SUMMER'S NEARLY HERE, Don't Sunburn To A Crisp, or
A Fish Tale Of Acquired Sunburn Immunity.The subject of sunburn came up on gg's "Ireland's Not A Garbage Can" blog.
(It's not as off topic as it sounds. Ireland has a lot of Gingers. Gingers burn up in the sun. It was a logical progression. Kinda.)
But I digress.
I mentioned that for several Summers I've noticed I'd become immune to sunburn.
I didn't consider it a problem (what Ginger would?!)
But I found it most curious
Even when visiting Florida from a Northern state...
Dead fish belly WHITE...
To days spent at a pool under a straight overhead sun...
NO sunscreen...
AND
NO SUNBURN! - Hardly a tan!
(Some local Pentecostals concluded I must be very godly; it was a manifestation of providential protection that I didn't blister hideously & slough off skin like a moulting snake. I am NOT making that up! )
Anyway.
Gg asked if I eat much fish of the Omega 3 sort.
I most certainly do!
Sardines
But I'd never heard that oily fish would turn a Ginger unsunburnable.
Imp chimed in & added that eating strawberries also prevents sunburn.
I searched it...
and found this...
....
You know all those damnable health studies that tell you you have to eat crap like seaweed or sawdust or you'll die?
NOT THIS ONE, Y'ALL!
Fish!
Tomatoes!
Watermelon!
Berries!
Butter!
Whipped Cream!
Chocolate!!!!
Anyway.
Yes. I realize one unfried Ginger - even a dead fish belly white Ginger in Florida that convinces Pentecostals a miracle has occurred - isn't exactly a clinical study.
But as noted in the article, if something works - you don't NEED studies!
Thought I'd pass it along; take it for what it's worth.
(This blog is not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure any condition or ailment.)
There.
Y'all got the standard lawyer approved legal disclaimer.
If any of y'all blister hideously, slough off skin like a moulting snake, get cancer and/or die horribly, neither you nor your survivors can sue my @ss off.
Comments (29)
Fun blog Mic. I go red and peel, that was the last time I was in the sun. But our sun is a lot stronger than your sun, or maybe not in Florida where I visited July month and it was bloody hot.
The only thing is, you are still Ginger, so you still have Melatonin to protect you, that mop of hair.
, Food has a great effect on sunburn. I have lost the strawberry,I am now a whitish blonde [my father was a ginger that tanned with sort of darkish skin] my brother is very dark ginger, with brown eyes and dark skin...
very weird but slower to go grey than any other colour as the pigment is so strong.
So, Gingers are healthy old things. They have been maligned for centuries and accused of being
unlucky here in Ireland. My great grandpa would be going to Market in Galway with the Cattle, and if
he met a redhaired woman he would turn back, it was bad luck, just as it was to wear green to an interview.
Hard to think that an otherwise astute businessman with a huge farm and other interests, had a belief so
naive and primal. My grandmother who raised me would not let me wear Green, it was unlucky.
I will be following you hopefullly with more information on the great ginger race.
Funny thing though I survived 40 years in Africa, moved to Scotland and got a touch of skin cancer
Now in Spain in a house without windows, sorted. Ok it has windows but none face the sun directly.
Then, in my 40s, started to use despite warnings, Sunbeds. I became a Tanorexic.
Late 40s, got sense, grew up, I have ginger in my hair and veins, so no more sunbathing, factor 50 and a hat, and recently diagnosed with same as you, beside right eye.
I think you should continue to wear the hat. It is actually safer in Spain as you have an ozone layer, as you know Scotland, UK and Ireland do not.Happy times Biff.
Some folks may not know much 'bout Murkun Pentecostals (aka 'Jump & Shouts').
This'll bring y'all up to speed...
Note @ 4:45 - The nice Ginger lady howling like a hyena.
I'll leave it to y'all's imaginings how folks in such a mindset would react to witnessing a dead fish belly WHITE Ginger unscorched after several days under a Florida sun.
Oh yeah. They're all that.
I fear the vast majority of people cannot comprehend the burdens borne by Gingers...the world's smallest minority
This is because we characteristically bear up with a stoicism that can only be described as stony.
But that stony facade sometimes cracks.
A Ginger Snaps. (get it?...Ginger snap? )
And the bitter truth, the cruel truth is revealed...
When dealing with lawyers, keeps, I don't take chances.
If that disclaimer is good enough for Big Pharma -
Itself good enough for me.
Seriously. Ordered it for a holiday, it didn't arrive in time, but it is strutting its stuff here in Spain, mainly when I am going out on my own because certain people make rude comments about my hats
I love it nearly as much as my tatty black and it is of course much more versatile in a hot climate
Scroll down to the comments.
What's said about Florida sun, heat & humidity
Guys -
In the vid...imagine 'em turned around & the adjustment thingy becomes an homage to the Cavalry hat cord.
P.S. I never sunbathe.
....
Spiritual awakening.
I hadn't considered that possibility.
BUT
May it be that it is the other way around?
Which came first? Spiritual awakening? Sunburn immunity?
Like that chicken & egg thing.
That is, spiritual awakening is the result rather than the cause of sunburn immunity.
When one isn't annually scorched into excruciating pain, one can more consistently focus on other things. Like awakening spiritually.
I find agony quite distracting.
Sunbathing -
Can't say I engage in that activity (inactivity?) per se.
But I do spend a lot of time just being outside.
Another consideration - Vitamin D3...the sunshine vitamin.
I'm forced to get an annual physical through a health program.
It's a bit of a nuisance.
It's usually scheduled in Spring...after Winter when I'm dead fish belly white.
I've been told every year that I'm a bit low in D3...take supplements.
Which I would do.
But it seemed it did little if any good...always a bit deficient.
Two things were different last year.
1) The health program offered free stuff (free is good ) if your doc confirmed you needed it. And one of the free things was D3.
So I took the form in to have the doc confirm I was D3 deficient.
BUT
2) Last year the physical got postponed until mid Summer.
So when I asked the doc to confirm the D3 deficiency so I could get my free stuff he told me he couldn't do that - I had plenty of D3.
I kinda jokingly mentioned that walking around in Summer attire was apparently much more effective than gulping supplements.
He quite unjokingly acknowledged that was so.
I pointed out Winter would return.
I would again be dead fish belly white.
So how 'bout my free stuff?
Nope.
The health plan would only give me free stuff based my most recent lab reports.
Stupid health plan
The conclusion here is obvious.
Schedule physicals in Winter/Spring so you get free stuff.
Absolutely, BA!
I can think of a whole bunch of reasons why locale would be a factor.
I'm glad you raised that variable sun point.
I saw this on PBS a few years ago...
It came out in '06.
Note in the opening the guy says we'd have 10 years to mend our ways.
If we failed to do so, we'd be doomed.
Bummer
Anyway.
That was also about the time I noticed I was no longer getting annually scorched.
Each Spring I'd remember that program and wonder if the dimming sun caused sunburn immunity.
Seemed plausible
Indeed, when I raised the point on gg's blog I also raised the possibility of a changing sun as a possible explanation, & asked if others in other parts of the world had noticed it.
It was then that gg & imp brought up the food factor.
Thinking back...
Other than the sun going dim, what else might explain why I'd acquired sunburn immunity?
And more specifically...at about that time?
Wife died.
She'd done most of our cooking.
She didn't love fish to the same extent as I.
So we ate what she liked to cook/eat...less fish.
When left to feed myself - I ate more fish.
Sardines
And sunburn immunity was subsequently observed...at about that time!
Gotta hand it to ya, gg & imp...
It adds up. It makes sense.
The Omega 3 fish hypothesis explains the observed phenomenon and accounts for the several variables.
It appears you nailed it!
If you remember, when we discussed bears and hedgehogs, I suggested you should do the research about similar animals living in the warm climate. I think now is the time to start that project.
With a little luck, you might get a grant and spend the following winter on a tropical island with a lot of sunshine (and vitamin D3).
I'm pleased to report the plan has been implemented & is proceeding apace
You being Autumn Ginger, I presume you've been briefed on the impending GWO (Ginger World Order) takeover of the planet, and how we of the 2% Master Race Of Destiny will divide it up among ourselves.
There's quite a lengthy discussion of it on gg's 'Ireland' blog.
Seems I spilled the beans on that...alerted an otherwise unsuspecting world.
My bad.
Anyway.
I've staked out a claim on Hispaniola
So. Riana.
What part of Earth have you selected for your private realm in the GWO?
There's still quite a few Caribbean islands up for grabs.
We could have neighboring realms!
I think that protects me somewhat.
However, on those days that I know I will be in the sun a long time and it being in the high 80's or 90's F.
I do use some sunblock on my face, neck, arms & legs.
I also eat a lot of fish (different types) and different berries.
The berries provide vitamin C and are loaded with antioxidants and the fish has omega 3 fatty acids.
So, I guess they help too.
Plus, I am not a "Ginger".
I have no rights.
I'm not a natural ginger.
But as a wanna-be ginger, I can give my support!
nastics & riana...
Y'all's honesty will be remembered in the GWO.
I'll put in a good word for you.
Hell. You might even get like a monument or something.
BTW riana - Perhaps the most famous Ginger wannabe...Lucille Ball.
She was a natural blonde.
:
I prefer to walk around and see things, Just lying, roasting to me is a waste of a holiday, my opinon of course.
I do find that I only burn in Ireland when in other countries with an ozone layer, I go brown straight away.
Not very interesting information, just saying.
Sunbathing isn't an activity. It's an inactivity.
(See my previous comment to riana's previous comment.)