Spring is on the way, thoughts are now turning to summer and of being out in the sunshine. Given that the UV levels in the atmosphere are higher now than before the advent of the widespread use of cfcs, you need to protect youself against harm. Pollution from escaped cfcs led to a thinning of the ozone layer, creating the well-documented holes. The high level ozone is our safety screen against the effects of harmful ultra-violet (UV) rays from our Sun. The ozone layer does not cut these out completely, it is in fact UV rays that create your sun tan. Exposure to the harmful UVB and UVC wavelengths of radiation can lead to cancer With the thinning of the ozone layer more UVB now reaches the surface of the Earth (UVC is pretty much blocked anyway) and skin cancer is on the rise. This is a particular problem in the sunny southern hemisphere countries as the thinning of the ozone is greatest over the south polar region.

For more information on UV click here

If caught early, skin cancer is often curable. Prevention however is better than cure, the most effective is to keep your skin from exposure to any type of UV. Second best are sun creams. But do suncreams do more harm than good - the chemicals in them are artificial and created from benzene based compounds - a known carcinogen. I have seen no research into whether these break down under the influence of UV creating the very problem that they are supposed to cure; maybe that is because they don't or maybe it is because they do ... but the sun cream industry is big business so such findings are likely to be suppressed.

One of the consequences of our modern day living is pollution. Pollution of our atmosphere has 

Happily, for those of us who are reluctant to use artificially created chemicals on our bodies there is a possible alternative - green tea!

As I have already said, there are several different ways to help your skin stay safe from the effects of UV but did you know that green tea may help? Green tea contains antioxidants (called polyphenols) that are believed to protect against some cancers by fighting the effects of harmful free radicals. Free radicals are undesirable chemicals in the body which can damage cell DNA and, as a result, start the process of turning a cell cancerous.

Researchers in the US have noticed from other reports that regular use of green tea may well protect against skin cancer. In some of the studies they have scrutinised, it has been found that green tea taken orally or applied to the skin has prevented damage from UV. It appears more beneficial to drink the green tea, however, supplementing this with external application of teas containing green tea extract may increase the efficacy of this natural protection. Evidence for the latter comes from the Archives of Dermatology 2000;136:989-994, 1051 - mice exposed to a chemical that causes skin cancer were less likely to develop tumours if they had green tea ointment applied for 1 week prior to exposure.

So there you go, a very good reason to buy green tea, the miracle drink!