This is a map highlighting the many diagnoses of skin cancer in the United States. Here we can see the highest amounts are along the eastern seaboard and western coastlines, cornering itself in areas such as New England and the Northwestern United States. Now that may sound weird to hear considering these areas also statistically receive less overall direct sunlight. How is it that these skin cancer breakouts are not occurring in large amounts in areas in the so called "Sun Belt"? Well that is because scientists are finally realizing that the sun is not bad for you! The sun belt states have lower incidents of skin cancer due to there large amounts of sun exposure and vitamin D absorption.
This is a map of the United States with low selenium content in soil levels. Red areas are scarce in the mineral. Selenium is something of a environmental protecting agent, in that it protects our cells from the constant barrage of carcinogens and pollutants. Now if you look back at the map you first saw, you may notice some similarities. Both maps show once again the New England and Northwestern states both have the highest skin cancer rates and the lowest Selenium soil levels. Florida as an exception has one of the scarcest soil content levels of Selenium as of current, and a lower incident rate for skin cancer. This is important because it lets us show the correlation between sun exposure and cancer rates. Do not be afraid of the sun, take plenty of vitamin E and use a organic sunscreen to prevent the cooking of harsh petrochemicals into your skin and the blocking of healthy sun rays.
