Warning: 10+ years keto and still need to use sunscreen

(Bob M) #1

I just listened to a carnivore podcast where they were discussing how they never had to use sunscreen. So, in my 11th year of keto, I decided not to use sunscreen on my vacation. Got burnt.

Primarily eat meat, some vegetables, some chocolate.

Maybe there are some people who don’t need sunscreen, but I’m not one of them. My mistake too is that I go from zero sun to hours of sun. Maybe if I had some time in the sun to build even a small base tan, I’d not need sunscreen.

But every time I hear a podcast about keto/carnivore in the sun, they podcasters say they don’t need sunscreen. For me (and maybe you, which is why this post is here), I need sunscreen.

(Cathy) #2

I have never heard that keto makes a person less sun sensitive!!!

I once would get a nasty, itchy rash from early in the season exposure to the sun but haven’t for years. Keto?

(Edith) #3

I still get sunburned, but I have found the time it takes for me to get burned is longer and I don’t get as burned. It was a noticeable difference for me and actually, my husband, too.

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #4

I’ve heard Carnivores don’t get burnt. Must admit I thought it doubtful. Maybe you need to work up to it?
Though this year with plenty of sun I’ve not burnt but can’t say I’ve really tested it.

(KM) #5

My experience as a pale skinned human: I rarely burn anymore, and I almost never wear sunscreen. I’m just as doubtful about all those chemicals as I am about UV radiation.

However, I usually wear a hat and sleeves to my elbows when out for any length of time. I am not sure whether to chalk up my lack of burning (or much tanning, for that matter) to behavioral changes, diet, or possibly skin aging. I have also become a big fan of hot soaking. My skin is definitely drier, no idea if that makes any difference either.

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #6

I use tallow on my face so I look and smell gorgeous :grinning:… actually it doesn’t smell at all!

(Geoffrey) #7

Well my experience as a carnivore has been extremely positive this summer.
Nor to start with I’ve always been a burn and peel kinda guy.
I’m 75% German and 25% Scandinavian. I’m so white I glow in the dark. I’ve also been day blind all my life. I’ve always had to wear good sunglasses outside even on the cloudiest days. But I’ve never needed a flashlight in the dark. That’s why I always got picked to lead night patrols when I was in the infantry.
Last summer I had just started eating carnivore so I saw no changes and I still had to wear sunscreen if I was going to be outside in the sun for more than 15 minutes.
365 days later after starting carnivore I found myself not needing my sunglasses anymore. I can see in the daylight again. I only wear them now when I ride my motorcycle because they wrap around my eyes.
I have been working out in the hot Texas sun nearly everyday between working the farm, mowing pastures and working on fence for hours all day and I haven’t put any sunscreen on all year. I’ve gotten a couple of mild burns that get a little red but don’t hurt. Never peel or blister and turn brown in about two or three days. Even my daughter remarked that I no longer get red in the sun anymore just brown.
I’ve often thought I had a sun allergy because every time I’d burn I get these hard little bumps in the burn area that would last for a couple of weeks and itch like crazy.
So I’ve seen a tremendous improvement in how the sun affects me now that I’m carnivorous.

#8

I usually burn beginning of season but once a base tan gets down I don’t. I read this year a great article revealing the scam behind dermatology and skin cancer, and how sunscreen is worse for your skin than any of the sun’s rays.

So this year I sat outside every morning for about 1/2 - 1 hour as the sun was first coming up, for the mental health. Then I made sure to sit outside for 10-20 minutes every day when it was late morning or midday and the sun was pretty intense. This laid down a base tan slowly over a two week period without ever burning and I got delicious natural vitamin D out of it too. Definitely the way to go: short amounts for several days to get a base tan.

(Alec) #9

I am another carnivore who has learnt I don’t get burnt (as easily). But my strategy (this was in the Aussie late autumn) was to start with 20 mins in the sun with no suncream, and then I sunbathed every day I could for no longer than 5 minutes more than the previous session. Over about 4 weeks I must have done 15 sunbathes, and got up to around an hour and a quarter, unprotected by suncream, and increasingly towards midday (I started at around 9.30am, and progressed to be later in the morning).

My skin absolutely got colour (I am very pale usually), mostly a pinky red, which then darkened overnight (a bit)… but it was not sunburn… not delicate to the touch at all. It was what I would consider normal skin tanning.

But as you can see, I was really cautious… I have a history of sunburn: my skin historically has not been sun friendly, so I have been very shy of the sun… but I am now just as shy of the commercial sun creams as I am now very suspicious of them.

My sunbathing experiments are certainly not over… I was starting to have fun, and then the Aussie winter happened, and where I live daytime temps in the winter are not conducive to sunbathing! But come the spring, I am gonna do the same routine… start slow and see if I can bring some colour to my now smaller body. Looking forward to it.

#10

I agree.
Mom had really white, easy to burn skin, she got burned on summer vacation… But when she started to work in a garden hours long, she slowly got an impressive tan and never burned. It makes sense. If someone with white skin suddenly get a lot of exposure, they will burn. The diet may bring some changes but just giving us immunity, I don’t think so.

I don’t do sunbathing ever but sometimes I must go out and as I walk regularly, I slowly start to develop a tan in spring, it continues in summer (very slowly as I avoid the sun in summer, as much as I comfortably can)… Unless I suddenly spend much time in sunshine when it’s really hot (unlikely but there are situations when it’s hard to avoid), I don’t get burned.

(Robin) #11

Well, who knew you had night vision? Pretty cool!
I don’t spend enough time in the sun to know if it’s changed. But I’m not surprised.

(Tracy) #12

That’s really interesting, I do burn on sun holidays but we don’t get enough sun at home to build up any sun exposure.

(MC) #13

I definitely burn less these days, but I also build up exposure throughout the year. No indoor office working, then straight into a 30C Spanish holiday.

(Cathy) #14

Is there any science behind this theory?

#15

I used to spend summers in the Mediterranian and from the age of 13 the first two weeks were a misery because of the itch then I would tan. It was only in certain places, my face and stomach would never develop it and my back just burnt. Whenever I went on a beach vacation in the winter I would also be miserable. I eventually figured out that if I put sunscreen on in the room 30 minutes before I went outside and reapplied it did not happen or happened less. It never happened on a regular northern beach in the US or rarely.

In the last 10 years or so it does not happen, even before keto (I do not do carnivore). I did a beach day last month, wore some minmal amount of sunscreen. I got a little red but it did not bother me. Also, and this may be because I now dye my hair to cover gray but my skin looks darker to me in general than it used to. I used to be very pale and the contrast with my dark hair and pale skin was nice. Now I cannot do my hair as dark as I would like (does not look good) and it gets this reddish tint a few days after it is dyed that I cannot get rid of and makes me look more sallow in general

(Joey) #16

I’ve cited Holick’s books and research in other threads but will do so again here given the exchange above:

For a deeper dive into the inter-related issues of sunscreen, tan vs sunburn, UVA vs UVB, skin cancer types (yes, a genuine risk, but not what many of us are led to believe), role of Vitamin D, and various sun exposure issues associated with different racial skin types, check out books by Michael Holick, MD/PhD.

He’s the guy credited with isolating 25-VitD many years ago, teaches at Boston Medical, blah, blah (see below)…

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“Author: Michael F. Holick, Ph.D., M.D., is recognized for his contributions in the fields of vitamin D, calcium, skin, bone, and the biologic effects of light. At Boston University School of Medicine, Dr. Holick is professor of medicine, dermatology, and physiology and biophysics; director of the Bone Health Care Clinic; and program director of the General Clinical Research Center.”

(Geoffrey) #17

To the best of my knowledge no. Just anecdotal evidence from those like myself.
One aspect of the carnivore diet that has piqued interest is how it might affect the body’s reaction to sun exposure. Anecdotal reports suggest that the diet could influence the skin’s tolerance to ultraviolet (UV) rays. While some carnivore diet followers report increased sun tolerance, these claims are not widely supported by. Indeed, exposure to UVB rays is necessary for vitamin D synthesis in the skin, but excessive sun exposure can still lead to skin damage, regardless of diet.
I still will burn but it only lasts a couple of days and never blisters or peels and I can stay out in the sun for hours on end and not burn. I haven’t used sun block all year and I no longer need sunglasses.
Our bodies are designed that when we go out into the sunlight we receive the signals from our eyes to start producing melanin which creates a tan that prevents sunburn and ultimately skin cancer but when we wear sunglasses and go out in the sun our bodies aren’t getting those signals so we don’t produce the melanin and we sunburn.
I can only credit this transformation to how I eat now.
No science just experience.

(Chuck) #18

I have Native American ancestors and I am now 76 and very seldom need to use any sunscreen.

(KM) #19

I will say that my melanin doesn’t come up as smoothly as it once did. In other words, instead of getting a glorious pinky-golden color, when I do get darker I now just get a lot of small brown spots. I’m guessing this is age, not ketosis.

(Kirk Wolak) #20

Okay, blonde and blue-eyed easy burner here.

After being carnivore for a while. The 45 minutes in the sun = sunburn CHANGED.
Yes, I turn red. But the next day it tans up. Crazy. (Like my sicilian looking brother… NO, not that great. His base is olive skin).

But if I don’t go from ZERO to 4hrs… I build a tan. Within a week or so I can spend 2hrs in the FL sun at (11am - 2pm time frame).

I would burn in Michigan sun… Before.

So, I think you simply overwhelmed your body. But growing up, I had 3 colors. White, Pink, Red (usually with blisters).

I now recognize the “inflammation” feeling of sunburn for what it is.

but honestly, I’ve lost my tan. And 45 minutes for my walk in the sun without a shirt is a no-brainer. Pushing 2 walks in the sun… I will redden up. And I will need some time to let it turn.