Get the Facts about Tanning
The Sunscam Industry has spent millions of dollars scaring Americans out of the sun in an effort to sell more sunscreen. But before you believe the sunscreen companies, get the facts about UV light and tanning.
- Getting a tan is dangerous
- Tanning has caused an epidemic of skin cancer
- Every ray of UV light from a tanning bed increases your risk of contracting melanoma skin cancer
- Tanning beds are 15 times stronger than the sun
- There is no such thing as a responsible tan
- You can get enough Vitamin D through supplements or drinking milk
- Tanning doesn't protect you from getting a burn on vacation
- Indoor tanning is more dangerous than tanning in the sun
Getting a tan is dangerous
There is nothing dangerous about getting a tan. In fact, your body needs ultraviolet light to live. And now, new research is unlocking the secrets of vitamin D, which is naturally produced by skin when it is exposed to sunlight or indoor tanning lights. Earlier this year the London Telegraph reported:
Last week, a report in the prestigious US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that people with higher levels [of vitamin D] were more likely to survive colon, breast and lung cancer. This follows last year's University of San Diego review of 40 years of research, which revealed that a daily dose could halve the risk of breast and bowel cancer.
Other claims are that it reduces the risk of heart disease (a study of 10,000 women in California found that those who took supplements had a 31 per cent lower risk of dying from it), diabetes (in a Finnish study of 12,000 children, it cut their chance of developing Type A diabetes by 80 per cent), even colds and flu (New Yorkers who took vitamin D had flu 70 per cent less often).
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study determined that the risks associated with not getting enough sun far outweighed any hypothetical damage that might occur.
While a healthy tan poses no significant risks of damaging your skin, burning your skin can be dangerous. For that reason, indoor tanning—where the amount of UV light you receive is monitored—is considered by many to be a safer alternative to tanning outdoors.