Mindful Healthy Balanced Health Coaching

06/12/2026

Apparently there is some confusion that freckles are a sign of sun damage or even skin cancer, so let's clear that up.

Freckles are not skin cancer.

They're not a disease.

And they're not sun damage.

Freckles are areas where the skin produces more melanin than the surrounding skin.

Melanin is the pigment responsible for skin, hair, and eye color. When skin is exposed to sunlight, specialized cells called melanocytes increase melanin production as part of the body's normal response.

In many fair-skinned individuals, especially redheads, sun exposure triggers melanin production. In some people, that pigment is not distributed evenly. Instead, it tends to concentrate in areas that receive regular sun exposure.

Those concentrated areas of pigment are what we call freckles.

Humans produce two primary forms of melanin:

• Eumelanin — brown and black pigment

• Pheomelanin — red and yellow pigment

Many redheads produce relatively more pheomelanin and less eumelanin than darker-haired individuals. As a result, sun exposure often produces freckles rather than a deep, even tan.

This is also why freckles often become darker and more noticeable during the summer and fade during the winter.

Freckles are best understood as a genetic trait that becomes more visible with sun exposure.

Sunburn is an injury to the skin caused by excessive exposure to UV rays.

A tan is increased melanin production triggered by modest UV exposure and distributed more evenly throughout the skin.

Freckles are concentrated areas of melanin production in people with the genetic predisposition.

Those are not the same thing.

Human biology is usually far more nuanced than a simple internet sound bite.

Comment below if you have freckles

06/12/2026

Apparently there is some confusion that freckles are a sign of sun damage or even skin cancer, so let's clear that up.

Freckles are not skin cancer.

They're not a disease.

And they're not sun damage.

Freckles are areas where the skin produces more melanin than the surrounding skin.

Melanin is the pigment responsible for skin, hair, and eye color. When skin is exposed to sunlight, specialized cells called melanocytes increase melanin production as part of the body's normal response.

In many fair-skinned individuals, especially redheads, sun exposure triggers melanin production. In some people, that pigment is not distributed evenly. Instead, it tends to concentrate in areas that receive regular sun exposure.

Those concentrated areas of pigment are what we call freckles.

Humans produce two primary forms of melanin:

• Eumelanin — brown and black pigment

• Pheomelanin — red and yellow pigment

Many redheads produce relatively more pheomelanin and less eumelanin than darker-haired individuals. As a result, sun exposure often produces freckles rather than a deep, even tan.

This is also why freckles often become darker and more noticeable during the summer and fade during the winter.

Freckles are best understood as a genetic trait that becomes more visible with sun exposure.

Sunburn is an injury to the skin caused by excessive exposure to UV rays.

A tan is increased melanin production triggered by modest UV exposure and distributed more evenly throughout the skin.

Freckles are concentrated areas of melanin production in people with the genetic predisposition.

Those are not the same thing.

Human biology is usually far more nuanced than a simple internet sound bite.

Leave a comment below if you have freckles!

06/11/2026

Old school reality check here:

Your body can run on one of two primary fuel sources:

• Glucose

or

• Ketones

And this is usually where I have to bite my tongue.

If you're lowering carbohydrates, lowering fat, and increasing protein...

What exactly is fueling the body?

Now, if your goal is to run primarily on glucose, that's one conversation.

Protein can support glucose production when needed, so there is no requirement to eat more carbohydrate than protein.

But if your goal is ketosis, dietary fat matters.

At some point you have to decide:

Do I want to run primarily on glucose or primarily on ketones?

Because if ketosis is the goal, dietary fat isn't just another macro.

Dietary fat IS the fuel.

Ketogenic diets are not designed to be high-protein diets. They are designed to be high-fat diets.

06/10/2026

These comments just made me laugh...it seems that admitting you sit out in the sun without sunscreen is a triggering subject.

Truth be told, doesn't it make sense to prepare your skin to tolerate moderate direct sun exposure in the event you get stuck outside without sunscreen? I think it does.

My worst sunburns have come from depending on sunscreen to protect me, but it wearing off before I realized it. I have had multiple first and even second degree burns from this.

Changing to a ketogenic diet and learning how to use my skin's own defenses against UV rays to protect me from moderate exposure to the sun has spared me those painful outcomes for the last ten years.

BTW: Freckles are the skin producing more melanin in specific spots in response to sunlight, not signs of skin cancer. More that later.

06/09/2026

I've noticed that many people who return to carbohydrates after a period of keto or carnivore eating often say they no longer feel the approach is serving them.

And that's completely fair.

But not everyone came to keto or carnivore for the same reason.

Some people came looking to lose weight.

Others came looking to regain a quality of life they felt was slipping away.

They could not get out of bed.

They needed multiple medications just to make it through the morning.

They could not remember what was told to them just minutes before.

They obsessively checked the front door before leaving the house.

They lost their temper over the smallest deviation in plans.

They were so afraid to eat they were starving themselves.

They ran to the bathroom after eating to purge it all.

They could not find joy in life.

They were having mobility issues due to neurological challenges.

For those individuals, keto or carnivore was never just about weight loss.

It was about getting their life back.

Which is why the question is often very different.

Not:

"Can I eat carbs again?"

But:

"Is ketosis a better fuel source for my body?"

When nutrition has helped restore a quality of life you thought was gone, the decision becomes about far more than food.

It's not about the scale.

It's not about following a trend.

It's about protecting something you fought very hard to get back.

06/08/2026

That simple question sent me down my first internet rabbit hole.

What I discovered over the years eventually led me to stop relying on commercial sunscreen lotions and instead focus on smart, moderate sun exposure.

My body—like yours—has powerful DNA repair systems that handle most UV damage from everyday, non-burning exposure. A gradual tan is your skin's natural defense kicking in, not a warning sign of doom. Moderate priming without burns is how humans handled sun exposure for millennia.

Burning (especially repeated burns) is the real problem that overwhelms repair. With the use of sunscreens, fewer people take the time to prime the skin in preparation for sun exposure. As a result, when sunscreen wears off, sweats off, or is not applied to a specific area, a serious burn can occur, usually a first- or second-degree burn.

Skin cancer rates have risen sharply since the 1970s–80s when dependence on modern sunscreens became popular. That trend continues despite decades of "use sunscreen" messaging. The major studies (like Nambour) compared daily sunscreen use to "whatever people usually do"—not a control group of participants who had taken the time to prime their skin for sun exposure.

As we see time and time again, real-world use often gives a false sense of security, leading to inappropriate or inadequate application, as well as less preparation that allows the body to protect itself.

We need sun for vitamin D, mood, nitric oxide, and overall health. Blanket avoidance of the sun, and overuse of sunscreens that block vital UV rays, creates its own problems.

Dermatology's hyper-focus on the use of sunscreens, hats, and clothing to cover the skin ignores the whole-body picture and downstream deficiencies that can result.

For me, a solid base tan provides protection equivalent to SPF 2–4. I know when I have reached my maximum exposure for the day, and I take the necessary precautions to avoid burns, either by applying zinc oxide, covering up, or simply going inside for the day.

True story: When using sun blockers, I suffered first- and second-degree burns due to improper application. When I started priming my skin and using common sense, I never incurred another burn.

From my perspective, this is the balanced, ancestral approach our bodies evolved for.

This is by no means a recommendation for everyone.

It is simply the path I have chosen in my health and wellness journey.

06/05/2026