The first step to avoid sunburns is to expose yourself gradually to the sun.  Here are Dr. Christopher's directions (with some edits by David Christopher) from the book "Herbal Home Health Care": Take a sunbath each day exposing all your skin to the sun - not through glass but in direct sun.  Only allow two minutes on the front and two minutes on the back the first day.  Add two minutes front and back each day but no more.  In six days you will be up to twelve minutes front and twelve minutes back.  Do not sunbathe between eleven in the morning and one o'clock in the afternoon, that is, not at high noon.  If it is a cloudy or cold day, use a sunlamp, but do not allow a burn.

The sun is the world's greatest doctor but must be used by building up the exposed time in the sun gradually so as not to burn.  When you do not gradually increase your exposure to the sun but lay out for long lengths of time and burn the sun is dangerous for it will cause a severe toxic burn and may cause cancer.  Also, if cancer is already in the bloodstream and the body, the sun can ripen it and bring it to the surface.

The second step to avoid sunburns is to eat a lot of food with dark colored flavonoids  - such as grapes, fresh grape juice, berries, dark green leafy vegetables (including spinach, red-leaf lettuce, broccoli, kale, and peas), cherries and prunes.  These should be your principal food during the summer.

To illustrate, Dr. Christopher told a story about a sheepherder who came to his office and pulled down his large belt buckle and showed Dr. Christopher where he had developed skin cancer.  It had formed in this spot that never saw the sun.  Dr. Christopher asked "Is anyone else around while you herd sheep?"  The man said no, so Dr. Christopher told him to herd the sheep "au natural."  He also told him to not load up his chuck wagon with the regular food he ate, but fill it completely full with grape juice.  So all summer long this sheepherder drank grape juice and herded sheep in only his cowboy boots and cowboy hat.  He returned at the end of the summer completely healed of the cancer.

QUESTION: What are flavonoids? Flavonoids are compounds found in fruits, vegetables, and certain beverages that have diverse beneficial biochemical and antioxidant effects.