

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Introduction
2:09 Episode Introduction
2:30 Food Labels Explained
3:19 Organic
4:41 Certified Naturally Grown
7:50 Fair Trade
8:40 Animal Welfare Approved
11:59 American Humane Certified
12:20 Non-GMO Project Certified
15:34 Grassfed
18:40 Non-certified Food Labels
10:06 Hormone-free / RBGH-free
20:11 Raised without Antibiotics
20:54 All-natural
21:43 Free-range
23:30 Healthy Snack Bars
23:50 Ingredients
24:18 Protein Content
26:05 Fiber
27:02 Sugar Content
28:59 Most Popular Snack Bars

What Is the Future of Medicine & Health Technologies in 25 Years?

What Is the Future of Medicine & Health Technologies in 25 Years?

by | Jul 4, 2021 | Cup of News

What Is the Future of Medicine & Health Technologies in 25 Years?

What is the future of medicine in our country? For many years, science and technology have evolved almost hand in hand. So what should we expect in the next 25 years?

Universal Health Coverage in the U.S.

  • Nearly 92 percent of the population was estimated to have coverage in 2018, leaving 27.5 million people, or 8.5 percent of the population, uninsured. Medicare ensures a universal right to health care for persons age 65 and older.
  • Ensuring that all people in the United States have affordable health care coverage that provides a defined set of essential health benefits (EHB) is necessary in order to move toward a healthier and more productive society.

Patient Empowerment Due to the Tech Revolution

  • From the patients’ side, the advancement of technology is the result of the ‘e-patient’ – where the ‘e’ stands for ‘electronic, empowered, or engaged. 
  • A patient who takes responsibility for their health, and actively engages in shaping their future. This can possibly lead to an equal level partnership between physicians and patients with shared decision-making and the democratization of care.

Brain-computer Interfaces Bring Hope for the Paralyzed

The modernization of healthcare is coming to a whole lot of progress. Brain implants can now be used to help treat conditions like depression and many others.

  • Imagine creating a Brain-computer interface (BCI) like a retinal chip giving you perfect eyesight or the ability to see in the dark, a cochlear implant granting you perfect hearing, or a memory chip bestowing you with almost limitless memory. What if you could type into a computer with only your thoughts or control your entire smart house by sending out the necessary brainwaves? 
  • The first neuroprosthetics is already on the market: you can purchase cochlear implants, and retinal implants – the latter was approved by the FDA in 2013. Moreover, implants for people with Parkinson’s disease send electrical pulses deep into the brain, activating some of the pathways involved in motor control. 

3D Printing Drugs

  • If the entire house can be 3D printed, why wouldn’t 3D printed drugs be a surprise? In 2015 University of College of London experimented with 3D printing drugs in odd shapes; such as dinosaurs or octopuses, in order to make it easier for kids to take pills. 
  • In August 2015, the FDA approved an epilepsy drug called Spritam which is made by 3D printers. It prints out the powdered drug layer by layer to make it dissolve faster than average pills. 

Do new technologies potentially bring new diseases?

  • New types of diseases might appear due to the excessive use of virtual reality solutions, video consoles or smartphones. Examples include virtual post-traumatic stress disorder (v-PTSD), which might be the diagnosis for gamers who participate in large virtual battles wearing VR masks (such as Call of Duty) and experience similar symptoms as those soldiers who fought in real wars.
  • Video-game epilepsy has been well documented, where games provoke a higher likelihood of seizures than standard television programs.

Artificial food will bring hope against food shortages?

  • Researchers of the Cultured Beef Project remove muscle cells from the shoulder of a cow and feed the cells with a nutrient mix in a Petri dish, and then they grow into muscle tissue. From a few starter cells, one can derive tons of meat. 
  • Bill Gates advocated for citizens of the richest countries in the world to switch to diets consisting entirely of what he called synthetic meat in an effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Total U.S Greenhouse Gas Emissions by economic sector in 2019
    • Transportation (29%) – Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation primarily come from burning fossil fuels for our cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes. Over 90 percent of the fuel used for transportation is petroleum-based, which includes primarily gasoline and diesel.
    • Electricity production (25%) – Approximately 62 percent of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas.
    • Industry (23%) – Greenhouse gas emissions from industry primarily come from burning fossil fuels for energy, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from certain chemical reactions necessary to produce goods from raw materials.
    • Commercial and residential (13%) – Greenhouse gas emissions from businesses and homes arise primarily from fossil fuels burned for heat, the use of certain products that contain greenhouse gases, and the handling of waste.
    • Agriculture (10%) – Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture come from livestock such as cows, agricultural soils, and rice production [1].
  • Emission trend – In 2019, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions decreased compared to 2018 levels.

The Merger of Wearable Manufacturers and Health Insurance Companies

  • In November 2017, Qualcomm and United Healthcare announced that they have integrated Samsung and Garmin wearables into their national wellness program. It enables eligible plan participants to earn more than $1,000 per year by meeting daily walking goals. 
  • Could this motivate people into desired behavior such as a healthy way of life? Could this increase premiums for high-risk patients or reduce their business risks by alerting patients about bad lifestyle choices? What will happen to the patients’ private data? Should we prepare for Dr. Big Brother? How will the relationship between employers, employees, and health insurance companies change in the light of easily obtainable personal fitness and health data? 

John Nkengasong

Director, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention

  • Population-wise, Africa is the continent of the future. By 2050, it is estimated that its population will be 2.5 billion people. This means that one in every four persons in the world might be an African, with rapidly growing economies and a rising middle class.
  • Precision medicine will need to take center stage in a new public health order—whereby a more precise and targeted approach to screening, diagnosis, treatment, and, potentially, the cure is based on each patient’s unique genetic and biological make-up.
  • Based on the Africans Union’s Agenda 2063, goals include national strategies to improve healthcare. This includes genomic data policy and increase diagnostic capacity, and the creation of biobanks, such as H3Africa, that encompass both physical and bioinformatics facilities.

Is it possible for Amazon to run the world’s largest HMO?

HMO stands for health maintenance organization. HMOs have their own network of doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers who have agreed to accept payment at a certain level for any services they provide. This allows the HMO to keep costs in check for its members.

  • Amazon has confirmed that the services will be available nationwide starting the summer of 2021. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed that the service would be delivered through Care Medical, an independent private medical practice consisting of licensed clinicians with whom Amazon has contracted as Amazon Care’s clinical team.
  • This is the first time a big tech firm will be directly in the healthcare services business. Will it be another failed experiment or the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for?
  • Amazon care addresses two major emerging trends in healthcare delivery: telehealth and home-based care.
  • The future of healthcare in-home care and mobile care nurse
  • They can offer in-person treatments, exams, and medicine 
  • Delivering prescriptions 

Here’s our prediction for the next 25 years. Check out the full video here 👇

TIME STAMPS:

0:00 – Intro
0:35 – RV Trip Plans
1:20 – The Future of Medicine and Health Technologies in 25 Years
2:38 – More people will get health insurance
5:55 – Your health, your responsibility
9:10 – Brain computing interfaces
11:30 – 3D Printing Drugs
13:30 – Virtual Reality
15:50 – Artificial Food
18:35 – Merger of Wearable Manufacturers and Health Insurance Companies
23:23 – Amazon wants to develop their own HMO
26:00 – The future of treatments and exams
26:26 – It’s a wrap!

Google’s AI Skin App & Skin Cancer

Google’s AI Skin App & Skin Cancer

by | Jul 4, 2021 | Cup of News

Google Released a New AI-powered App to Identify Common Skin Conditions

Google Health has new tools, which will allow users to identify different dermatology issues like skin cancer through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and a smartphone camera. 

In order to use this web-based application users will have to take three images from different angles of their skin, nail, or hair concern using their smartphone’s camera. The new features for Google Health were announced at the Google I/O 2021 keynote on May 18. The AI tech will be arriving as a Web-based application that will be launched later in the year.

Google Health Tweet commercial: https://health.google/health-research/imaging-and-diagnostics/?linkId=119056153#dermatology

Google will ask questions about the users’ skin type, the duration of the issue, and other symptoms that will help the tool narrow down the possibilities. The AI tool has been developed using de-identified data from 65,000 images and case data of diagnosed skin conditions. It will draw from its knowledge of 288 conditions to give you a comprehensive list of possible matching conditions, so then you can further research them. 

Commenting on the dermatology AI tool, Google states that every year “almost ten billion Google Searches are related to skin, nail and hair issues. Two billion people worldwide suffer from dermatologic issues, but there’s a global shortage of specialists.”

Through a new study, the search giant found “the right deep learning system can be used to accurately identify patients who are likely to have active TB based on their chest X-ray.”

The tech giant is also interested in sleep health as its second-generation Nest hub includes a sleep sensing feature that uses radar-based sleep tracking in addition to an algorithm for cough and snore detection [1]. 

Skin Cancer Facts & Statistics

  • Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States and worldwide.
  • More people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year in the U.S. than all other cancers combined.
  • 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70.
  • When detected early, the 5-year survival rate for melanoma is 99 percent.
  • The annual cost of treating skin cancers in the U.S. is estimated at $8.1 billion: about $4.8 billion for nonmelanoma skin cancers and $3.3 billion for melanoma [2].

Indoor Tanning

  • Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a proven human carcinogen.
  • Indoor tanning devices can emit UV radiation in amounts 10 to 15 times higher than the sun at its peak intensity.
  • The cost of direct medical care for skin cancer cases attributable to indoor tanning is $343.1 million annually in the U.S.
  • More than 419,000 cases of skin cancer in the U.S. each year are linked to indoor tanning, including about 245,000 basal cell carcinomas, 168,000 squamous cell carcinomas, and 6,200 melanomas [3]. 

Exposure to Chemicals in Sunscreen

Study linking Oxybenzone (BP-3) and mammary tumor growth

In a new animal study, scientists have explored the effects a combination of diet and exposure to the chemical benzophenone-3 (BP-3) has on mammary gland tumors.

The study, published in the journal Oncotarget, lays the ground for further research to confirm the findings and to explore the extent to which they are likely to be reproducible in humans.

Chemicals known as ultraviolet (UV) filters are added to sunscreens to absorb or block UV radiation from the sun. UV filters can offer protection against both UVA and UVB rays.

Ultraviolet filters are regularly used in cosmetics for sun protection purposes, and in other products like plastics, toys, or furniture finishes to limit UV degradation. People may be exposed to these chemicals when food comes into contact with plastics that contain UV filters.

These findings suggest that BP-3 exposure may have adverse consequences in mammary tumorigenesis. They point to a need for further studies of BP-3 in both animal models and humans as a potential risk factor in breast cancer.

They also point to the more general need to evaluate endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the context of varying diets. Future studies are needed to identify the mechanistic basis for BP-3 effects on mammary tumorigenesis and how dietary fat interacts with BP-3 to alter outcomes [4].

BP-3 was detected in 96% of the population of the United States between 2003 and 2012. A recent study found that a single heavy application of sunscreen could exceed the point at which BP-3 becomes of toxicological concern. In this study, they also found that there was an increasing trend of urinary BP3 concentration since 2005–2006 [5].

Within the past year, the European Commission has published preliminary opinions on the safety of three organic UV filters, oxybenzone, homosalate, and octocrylene. The Commission found current human exposure levels to oxybenzone to be unsafe and proposed a concentration restriction of 2.2 percent – lower than the limited amount allowed in U.S. sunscreens, which is up to 6 percent.

Several countries ban the sale of sunscreens that contain this ingredient, because it may be harmful to aquatic life. A study found that 2-Hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone (2H4MBP) and metabolites were detected in rat plasma after exposure through the diet [6]. 

Homosalate

Homosalate is an organic UV filter widely used in U.S. sunscreens. The FDA has proposed that there is insufficient data to evaluate whether it is safe and effective to use in sunscreens. Homosalate has been found to penetrate the skin, disrupt hormones and produce toxic breakdown byproducts over time.

An opinion from the European Commission found that homosalate was not safe to use at concentrations up to 10 percent and recommended a maximum concentration of 1.4 percent, because of concerns for potential endocrine disruption. The FDA allows U.S. sunscreen manufacturers to use it in concentrations up to 15 percent.

Octocrylene

Currently, the FDA suggests, in 2019,  there is insufficient data to determine whether it can be classified as safe and effective. Octocrylene has been linked to aquatic toxicity with the potential to harm coral health and is often contaminated with the known carcinogen benzophenone.

The European Commission recently concluded that although there was some evidence of octocrylene’s endocrine-disrupting potential, current use concentrations up to 10 percent were considered safe.

Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide 

Mineral sunscreens are made with titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, usually in the form of nanoparticles. The FDA proposed that both titanium dioxide and zinc oxide be classified as safe and effective. Evidence suggests that few if any zinc or titanium particles penetrate the skin to reach living tissues.

Most research suggests that the nanoparticles don’t cross skin but inhaling the agent can cause danger. Don’t use sunscreens that have these two ingredients in spray sun sunscreen. 

Learn more about this skin app by watching the full episode, here 👇

TIME STAMPS:

00:00 – Intro
00:35 – Episode Intro
01:35 – Google’s AI Skin App
03:00 – When Apps become a part of your health routine
03:58 – It checks your skin and nails’ health
04:50 – Is this AI skin app smarter than dermatologists?
07:35 – Skin Cancer
09:15 – Does exposure to the sun really cause skin cancer?
09:55 – A revolving door
10:50 – The problem with tanning beds
14:53 – Exposure to chemicals in sunscreens
17:46 – Sunscreens are a risk factor for breast cancer
18:25 – BP3 is detected
19:20 – Fat, sick, and nearly dead
19:45 – Different regulations in the United States and Europe
22:27 – Born in a world where all is “acceptable”
24:00 – Finding balance
25:00 – Titanium oxide in sunscreen
27:10 – The Science back then
29:15 – Spreading consciousness to people
29:20 – Topic summary and closing