Sunscreen, Winter Food and Flowers

Share this post

sunscreen

Several family members have had melanomas removed over the years. My Mother has had multiple surgeries to remove melanomas despite regular checkups and wearing a hat outdoors most of her adult years. The damage was done when she was a child. Last year she had several melanomas removed from her right hand  and her face and associated grafts. Sadly she lost an eye to melanoma later in the year and then needed more surgery on her face in January. Other family members, including myself, have had melanomas removed. I have a checkup every year.

Unsplash Image

I still use sunscreen during winter. For years the day cream I preferred included a reasonable SPF but since I changed brands to an evidence based product, I’ve had to find a really good sunscreen. Not just for my face, either, but for my hands, too. I know I should wear gloves in the garden but I just go out the back for a wander and thirty minutes later I’ve  pulled weeds and started another bucket of weed tea, picked some roses and snipped some herbs for dinner. My hands had been in the sun all that time.

Vitamin D is essential to our well being and one source is UVB rays from the sun. Other sources of Vit D are eggs, beef, fatty fish and liver. We need to be in sunlight all year round for our well being but does sunscreen prevent us from benefiting from UVB rays? Dr Ginni, in her newsletter Evidence Skincare (here) refers to an article in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment which breaks down common myths about sunscreen.

Pixabay Image

The first myth is that sunscreen prevents us absorbing beneficial rays from the sun. Actually, people who use sunscreen have higher levels of Vit D. The second myth is any suncreen will do, but not all sunscreens are equal. If you have sensitive skin look for less irritating products with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. The third myth is that you have to start young to get the benefit. Actually, it’s never too late. The study showed that starting to use SPF5 at 40 can reduce the damage from the sun by 40%.

Australia and New Zealand have the highest rate of melanomas in the World. It is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer. It can be prevented by using sunscreen, dressing appropriately and wearing good sunglasses. Sunscreens in Australia are approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and are rigorously tested. Look for TGA approval, mostly a number, on the tube or bottle before buying sunscreen.

flowers

I walk almost every day of the year with my 89 year old neighbour. I only accrue about 1500 steps during this amble up and down the block but we have wide ranging chats and lots of laughs and even a few rants. She regularly visits her dear friend who is disappearing into dementia and sometimes she tells me funny stories about these visits and sometimes not so funny stories and more often, nowdays, stories of frustration and sadness.

Yesterday as we wandered between showers of rain, she told me how her husband used to bring her gifts after work on Fridays. He worked in the city and would usually bring her flowers but sometimes other sweet gifts. He’s been gone over 30 years but she still misses him.

Flowers for my dear neighbour.

I’m given flowers irregularly but I like surprises. I grow flowers to ensure we nearly always have fresh, cut flowers in the house, but a random bunch, not because it’s Valentine’s Day or our wedding anniversary, feels luxurious and such a treat. I got a bunch for my neighbour, too, after I heard how much she enjoyed flowers from her late husband.

s

Flowers for our house. There’s nothing left in the garden except the occasional rose.

eating

There’s a change in the weather and this is reflected in what we are eating. Salads have given way to roasted vegetables and citrus features in many meals. A trip to the German butcher meant venison sausages, venison prosciutto and Thueringer bratwurst. It’s not easy to get venison in WA but we enjoy some variety. All delicious.

And I make soup, lots of vegetable soups with chicken or vegetable stock. Do you plan meals, batch cook or sort of muddle along like I do, making sure everything is used? Most lingering vegetables become frittatas and egg based pies, which can be eaten hot or cold, or soup. (Many recipes online for frittatas)

did you know?

Eighty percent of Australian animals are unique to Australia?

Koala bear. Image Unsplash

Share this post