You start your day with OJ. Some sour news for citrus lovers. People who consumed citrus, like orange juice or a grapefruit, at least once a day had a 36% higher skin cancer risk compared with those who consumed citrus fewer than two times a week, according to a study in the 
Journal of Clinical Oncology, which followed more than 100,000 adults for 25 years. Citrus foods contain compounds that make skin more photosensitive. But there’s no need to reduce your intake, says lead researcher Abrar Qureshi, MD, chair of the department of dermatology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University – just reduce your sun exposure, especially in the few hours after eating citrus.
Intense, intermittent sun exposure, the kind that frequently leads to sunburn on beach vacations, seems to increase the risk of melanoma more than regular exposure – say, the 15 minutes you’re outside running during the day. That daily time in the sun isn’t without consequence; cumulative sun exposure is linked to non-melanomas like basal cell carcinoma, a less lethal form of skin cancer. However, there’s something about sudden blasts of UV radiation that seems to overwhelm the skin’s defenses against melanoma.
You’re being treated for an autoimmune disease. When your immune system is weakened, your skin cancer risk can skyrocket. That’s a concern for the 50 million Americans with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Crohn’s disease, and other conditions that cause the body to attack itself. The immune-suppressing drugs used to treat these ailments can worsen the problem. For example, TNF inhibitors, medications taken by people with rheumatoid arthritis, raised the risk of melanoma 50% in one study. It’s a real problem says Mona Gohara, MD, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine. The solution: “Skin cancer is easily treated if caught early, so be sure to do monthly self-checks and see your doctor every 6 months or as recommended for a skin exam,” says Cr. Gohara.
You drink more than one alcoholic beverage a day. A recent analysis of 16 studies found that imbibing in excess of one daily cocktail on a regular basis increases the risk of melanoma 20%, possibly because compounds in alcohol make skin more sun sensitive.
You count more than 11 moles on your right arm. Women with that many moles were nine times more likely to have over 100 moles scattered across their whole body, a known risk factor for melanoma, say researchers at King’s College in London.
Reader’s Digest
June, 2016