Why I No Longer Get Sunburned

I no longer get sunburned.

And no, I don’t avoid the sun.

I can go out in the sun for hours:

• Full skin showing, in my bathing suit

• In direct sun

• Without sunscreen

• Without a “sun shirt” or protective clothing

And I do not get sunburned.

It all started when I read something about 3 years ago, and thought, “No way that really happens!”

What was it that that I read in multiple places?

People claimed that when they stopped eating seed oils, they stopped getting burnt. And, instead, would just get more tan.

At that point in time, I had cut back on seed oils a lot. But I would not say that I had them fully out of my diet.

So, I decided I was going to put it to the test.

I first began really focusing on eliminating all industrial seed oils from my diet as much as I could.

Social gatherings and some restaurants don’t allow me to be 100%.

But for the last ~3 years, I would say that my dietary fat intake is 98-99% industrial seed-oil free.

As I started eliminating them, that next summer, I noticed, “Hey, I really am not getting burned” when I was out at my kids’ practices, at the park, at the lake, etc.

So, Labor Day weekend of 2024, I decided to really put this claim to the test. I had a little bit of a “base” because it was nearing the end of the summer. But that summer, due to a number of reasons, I had not been outside as much as I typically am. So, I wasn’t tan by any means.

We were out at the lake that Labor Day weekend. It was a sunny day and still quite hot (it was near 100°… I’m in Texas). We were going to be on the boat all day. And my uncle’s boat does not really have shade. So, we were in & out of the water a lot (obviously, to keep cool).

My kids were tubing. I went water skiing for the first time in ~10 years (I still have it..got up on the 2^nd pull 😎).

Anyway, for those ~7 hours, I did not use any sunscreen and only had my bathing suit trunks on and a ball cap.

Guess what?

Sure enough, it worked! I didn’t get sunburned!

I was even kinda surprised.

Yes, I had some very slight pink. But no burn.

When I took a hot shower, none of that incredible burn occurred like it typically does when I’ve been sunburnt before.

Then, in 2 days my skin was darker. And I never had any of the skin peeling or flaking afterwards.

Now, 2 years before that, if I would have done what I did that day, I would have looked like the guy on the left in the picture above!

So that got me thinking, “Why does this happen & what is the mechanism of action?”

Well, guess what?

There is a scientific reason for exactly why this occurs. And as you will see, the negative health implications are not just sunburns… it’s far more reaching than that.

Yes, you read that correctly.

That’s literally what is happening.

I’m going to use some technical science terms below. But stick with me, because I’m going to explain it all in “layman’s terms” after that.

When you get sunburned, there is a compound that is produced called 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE).

We are going to come back to 4-HNE.

First, you need to know that industrial seed oils are HIGH in linoleic acid.

Linoleic acid has two double bonds in its chemical makeup, which these double bonds are weak points. Meaning oxygen can very easily get in and “replace” those double bonds.

This is a form of oxidation called lipid peroxidation.

So, again, industrial seed oils have a lot of these double bond weak points.

Monounsaturated fats (think olive & avocado oils) have one double bond & it is hard to break.

Saturated fats (think animal fats, dairy, coconut oil) have none of these weak points.

So, when ultraviolet light from the sun hits the skin, it strips off one of those weak points.

This starts the lipid peroxidation. And then creates a chain reaction where it keeps breaking apart the polyunsaturated fats (even if there is no continued light exposure).

Have you ever noticed your sunburn became even worse once you got out of the sun, even hours later? This is why. The lipid peroxidation keeps occurring in the polyunsaturated fats.

In this breakdown is when 4-HNE is produced. There is also another aldehyde produced called malondialdehyde.

These 2 compounds damage DNA, changes protein functions, and begin an inflammatory “waterfall”.

So, when you get sunburned, the redness, the heat you feel from your skin, the blistering, the inflammation & the skin peeling…it’s these compounds causing all of this.

Technically, it’s your body’s immune response.

Ok, I will now explain it in “layman’s terms”.

Your body is made up of an estimated 70 trillion human cells.

What you may not know, is every single one of those cells has an outer “wall” called a cell membrane.

And those cell membranes are constructed from whatever fat you’ve been eating for the last ~2 years.

This includes our skin cells.

So, if those skin cells are made up of polyunsaturated fats (aka industrial seed oils- complete list found here) and you are out in the sun a lot, the UV light is going to hit them.

And the above-described chemical reactions are going to occur… and you will get the burn, redness, inflammation, blistering & peeling. This is a scientific fact.

HOWEVER, if your skin cell membranes are made up of saturated fats (animal fats, dairy fats, coconut oil) and monounsaturated fats (olive oil, avocado oil, tree nuts), this does NOT occur.

Meaning, you do not get sunburned.

We’ve been talking about sunburns.

But this oxidation is not just localized to the skin. It happens in all other parts of the body too.

Elevated 4-HNE plays a role in various diseases due to it’s oxidative stress. Things like:

• Metabolic Diseases

• Neurodegenerative Diseases

• Cancer

I want to elaborate on each of these.

Metabolic Diseases

Obviously, I wrote a lot about metabolism. Most people think “weight loss”, but it’s far more reaching that as I explain here.

However, in medicine, there is an area of your health referred to as cardiometabolic health.

Cardio = pertaining to the heart. Metabolic = pertaining to metabolism (obviously).

As I’ve said for decades, your heart health is a direct reflection of your metabolic health.

Last week in this article, I wrote about how the South Indians (who consumed a lot of industrial seed oils) had 7X the rates of heart attacks compared to their Northern India counterparts (who consumed much less industrial seed oils).

And if you read that article, I mentioned that the sedentary jobs (worked inside) in South India had LESS heart attacks than their Southern co-workers who worked outside in South India.

You would think that more active a persona was, it would equal less heart attacks. But it was opposite.

With the predominance of seed oil consumption & their daily sun exposure, this created tremendous oxidative stress for the outside workers. Which damaged the inner linings of their arteries, and ultimately lead to higher rates of atherosclerosis and subsequent heart attacks.

When we truly follow the science, we can find the answers. 😉

Neurodegenerative Diseases

As far as these go, I want you to think of disease processes like:

• Dementia

• Alzheimer’s

• Parkinson’s

• ALS

• Huntington’s

• And More

Substantial oxidative stress in the CNS is involved in all of these conditions.

Cancer

This one I am sure will ruffle some feathers. But that’s okay. 😎 I know many of you will benefit from the below resource, as cancer is the #2 cause of death in America (behind heart disease).

Cancer is largely a metabolic dysfunction at a cellular level (if not completely metabolic).

I’ll keep it real short & simple:

Step 1- cells get damaged (this can be caused by many things: smoking, asbestos, glyphosate, chemicals we eat, repetitive sunburns, etc.)

Step 2- cells then change from an aerobic respiration (normal cellular metabolism) to an ongoing anaerobic respiration (abnormal cellular metabolism). Which means the cells then don’t need oxygen & they thrive off glucose for fuel. If this environment persists, the cells proliferate and the cancer grows/spreads.

One of the best resources for the “beginner” to understand this paradigm greater, and begin looking at cancer treatment “through a different lens” is the book Tripping Over The Truth by Christofferson.

It was an eye-opening book for me, and completely changed my perspective on what I had been traditionally taught: that cancer was a genetic condition.

It’s not.

Last week my oldest daughter came home from a swim party, with her volleyball team.

She made the comment, “I got burned and I even used sunscreen!”

She was definitely pink.

She then asked, “What should I do?”

Being my daughter, and she knows what I “preach”, I simply said:

“You should stop consuming seed oils.” And then I smirked.

She smiled back with a “I know” kind of look.

She knows the truth, now she just needs to act on it.

If you have not already eliminated or drastically reduced your consumption of seed oils for at least a year or more, you still need to be careful when you are out in the sun for prolonged periods.

You don’t want to get burned.

Obviously, most turn to sunscreens to prevent getting burned.

But what many don’t realize is that ~75% of American sunscreens are deemed unsafe due to the chemicals they contain, compared to European standards…it’s unbelievable what the American FDA allows in our products!

Additionally, the large majority of American sunscreens only protect from UVB rays, and not UVA rays… which are arguably more dangerous to your health.

I write all about the details here, and what I personally use. Plus, a resource to look at many other brands that are safe and effective while you still need to utilize sunscreen... but begin eliminating those seed oils simultaneously. 😊

If you don’t want to get sunburned. Stop consuming polyunsaturated fats (industrial seed oils).

Instead, consume saturated and monounsaturated fats. Prior to ~120 years ago, these are the only types of fats all of our ancestors ate.

The science is clear. You should too.

REMINDER: You only get one body to live this life in. Treat it well!

Have a great week!

To your health,

~Dr. M. Brandon Pettke

1) Free Inflammation Lowering Resources

Stop being inflamed. Finally, decode what your inflammation symptoms are telling you. You can pinpoint your most likely priority lane (Gut vs. High Insulin vs. Nutrient Gaps vs. Detox Load) and follow simple one-change-at-a-time protocol to lower your inflammation.

Download Free Resources

2) My Book: $19.99 USD

I originally wrote this for my patients. I was taught a lot of things wrong as a doctor. My patients also believed a lot of what I was incorrectly taught. However, I didn’t have the time to teach them what took me years to unlearn. So, I wrote a book for them. It’s now available for you. Metabolism 2.0- How To Lose Weight & Optimize Your Health, Using Real Food.

Purchase Book

I love helping people improve their health. And you never know what kind of impact you could make on someone’s life, with just a simple share…

DISCLAIMER: This article is educational & informational only. This article is not intended as medical or healthcare advice. Nor is it intended to treat or cure any disease/condition. You should contact your healthcare provider directly, set an appointment with them & discuss your individual disease/condition. ​By applying anything mentioned in this article, it does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship between yourself and Dr. M. Brandon Pettke.