Enjoy the latest installment of Dr. Lowell Keppel’s “Good to Know” series for practitioners.

Sometimes I wonder what I’m gonna do
Cause there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues
—“Summertime Blues,” Eddie Cochran and Jerry Neal Capehart

Summertime. Everyone loves it—but no one loves SUNBURNS or MOSQUITOS!

How can we help our patients deal with these annoying inconveniences?

A sunburn is the result of the skin being irradiated by sunlight—it can take just so much before burning. Vitamin F and ionizable calcium taken together can strengthen the skin, allowing it to absorb more irradiation without degrading into a burn. This works because the burning temperature of calcium-deficient skin is much lower than that of calcium-sufficient skin.

Sunstroke is another result of overexposure to sunlight. When the sun irradiates fat in the skin, the cholesterol in the skin is converted into vitamin D (cholecalciferol). When there is too much vitamin D, the body starts drawing calcium from the digestive system, tissues, muscles, bones, etc. into the blood. This results in an excess of calcium in the blood and, ultimately, sunstroke. Symptoms of sunstroke include headache, nausea, dizziness, and muscle cramps.

You can find a detailed explanation of vitamin D and sunburn in Conversations in Nutrition by Dr. Royal Lee and John Courtney (p. 117). Dr. Lee also talks about protecting yourself from sunburn by using Cataplex F Tablets, Wheat Germ Oil (75 percent unsaturated fatty acids), and Calcium Lactate from Standard Process. For many years I have used these products with great success in preventing sunburn and improving tans.

Here is what I recommend for the patient:

Daily

• Cataplex F Tablets (x6)
• Wheat Germ Oil (x6)
• Calcium Lactate (x12)

Sun Exposure

• Regular sun exposure: 2 additional of each.
• Hours of sun exposure: 2 additional Cataplex F and Wheat Germ Oil for every 60–120 minutes of continuous sun exposure.
• After sun exposure: 2 additional Cataplex F and Wheat Germ Oil.
• For sunburn: 2 additional Cataplex F and Wheat Germ Oil every hour.

Mosquito Bites!

Ever notice how you can be sitting outside and the person next to you attracts the mosquitoes while the person next to them attracts hardly any at all?

People who attract mosquitos may have too much sugar in their blood. What is the number one nutrient needed to metabolize sugar? Vitamin B complex! In talking about Cataplex B, Dr. Lee explained that people with adequate B levels suffered fewer mosquito bites.

We know that nearly every person on this planet is deficient in vitamin B. All you have to do is look at all the diabetes and heart disease in the world.

Here is what I recommend:

• Cataplex B-Core: 5–9 daily, with 2 more prior to mosquito exposure.
• Antronex: to improve histamine clearing of the liver.
• Calcium Lactate and Cataplex C: to improve histamine neutralization.

Recap

1. Sunburn is the result of TOO MUCH VITAMIN D, which is caused by NOT ENOUGH VITAMIN F.
2. Cataplex F (fatty acids) offsets vitamin D by moving calcium to the tissues (skin).
3. Mosquitos are attracted to blood sugar.
4. It is possible to offset poor sugar metabolism with Cataplex B-Core.

Images from iStock/Nadezhda1906 (kids at beach) and iStock/rustycanuck (bug bite)