6 Habits That Help You Protect Your Skin From Cancer

Skin cancer has increased dramatically in recent years, so preventative measures like sunscreen, routine checkups or dietary supplements can be a great way to deal with it.

Are you looking for a way to protect your skin against cancer? Perhaps your skin is too fair, or family members have had this disease. The reality is that the cases of skin cancer have gradually increased and it is advisable to take precautionary measures.

In this article, we share 6 habits that will help protect your skin against cancer. We need to be aware of this serious health problem and know the risk factors and effective preventive measures.

6 habits that help protect your skin against cancer

1. Sunscreen

First of all, sunscreen is designed to protect the skin from solar radiation. By applying it, we create a barrier against ultraviolet rays. This is why, in recent decades, its use has been encouraged in various fields of public health.

However, cases of skin cancer in its most severe form have continued to increase. Therefore, besides using sunscreen, we need to take other preventive measures.

2. Protect your skin against cancer with lotions containing antioxidants

According to a study published by Duke University Medical Center, sunscreens are effective but are not ideal for protecting the skin. They claim that the reason is that they are not being used in the right way, because their spectrum is incomplete and because they can be toxic.

On the other hand, they propose to use in addition to sunscreens, the topical application of certain antioxidants. They claim that these are documented and that they would help protect the skin against cancer in an additional way. This is the case of :

• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Selenium
• Zinc
• Silymarin
• Soy isoflavones
• Polyphenols in tea

3. Routine checks to rule out cancer

It is important to ask ourselves whether we should carry out street checks. Some at-risk groups that require more preventive measures and controls are:

• History of skin cancer
• Family history of melanoma
• Excessive sun exposure
• Skin with phototypes I or II
• Genetic diseases with a higher risk of skin cancer
• Regular smokers
• Patients with HIV, HPV and polymavirus

4. Watch out for certain drugs to protect your skin against cancer

We must also take into account a more unknown factor. Certain drugs increase photosensitivity, which is said to be detrimental to the protection of the skin against cancer.

Some of these drugs are:

• Tetracyclines (especially doxycycline)
• Thiazide diuretics
• Sulfonamide antibiotic
• Fluoroquinolones
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
• Retinoids
• St. John’s Wort

We can always see our doctor if we are taking any of these drugs. If we cannot change the treatment, we must take extreme precautions against sun exposure, given our greater vulnerability.

5. Effective oral supplements

We have talked about antioxidants at the topical level. However, diet still plays a key role in our health. That is why we can turn to supplements that help protect our skin against cancer, with a proven scientific basis.

These supplements can be taken as a supplement, but should not be taken as an exclusive measure to protect us from the harmful effects of the sun. They should be part of all these tips for effective prevention.

In addition, we recommend that you always consult your doctor before taking any supplements.

Below we highlight the most effective supplements. In addition, we also mention some foods rich in these nutrients:

• Vitamin A : liver, carrot, spinach, dairy products, pumpkin, egg
• Vitamin C : acerola, guava, citrus fruits, strawberries, kiwi
• Vitamin E : olive oil, sunflower seeds, almonds, pine nuts, Brazil nuts, dried apricots, spinach, quinoa, oysters
• Selenium : Brazil nuts, tuna, oysters, sesame, eggs
• Essential fatty acids : fatty fish, linseed oil, evening primrose oil, avocado
• Resveratrol : grape or wine juice, peanuts, dark chocolate, blueberries

6. Other factors to protect your skin against cancer

Finally, we must stress that skin cancer is not just due to sun exposure. Sunbeds and exposure to chemicals in certain locations or workstations can also present a high risk.

We must therefore respect all these precautions. If we have an outdoor lifestyle, we will always need to wear the right clothes to protect our skin from cancer, along with sunglasses and our sunscreen.

We also reiterate the importance of giving up toxic habits such as smoking and of following a complete and balanced diet, not forgetting routine checks whenever necessary.