i hope you all had a fabulous weekend and were able to take advantage of the many happenings in denver, including the first friday art walks, the capitol hill people's fair, the chalk art festival on larimer square, the rockies games, etc. in true denver fashion, the weather was predictably unpredictable. i took advantage of the hot and sunny weather sunday morning, dusted off my vintage stumpjumper and specialized clipless shoes, and biked from our house in north country club to my friend's house in crestmoor.
in slightly under three miles, i passed by or was within a block of eight amazing parks and recreation areas--cheesman park, james n manley park, bromwell elementaryplayground,congress park, cranmer park, robinson park, crestmoor park, and the crestmoor community association. these parks and recreation areas make denver come alive all year round and are a major reasonwhy my husband and i and many of our friends have chosen to live in the city.while passing these parks, i couldn't help but think about all of the kids who will be playing sports, swimming, biking, and hanging out at the parks and playgrounds all summer long. and i found myself worrying about whether they would be fully protected from the sun's harmful rays.
this brings me to patricia krentcil.on june 14, 2011, the fda announced new disclosure requirements for sunscreen labels due to consumer confusion. the existing labels made consumers think that they were getting higher levels of or more comprehensive protection than they were, therefore leading to higher incidences of skin damage/cancer. initially, sunscreen manufacturers had a year to comply with the requirements, but lobbyists recently convinced the FDA that additional time was needed to make the changes, so the compliance deadline was moved to december 17, 2012. this made me wonder, is patricia krentcil the new commissioner of the fda?
luckily, we don't have to rely on the fda to protect us from looking like this guy. environmental working group, a non-profit based in washington dc whose mission is to inform and protect the public from environmental threats to health and safety, just updated their website to include detailed research regarding and reviews on available sunscreens. please see http://
among the top-rated sunscreens is thinkbaby spf 50+, which is available at a number of online retailers for around $15. as an added bonus, the sale of thinkbaby products benefits livestrong's fight against cancer.
another top-rated sunscreen is coppertone's sensitive skin faces spf 50, which is available at drugstores for around $8.
without proper protection, you could end up like this unnamed 69-year-old truck driver who spent 28years on the road with the sun beating down onhis left cheek.dr. jennifer gordon, a doctor at northwestern university who is studying thisman, published his picture and her diagnosis- "photoaging" - in the most recent issue ofThe New England Journal of Medicine.
please know that this post isn't intended to be preachy. i want you to enjoy your summer at the parks, pools, and playgrounds just as i did as a child and a teenager. i just want you to be aware of the nuances of sunscreen, its various ingredients, and what it means to the health of your skin. with awareness comes protection and more time outside, which is what we all want in denver.
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