Nudists are well-aware of the need for caution in the sun, and every sensible nudist includes a pair of sunglasses in his or her sun-protection arsenal. Most of us don't need too much in the way of persuasion. Sun-glasses are a happy marriage of substance and style, managing to combine an important health benefit—protection from the sun—with a cool look. They're almost too good to be true.
Almost. But not quite. Because according to Dr. Sharon Moalem and Jonathan Prince in their book Survival of the Sickest (ISBN:978-0060889661), shading your eyes from the sun for a long period of time can actually increase your chance of burning!
Bizarre I know, but their reasoning goes like this.
The process of tanning is controlled by the pituitary gland, which is responsible for the production of a substance called melanin. When the sun shines the pituitary gland kicks into action and orders up more supplies of melanin. Melanin, which is the body's natural tanning agent, then pigments the skin to protect it against the harmful UV rays which cause sun damage.
The trouble is that the pituitary gland takes it's information regarding sunlight from the eyes. Moalem and Prince contend that by artificially shading the eyes with sunglasses for lengthy periods you fool it into thinking that the sun is less strong than it actually is. This in turn inhibits the production of melanin, making sun damage much more likely.
So by trying to prevent sun damage by wearing sunglasses, we could actually be promoting it!
How strange is that?
I should point out that Moalem and Princes' theory is not universally accepted and there are many in the medical professional who dispute the findings. Which, of course, only adds to the confusion.
So,what should the sensible nudist do? Ignore the advice. Or take it to heart and avoid the sun altogether? Or, even worse, stay in the sun but discard the sunglasses?
Thankfully there is a much more simple, common sense solution. If you're going to be wearing sunglasses for any length of time, just remove them for two or three minutes every fifteen or twenty minutes or so. This will keep your pituitary gland on its toes and ensure a free flow of melanin to where it's most needed.
It's better to be safe than sorry, and we nudists should act responsibly in the sun. Although the risk in this case is as yet unproven, avoiding it is easy, so why take the chance? It can't be worth hazarding your health just for the sake of looking like a rock star for an extra two or three minutes every quarter of an hour.
