Please Contact us with questions or to be added to our email list for specials & updates.
Thank you! Your information has been submitted successfully.
There was an error submitting the form.
Tanning News
Study confirms benefits of tanning, sun exposure for the production of health-promoting vitamin D
Thursday, November 10, 2011
By Ethan A. Huff(NaturalNews)
Exposing your unprotected skin to natural sunlight and even using a tanning bed are not necessarily the highly dangerous, cancer promoting activities that many in the government and media would have you believe they are.
A new study out of Oslo University Hospital (OUH) in Norway confirms what we here at NaturalNews have been saying for a long time -- regular exposure to moderate levels of sunlight promotes good health through the healthy production of vitamin D in the body.
Johan Moan, a scientist and researcher from the Department of Radiation Biology at OUH's Institute for Cancer Research found that the benefits derived from exposure to vitamin D-producing UV rays far outweigh the miniscule risk of developing cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM). In fact, it is primarily overexposure in the form of sunburns that is responsible for UV-related cancer risk.
"Sun exposure is commonly supposed to be the main cause of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) in most populations. However, the matter is disputed," said Moan and his research team in conjunction with their findings.
"It can be estimated that increased sun exposure to the Norwegian population might at worst result in 200-300 more CMM deaths per year, but it would elevate the vitamin D status by about 25 nmol/l (nanomoles per liter) and might result in 4,000 fewer internal cancers and about 3,000 fewer cancer deaths overall."
But the risk of getting skin cancer from exposing skin to natural sunlight or a tanning bed, might even be less than that. Ivan Oransky, editor of Reuters Health and treasurer of the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ), wrote last year in a blog that the actual risk of getting skin cancer from using a tanning bed is about 0.2 percent, and this risk likely only includes those that overexpose themselves.
Russian health authorities also recognize the benefits of tanning beds, as they last year installed tanning beds in Russian prisons to help improve inmate health.
Vitamin D deficiency is linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, endocrine dysfunction, infections, autoimmune disorders, kidney problems, neurological disease, respiratory illness, skin problems, and cancer, among other things.
Dr. Oz Endorses Sunbeds...
Friday, January 6th, 2012
Television health guru Dr. Mehmet Oz — better known as “Dr. Oz” — said on his program this week he is re-thinking his position on indoor tanning sunbeds because they are an abundant source of natural vitamin D production as well as other compounds made in the skin.“The sun provides vitamin D in a very unique way. But it also provides tons of other compounds besides vitamin D.” Oz said in an interview on his own program with health educator Dr. Joseph Mercola. “I am rethinking tanning beds. In the last year I have looked at a lot of information. …I think there is a value of UVB radiation, not just for vitamin D but for other sources as well.”Oz was commenting on Mercola’s recommendation that use of sunbeds in the winter is a key to good health. Mercola is among those who believe humans need 8,000 IU of vitamin D daily to assure that vitamin D blood levels are in natural range consistent with outdoor living and at levels indicated by hundreds of studies to be associated with lower risk of health problems from cancer to heart disease and autoimmune disorders.No food source comes close to delivering that level of vitamin D. UVB from sun exposure can make up to 20,000 IU of vitamin D in the skin without the risk of an overdose, as the skin naturally de-metabolizes any extra vitamin D.When Mercola told Oz that he recommends sunbed usage in the winter Oz’s in-studio crowd reacted in shock.The two health education icons — in endorsing sunbed usage to make vitamin D — showed that they still do not fully understand all of the photobiology of tanning equipment. Oz suggested that most sunbeds emit UVA but not UVB — and that consumers need to look for equipment that emits measurable UVB. “Dermatology has been misleading Oz,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. “More than 90 percent of sunbeds today emit UVB and UVA in dosages consistent with natural sunlight. But we’re glad that he seems to be open to the fact that there is a natural benefit to UV from sunlight, and that sunbeds can be a good surrogate for that.”
Oz still says he does not recommend sunbed usage for tanning — just for vitamin D production. “Again, that’s not a straight distinction,” Levy said. “Tanning has nothing to do with vitamin D production — melanin production happens while vitamin D is being produced. They happen at the same time.”
Mercola also continues to make issue of magnetic ballasts used in some sunbeds, alleging that electromagnetic fields (EMF) are dangerous. But EMF levels generated by sunbeds expose users to less EMF than cell phone usage — very small dosages one would find in many electronic products. Sunbed industry representatives have asked Mercola to document the source of his allegation about ballasts but have never received an answer.
Mercola and Oz also refer to what they called “safe” tanning beds — those that emit UVB and which use electronic ballasts instead of magnetic ballasts. Mercola sells equipment with electronic ballasts through his web site.
Let the sunshine in - Try vitamin D to turn around Seasonal Affective Disorder
December 8th, 2011
This time of year, as the days become shorter and the sun is lower in the sky, many people start to suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Depression, low energy and social withdrawal are all symptoms associated with SAD. Sometimes, it can turn into long-term depression.Recommended treatments for those afflicted with SAD include taking long walks during daylight hours and staying socially active, even if this requires some effort. Light therapy, using a special light with a very bright fluorescent lamp that mimics sunlight, may also be helpful. This latter treatment should only be done in accordance with your doctor's instructions.Exactly why SAD occurs and how increased exposure to sunlight or artificial light can help alleviate the condition is not fully understood. But biomedical research is starting to indicate a connection to vitamin D.One respect in which vitamin D is quite unusual is that most people's diets do not provide it in adequate amounts; very few foods naturally contain this vitamin. Instead, unless one takes a vitamin supplement or eats foods fortified with vitamin D, nearly all of it in the body is made by our skin when it is exposed to sunlight. Thus, vitamin D's nickname is the "sunshine vitamin." Once it is made, the body modifies the vitamin into a steroid hormone. Such hormones have powerful effects on human physiology, and this probably explains vitamin D's seemingly broad benefits.Biomedical evidence is accumulating for vitamin D's crucial importance in maintaining human health in a variety of ways. In addition to its well-known ability to help build and preserve strong bones (by facilitating calcium absorption), it has also shown signs recently of counteracting cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disease, the flu, high blood pressure and Parkinson's disease, to name a few. This all seems credible given that we now know vitamin D influences a wide range of cellular functions by binding to vitamin D receptors, specialized proteins found on surfaces of cells throughout the body.In recognition of the growing body of data indicating vitamin D's importance, one year ago, the US Institute of Medicine (IOM) adopted higher recommendations for vitamin D intake from 200 to 600 international units (IUs) per day for adults up to age 70 and 800 IUs for people over 70. Not to be outdone, the Endocrine Society, the world's largest and oldest scientific group focused on hormone research, recently called for vitamin D intake two to three times higher than even the IOM's new recommendations.These are important developments, because according to the National Center for Health Statistics, many of us are vitamin D deficient. The reason for this is clear enough. Whereas our ancient ancestors spent a lot of time in the sun hunting and gathering, or later farming, now most people live and work indoors, and thus receive comparatively little exposure to the sun. The higher the latitude at which a person lives, the worse this problem can become, especially in winter when sunlight is in short supply and the harsh weather necessitates full-body protection.According to Nathan Seppa, a biomedicine staff writer for the magazine Science News, many studies have linked vitamin D deficiency with depression. Moreover, Seppa has also reported that a 1999 US study showed that a large increase in vitamin D intake improved the depression scores in people with SAD.What's the best way to increase one's vitamin D levels? Taking vitamin pills can help, but spending more time in the sun may be the safest practice, as "overdosing on vitamin D from the sun appears impossible," according to Seppa. Not only that, but sunlight is extremely effective in causing vitamin D synthesis by the skin, and the form of the vitamin made by our skin is superior to the form sometimes found in pills.Of course, the risk of skin cancer from sun exposure must always be kept in mind, and sunburn should be strictly avoided. However, Science News also reported that as little as a brief five- to 10-minute tan on the arms and legs can produce upwards of 2000 IUs of vitamin D. We are lucky here in Southern California, because such exposure to sunlight is often possible even in the middle of winter. So, "let the sunshine in" and help yourself to a free dose of vitamin D several times a week! You may have nothing to lose but your SAD.
Tan Tax Revenue Less Than Expected
Thursday, November 10th, 2011
It seems as though the Tan Tax didn’t bring in what the IRS was hoping for. USAToday.com published an article titled, “Underdone: Tanning tax revenue falls short of estimates,” which states that revenue received was well below projected numbers.The Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation “estimated the tax would raise $50 million in the last three months of fiscal year 2010 and $200 million for the full 2011 fiscal year.” However, only $54.4 million was collected between July 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011. That’s less that two thirds of the original estimate.The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration blames the IRS’ lack of urgency to collect, and the incomplete information given to salon owners.“The IRS quickly implemented the tanning tax under a tight deadline,” says J. Russell George, head of the inspector general’s office. “Since this was a brand new tax imposed on a group of businesses and taxpayers with no previous experience with excise taxes, the IRS should have done more to inform taxpayers of their filing responsibilities and bring them into compliance in a timely manner.”What does all this mean for the tanning industry? It seems only time will tell. New measures are being implemented to ensure all tanning businesses were notified and complied with the levy, but it’s possible the revenue expected from the Tan Tax was grossly miscalculated, which is what members of the tanning industry have been saying from the beginning.To read the entire USAToday.com article, please click here.
