Vitamin D & Tanning

According to Readers Digest, September 2006: "New evidence shows that getting enough vitamin D may be the most important thing you can do for your health."

For the first time in years, scientists are coming out from behind the clouds and giving us some good news about sunlight - in the form of vitamin D. What they want you to know is this: healthy vitamin D levels are being associated with lower risks of several forms of cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis and other diseases. How do you get more vitamin D? SUNLIGHT. Tanning beds are a controlled source of sunlight.

What is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is necessary for the body to properl absorb calcium and phosphorus. Only in the past decade have researchers discoverd that vitamin D also plays an important role in cell growth in the body. Vitamin D comes naturally from sun exposure to the skin, and to a limited extent is available in milk, fatty fish and cod liver oil.

So as studies are completed and there are many it is being found that exposure to UV light helps with vitamin D production and the vitamin D has many positive attributes. SO if you are going outside exposure is good, burning is bad so lets say that sensible use of sunscreens is good but exposure to the sun is as well. Now, tanning inside in a tanning bed is a controlled and timed environment. Remember by developing a good tan before you spend hours in the sun will really help prevent sunburn.

DR. MARC SORENSON and Vitamin D: You will probably be hearing a lot more about Dr. Marc Sorenson he is the author of Solar Power for optimal Health.
Dr. Sorenson is a very forward thinking scholar, entrepreneur, author, speaker and health expert.
This book states: Sunlight and Vitamin D May Save Your Life!
• Sunlight profoundly lessens the risk of breast, prostate, colon and other major cancers.
• Sunlight dramatically reduces the risk of osteoporosis and hip fracture.
• Sunlight and/or vitamin D aids in relieving depression, chronic pain and lower back pain.
• Sunlight and vitamin D help to control heart disease, blood pressure and multiple sclerosis and increase muscle strength.

Is the book worth reading? In my opinion it is a must.

DR. HOLICK and Vitamin D: Last week I mentioned a book that I thought would be of interest to Tanners. How many have gone out and purchased that book and started reading? Raise your hand if you have! Had you going for a minute. But the book is excellent.

Now I want to mention one more it is called the UV Advantage by Dr. Michael Holick of Boston University. What is sun-phobe? Sun-phobe is a term coined by researcher and author Dr. Michael Holick that means "a person with an irrational fear of sunlight."
Unfortunately, says Holick, we've become a nation of sun-phobes. We hide from the sun and feel guilty when we don't. "The UV Advantage" asks you to take a deep breath and thoughtfully consider the idea that sunlight is actually good for you.

Holick, a Boston University professor, is perhaps the world's leading researcher shedding light on the belief that humanity is ignoring the importance of sunshine and vitamin D. His book, "The UV Advantage: The Medical Breakthrough that shows how to Harness the Power of the Sun for Your Health" calls those beliefs into question.

A strong challenge? You bet. And one so controversial that Holick's former boss at the Boston University Dermatology Department, Dr. Barbara Gilchrest, essentially fired him from the dermatology faculty after the book was published. He's now the director of the General Clinical Research Center at the Boston University School of Medicine, and also directs the school's Vitamin D, Skin and Bone Center. He is perhaps the world's most respected photobiologist who believes that the benefits of regular exposure to UV light received in a non-burning fashion outweigh the risks.

The book is available in Paperback as well as Hard Cover.

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