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Sarah Palin’s tanning bed, part 3.
Will the tanning bed kill her, or
will the vitamin D save her life?
Sunlight exposure and tanning have been
vilified by many (but not all) dermatologists some of who
call them “cancer machines.”
There are movements afoot to make it
illegal for those under the age of 18 to even use them.
Perhaps we will soon see the “sunlight
police” patrolling the beaches and arresting those who do
not wear sunscreens.
Don’t laugh, it could happen. As I have
already indicated in previous blogs, melanoma is the excuse
for this madness, but melanoma is more common in those who
stay out of the sunlight.
This is all woefully ill-advised.
Hundreds of thousands of lives could be
saved by maintaining high levels of vitamin D, which tanning
beds produce in abundance.
Every beneficial effect of vitamin D that
is produced by sunlight (ultraviolet light or UVB) exposure
is also produced by the use of high-quality tanning beds.
And is it really UV light that causes melanoma?
In my last “Sarah-Palin” blog, I presented
evidence that as we have moved out of the sunlight by opting
for indoor jobs, there has been an incredible 25-fold
increase in melanoma.
I also pointed out that 78% of melanomas
occur on areas of the body that are seldom exposed to
sunlight. What’s more, the risks associated with UV
overexposure do not appear to be related to regular,
non-burning exposure.
Remember that the key to safe tanning of
any kind is NEVER BURN. The following is a list of
tanning-bed benefits:
1. Tanning-bed use dramatically increases
serum-vitamin D levels and bone mass.[1]
2. Whereas a daily 400 IU vitamin D supplement does not
maintain healthful levels, tanning bed use increases vitamin
D levels by 150% in only seven weeks.[2]
3. Tanning-bed use reduces chronic pain.[3]
4. Sun lamps are now being recommended by at least one
British physician for use by pregnant women who will give
birth in a winter month. The recommendation is being made to
protect the unborn child from osteoporosis during
adulthood.[4]
5. High quality tanning beds, because they provide UVB to
both sides of the body simultaneously, stimulate the
production of up to 15,000 IU of vitamin D in less than ten
minutes.[5] Ten minutes of tanning-bed exposure can be done
on a lunch break. That means they are more efficient than
summer sunlight. Of course, those with darker skin will
require a longer time to produce the same amount of vitamin
D.
6. Tanning beds may be used regardless of outside weather,
time of day or time of year.
It appears that Sarah is on the right track. We will shortly
present specific research regarding tanning beds and
melanoma. You may be surprised. Stay tuned!
[1] Tangpricha, V. et al. Tanning is
associated with optimal vitamin D status (serum
25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration) and higher bone mineral
density. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;80:1645-49.
[2] Holick, M. et al. Boston University. "Effects Of Vitamin
D And Skin's Physiology Examined." Science Daily 21 February
2008 .
[3] Kaur, M. et al. Indoor tanning relieves pain.
Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed 2005;21:278.
[4] Bukhari, M. et al. 108. Sun Lamps help Unborn Babies
Beat Osteoporosis. Quoted in London Times April 27, 2008.
[5] Grant, W. Personal communication with the author, June,
2006
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