The myths — and truths — of summer

It’s difficult to ponder when the weather has been so perfect, but one of these mornings, we’re going to wake up, go outside and it will feel just like someone turned on an oven.

Yes, summer will have arrived.

In contemplating the arrival and the ensuing months, my thoughts turned to some recent interactions with friends and family that caused me to shake my head and begin believing, “there really is fake news!” Don’t worry, no politics here, just things people should know about.

Here’s the first myth.

My son visited from Chicago and when put together with his sister and a few cocktails, they began castigating their parents for wearing antiperspirant. You might think this belongs in the category of you “can’t make this stuff up,” but they were totally serious. Why? Because of the aluminum.

The “criminal” aluminum causes breast cancer, and even closer to home for our age cohort — Alzheimer’s disease. I tried to tell them that was an urban myth from way back, but they shouted me down. People. We could fill Ed Smith Stadium with the studies that have been done that debunk this. Without getting too biology 101-ish, we start with an armpit. Sweat ducts release sweat, which is water and salt. Bacteria breaks the salts into smelly acids. With an antiperspirant, the aluminum compound reacts with the salt in sweat to form a kind of gel that temporarily blocks the sweat ducts and acts like an astringent contracting the underarm pores. Little aluminum even gets into the body and if it did, scientists do not think that aluminum 1) increases breast cancer risk, and 2) plays any role in Alzheimer’s.

Here’s the second.

We met friends from Naples in Fort Myers for a spring training game — Twins vs. the Rays. As we were standing in line to pick up our tickets, my friend hauled out the sunscreen and began spraying it all over her exposed skin. I asked, “What SPF do you use?” The astonishing answer was 100.

Who knew they made a 100? And my second thought was, if sun is such a concern, why would you spray sunscreen on rather than rub it in? Of course, I didn’t ask those questions in the spirit of not appearing to be a sunscreen resister. However, I couldn’t wait to check this one out because being a faithful reader of many beauty columns, I thought certain that high-SPF sunscreens are not necessary.

Here’s our second biology-ish lesson: SPF refers to the ability of a sunscreen to block ultraviolet rays that cause sunburn. Unfortunately, these numbers — 15, 30, 45, 100 — are misleading because the consumer thinks they give you twice or three times or four times the protection. Truth is an SPF 15 blocks about 94 percent of the UVB rays, and SPF 30 raises that to 97 percent and SPF 45 98 percent. Most dermatologists recommend SPF 30, according to WebMD.

Here’s what is most important about using your sunscreen: Make sure it’s water resistant; apply 30 minutes before going outside; reapply every two hours; and use it liberally — at least a one-ounce portion, which is a shot-glass amount — and rub it in well.

Number three.

The seared meat and hot dogs give you cancer claims have been around for quite a while and — darn it all — it’s true.

Let’s start with meat. Study after study continue to link red meat animal protein with cancer. It’s one of those foods we Americans love, but are going to have to understand and accept its hazards. Americans eat on average more than 70 pounds of red meat per year, a small child worth. So, what’s the beef with red meat? Meats cooked at high heats produce what are known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines. Both are DNA changers, and once our DNA is compromised, cancers can occur. Mutations can cause colonies of rogue cells that become tumors.

In the case of processed meats — cured, smoked, salted — it’s the sodium nitrates that are added to the meat to act as a preservative. Once the nitrates are in the body, they can form nitrosamines, which are chemical compounds that are carcinogenic.

So, what’s a carnivore to do?

Are scientists suggesting that we give up all red meat and processed meat — even turkey bacon? Not quite. There are some standards that help us gauge how much is too much. The number 50 grams per day seems to be the balancing point. At that number, your risk of colorectal cancer — the cancer most influenced by meats — increases by 18 percent. To give you a real food example, 50 grams is the equivalent of six slices of bacon or one hot dog or two slices of ham or five slices of hard salami or two slices of Canadian bacon. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been known to pick two out of the five in one day quite often. It’s definitely food for thought.

PS: And it’s food for thought for food producers as well. Kraft Heinz Co. last week announced it’s reformulating Oscar Mayer hot dogs by removing artificial preservatives and added nitrates and nitrites.

Kristine Nickel is a marketing communications consultant and former marketing and public relations executive. For more than 30 years, she has relieved her stress by writing features for publications across the country.