There is only one spectrum

In the latest ‘What Doctors Don’t Tell You’ (WDDTY), the cause of skin cancer in relation to the sun is discussed. As you can imagine, they are arguing that the doctor’s have not told the truth; surprise, surprise. So, doctors have been warning us that excessive sun ‘exposure’ can cause skin cancer, where as WDDTY suggest that hiding from the sun can cause a host of other illnesses.

I am not going to say whether I agree or disagree with either side. I would like to take time to suggest that just like the sun is both good (rainforests) for the earth it is also bad (deserts), and in this same way it is a matter of finding your own balance. You are going to have to figure out how to find your own happy medium, how you use the sun is up to you.

I think what often happens is a scare turns into media frenzy and with time, becomes a myth, a myth that often points at excess or deficiency. This is obviously not specific to sun exposure; there are also myths regarding apples causing cancer, apples as anti-oxidant and mobile phones causing cancer. There have also been non-cancer related myths, like chocolate in any form is bad for you and will contribute to your weight issues. As you can imagine there are ways in which chocolate is excellent for you, for example pure dark chocolate with no sugar is fantastic for teeth and hormones.

Now all myths come from some truth, but we must remember that myths are there to remind us that extremes are bad for us. It is up to each individual to listen to their mind and bodies and decide how much is too much and how little is too little.

Drawing on last week’s blog we all know how out of tune we are with our bodies. So, maybe, rather than listening to myths and acting on them in extreme ways, why do we not spend time listening to our bodies? I know for example that I need as much Sun as I can get to keep me happy (this does not mean I fall asleep on a sun-bed, in the blazing sun with no SPF on) and chocolate in small amounts contributes very positively to my wellbeing (a nice way to reward myself when I have been particularly productive)!

Where do you sit on the spectrum?