Lori Alexander: I Order You To Get Sun

[GeoBQn]

Lori hawks being in the sunshine as a cure for many ailments. Luckily, she lives in San Diego where there are no pesky issues like winter to have to deal with.

I never encouraged sunscreen. I just don't trust putting a ton of chemicals on your skin. Now, whenever I have a sore that doesn't heal, I use Black Salve and it works great!!

Doesn't like chemicals, but uses Black Salve. Does not compute!

I understand that there's been a lot of research into the chemicals in sunscreen and how effective they are, but I will stand by it. My parents used to sunbathe with baby oil slathered on their skin. They now have had so many moles removed (some cancerous) that they have probably singlehandedly put their dermatologist's kids through college.

lorialexander.blogspot.com/2013/03/get-some-sunshine.html

[ILoveJellybeans]

Isnt Black Salve that stuff that has been known to be dangerous for the skin?

[Hane]

I took my 80-something dad to have some cancerous skin cells removed from his nose. In the waiting room were several other 80-something men, there for the same thing: the effects of decades of moving lawns and doing yard work without sunscreen.

Lori is a thoroughgoing twunt.

[VooDooChild]

Um...she uses make up and soap, yes?

[GolightlyGrrl]

Like a lot of fair-skinned, blue-eyed redheads, I'm very sensitive to the sun. I've been wearing sunblock since highschool and I have almost no wrinkles. I still get outside in the sun (weather permitting, of course). As for my health, well, I have my good and my bad days. But I think any health issues I have are due to mostly gaining some weight, not a lack of sun.

[Conuly]

Chemicals, ooooh, scary. Does she know about the risks of dihydrogen monoxide?

On that note, you don't *need* sunscreen... if you're willing to spend your summer with long sleeves, long pants, and a wide brimmed hat on.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

She talks about having a sore that doesn't heal like it's a normal thing...is it? I would be pretty scared if I had one of those.

[Claddagh]

I took my 80-something dad to have some cancerous skin cells removed from his nose. In the waiting room were several other 80-something men, there for the same thing: the effects of decades of moving lawns and doing yard work without sunscreen.

Exactly! My Dad is in his early 60's and had to have one pre-melanoma tumor removed. He also has a scar the size of a silver dollar on his back where a thankfully non cancerous skin cell tumor had to be removed. The doctor had to cut a lot of tissue as the tumor had deep roots.

One woman told me about her two grandmothers. One never went in the sun, had beautiful skin, but always struggled with ill health. Her other grandmother was always outside in the sun, had wrinkled skin, but was full of vitality and good health.

Some people just get sick easilly. I had a teacher who got sick with everything that was going around and she loved going out in the sun.

Lori's argument really makes no sense.

If I had a sore that wouldn't heal I'd be seeing the doctor instead of putting God knows what on it!

[August]

Chemicals, ooooh, scary. Does she know about the risks of dihydrogen monoxide?

On that note, you don't *need* sunscreen... if you're willing to spend your summer with long sleeves, long pants, and a wide brimmed hat on.

Actually, a lot of UV hets through normal clothes. You should wear sunscreen under your clothes.

A sore that doesn't heal sounds like a basal cell carcinoma to me.

[lilwriter85]

That post was fucking stupid. I remember in some previous posting, Lori whined about having sun damaged skin. Her saying not to wear sunscreen is a giant fucking fail.

[splork]

Oh man, the images that popped up on my google search for Black Salve were fucking terrible.

But, yeah, lady, you just keep putting that on your mysterious sores and writing about how dumb the rest of us are for believing in the skin cancer conspiracy.

[Wolfie]

Reminds me of the creepy neighbor who tried to tell me that I wouldn't get enough vitamin D if I didn't sunbathe nude. He has since moved, and I was glad, as that wasn't the only creepy thing about him.

But really, I have auburn hair and that pale redhead type skin in spite of my hair and dark eyes. (I've had to argue at makeup counters before since they have tried to sell me a darker color than my skin tone, and then are shocked when they test my skin and come up with one of the lightest shades....) I wear sunscreen, I still get sun, and am freckled, but if I am out too long without sunscreen I burn. I also am not always the healthiest person, but it's not because I avoid sun, it's because of genetics and job that exposes me to several hundred children a week. And I don't want to be like my grandpa (as many of us have discussed) who had to have cancer removed from his face after years of gardening and farming.

[mg78]

You do not need a long sun exposure to produce enough vit D. A little here and there is more than enough. As someone have said clothing and sunscreen do not protect 100% from UV radiation, so you do not need to sunbathed in the nude to benefit from the sun.

[August]

You do not need a long sun exposure to produce enough vit D. A little here and there is more than enough. As someone have said clothing and sunscreen do not protect 100% from UV radiation, so you do not need to sunbathed in the nude to benefit from the sun.

It's entirely dependent on latitude, time of year and skin pigmentation. Huge numbers of people live at 40 degrees and above and don't make vit D for months in the winter because the sun's not strong enough.

[mg78]

It's entirely dependent on latitude, time of year and skin pigmentation. Huge numbers of people live at 40 degrees and above and don't make vit D for months in the winter because the sun's not strong enough.

True. I was just saying you do not need tons of sun exposure and increase your risk of skin cancer to produce enough vit D. I though the post was self explanatory.

[spectralScavenger]

Isnt Black Salve that stuff that has been known to be dangerous for the skin?

Yup. http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRel ... schar.html

[Rowan]

Sunshine is good (especially to us poor sun-deprived NE-Ohioans currently reveling in it right now!) but no sunscreen, Lori?

I prefer my skin to not resemble that of a boiled lobster and not be so painful that even the lightest cotton shirt is agony. No dice. Hell, I'm already stressing about being able to bring enough sunscreen for when I go to Africa in two years due to the extreme luggage weight limit I'll deal with for some of the locations. It's my #2 priority after camera equipment, well before more 2-3 sets of clothes or makeup or other grooming stuff.

[snarkbillie]

Chemicals, ooooh, scary. Does she know about the risks of dihydrogen monoxide?

On that note, you don't *need* sunscreen... if you're willing to spend your summer with long sleeves, long pants, and a wide brimmed hat on.

Maybe you don't, but I've burned through my clothes before. I put sunblock everywhere. I'm too pale for outdoors!

[lilwriter85]

I agree with others sunscreen doesn't offer 100% protection, but it does help to reduce sun damage. Lori saying no sunscreen is stupid as I mentioned before. Lori said that she never had her kids us sunscreen and I'm surprised that her kids don't have signs of sun damage.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Yeah, thats it. I remember the picture of the woman whos face fell off from using it.

[GeoBQn]

True. I was just saying you do not need tons of sun exposure and increase your risk of skin cancer to produce enough vit D. I though the post was self explanatory.

Two years ago, my mother told me to ask my doctor about Vitamin D deficiency--in the Midwest, in December. I tested as having a deficiency and had to take supplements that weren't covered by insurance. When I moved to a smaller area, also in the Midwest, I asked my new doctor about it during a January appointment. After laughing uproariously, she said that they almost never test for Vitamin D deficiency during that time of year because they assume that everyone is deficient, and I wasn't showing any symptoms that were worrisome.

[Minerva]

Black salve is chemicals, idiot. If I ever get a sore that won't heal, I'll go straight to a doctor, because that sounds like skin cancer, and I'd rather have it treated with something that's been proven safe than burn it off myself with an unregulated and untested mix of chemicals I bought online. I like having scientific, peer-reviewed proof that what I'm using is going to work, but more than that, I like having scientific, peer-reviewed proof that it's unlikely to harm me. You can't know whether a product has been linked to cancer when it hasn't been tested!

[Freyacat]

Yup. http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRel ... schar.html

HOLY SHIT. Those pictures are going to be in my nightmares tonight. Lori is a fucking idiot.

[Minerva]

This is the website of the company that produces Lori's black salve: virxcan.org/index.html

Let's have a look around, shall we?

If you go over to the Disclaimer page, you'll see that the product has not been evaluated by the FDA.

In the Articles section, if you click on "What is in Virxcan Salve and Tablets?", you'll find this gem in the first paragraph:

In my last article, I introduced you to Virxcan Salve and Virxcan Tablets, an herbal aid for addressing (we do not claim that it heals, eliminates, shrinks, or “curesâ€) moles, warts, tumors, and other growths.

Further down, you find the company's active refusal to print a complete list of ingredients (which isn't sketchy at all), and later, the names of the CHEMICALS believed to be black salve's active ingredients.

Scroll down to the bottom of this page to read the comment by a person claiming that Virxcan Salve burned holes in their and their son's skin, and the company employee replying that they used the salve for too long and that the commenter therefore can't have bought the salve from them.

Let's have a look at the CHEMICALS that are Virxcan black salve's active ingredients.

First, there's Sanguinarine. [link=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanguinarine]Its Wikipedia page[/link] states that it is a promising-looking cancer fighting agent, and it confirms Lori's and Virxcan's claim that it may attack skin cancer cells while leaving non-cancerous skin cells intact (though only in controlled doses, one should note). It also explains that "Sanguinarine is a toxin that kills animal cells through its action on the Na+-K+-ATPase transmembrane protein." (which is funny given Lori's penchant for decrying "toxic chemicals". It goes on to explain several of its dangers. One of the most interesting things I've found about it, however, was by searching for it in my university library's portal. At least two studies (1) (2) have found that sanguinarine can cause or worsen skin cancer. Both studies mention that it is a known genotoxin, meaning that it is known to damage DNA. This could explain why legit medical professionals still aren't using it to treat cancer.

The second active ingredient is Berberine. [link=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berberine]Wikipedia[/link] extolls its virtues, including its anti-cancer effects. However, it risks being very toxic when ingested orally (3), which is scary since Virxcan sells the salve in tablet form. It's also been shown to act as a contraceptive and *cue dramatic music* a lethal agent for embryos (4). To be fair, black salve probably doesn't deliver enough berberine to a human body to do either of those things, though. Berberine is also genotoxic, but I can't find any articles linking it to cancer.

In summary, Lori's black salve has not been properly tested, is not FDA approved, has a bunch of mystery ingredients, and contains two chemicals whose cancer-fighting potential is still in the testing stages and are not currently used to treat cancer, possibly because both are toxic, one may harm fetuses, and the other has been shown to cause or worsen certain skin cancers.

Ya know what? I'll stick with liquid nitrogen and the good ol' scalpel should something suspicious ever appear on my skin.

Sources:

1. Ansari, Kausar M. and Mukul Das. "Skin tumor promotion by argemone oil/alkaloid in mice: Evidence for enhanced cell proliferation, ornithine decarboxylase, cyclooxygenase-2 and activation of MAPK/NF-jB pathway." Food and Chemical Toxicology 48 (1) (Jan. 2010): 132-138.

2. Das, Mukul et al. "Correlation of DNA damage in epidemic dropsy patients to carcinogenic potential

of argemone oil and isolated sanguinarine alkaloid in mice." International Journal of Cancer 117 (5) (Dec. 2005): 709-717.

3. Ma, Bing-Liang and Yue-Ming Ma. "Pharmacokinetic properties, potential herb–drug interactions and acute toxicity of oral Rhizoma coptidis alkaloids." Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism & Toxicology 9 (1) (Jan. 2013): 51-61.

4. Sugimoto, Takaaki, Yoko Kato and Yukio Tsunoda. "The Effect of Berberine Treatment on the Reversibility of the Development of Mouse Zygotes and Gametes, and on the Fertilization and Subsequent Development." Journal of Mammalian Ova Research 29 (1) (April 2012): 75-81.

[Maggie Mae]

Didn't she have a brain tumor or cancer at some point? I only ask because her writing seems incredibly juvenile, even by fundie standards.

Have you noticed the flu hits in the dead of winter? Colds are prevalent then also. They are discovering that it is due to a lack of Vitamin D. The best way to get Vitamin D is from the sun, imagine that! They keep discovering what God made is the best for us.

The article she links to is from 2010, so it's not like it's recent news. Furthermore, those of us living at 49 degrees north, known about the benefits of vitamin D for much longer than three years.

Furthermore, part of the reason that colds and flu are so prevalent in winter is because in cold places, people have a tendency to stay inside during the cold months, which spreads germs.