ETS Tanning Bed Blog

There just may be a reason multiple sclerosis (MS) is less common in countries that have more year ’round sunshine. At least, there is new research which indicates Vitamin D (acquired orally or through the skin via sunshine or UV-B rays from indoor tanning beds) helps in the treatment of the disease.

MS is a medical disorder in which the body doesn’t recognize itself. As a result, the body’s own immune system attacks and eventually destroys the sheath (covering) that protects the nerve fibers, reacting as if it were a foreign substance or an infection.

Vitamin D is well known as an immune system booster . Now, however, medical research from Louisiana State University School of Medicine and the Oregon Health and Science University indicate Vitamin D may also help regulate the immune system.

In fact, other researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston have stated vitamin D deficiencies have been linked to MS, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and certain types of cancer .

Clinical trials are now in phase II to gauge the effectiveness and necessary amount for MS treatment. In an official statement, researchers say they believe Vitamin D therapy research will provide “more therapeutic options,” and hope their findings are “a major advance in the global effort to alter the natural history of this chronic disease.”

There is also the mood-enhancing benefit of UV-B rays. And if you have a tight day schedule or live in a country (or region) that does not get year ’round sun, you can easily add indoor tanning to your UV-B regimen. Contact your local tanning salon for information on pricing and membership.

I recently stumbled across a 2008 study, done in part at the University of Washington, that found vitamin D administered to patients suffering from chronic kidney disease can actually reduce mortality rates by about 26 percent.

Instead of obtaining vitamin D through exposure to UV-B rays, a portion of the 1,418 patients in the study were administered calcitrol, an oral and activated vitamin D supplement. This was to ensure that vitamin D intake and levels could be carefully monitored and tracked.

Both interesting and comprehensive, this study also shows that vitamin D exposure and absorption is important to our health and in ways that go beyond basic bone issues.

Over the past several months, we've seen sunlight go from being the fiery demon that's been vilified by prohibitionist dermatologists to the wonder vitamin responsible for preventing so many ills. From cancer prevention to reduced mortality rates in those suffering from kidney disease, vitamin D is proving itself to be the miracle hormone. This study is just one more reinforcement as to why all things, including sunlight and indoor tanning, should be done in moderation, not avoided completely.

And no, you don't have to take calcitrol in order to obtain sufficient vitamin D levels. You can get vitamin D by exposing yourself to 10-15 minutes of direct sunlight several times a week. If you can't get outside or live in a climate that doesn't provide an excessive amount of sun, you can get all the UV-B rays you need with just one to two short indoor tanning sessions a week. Call your local tanning salon to see what kind of membership packages they have available for you.

Yet another personal health study has been published linking vitamin D deficiency to colon or colorectal cancer. According to the scientists at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, "vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of developing colorectal polyps and cancer ."

And while this isn't necessarily new news, it's one of the first studies to measure the impact of vitamin D supplements as opposed to simply measuring the outcome of a vitamin D deficiency or measuring vitamin D levels retroactively. More importantly, it's also one of the first studies to propose a genetic reasoning for why certain individuals may respond more or less favorably to vitamin D based therapies.

The personal health study followed 50 colorectal cancer patients, each of whom received 2000 IU (International Units) of vitamin D every day. Every patient saw their vitamin D levels go up, but those undergoing chemotherapy saw a significantly slower increase –– meaning there could be genetic changes occurring in the vitamin D metabolizing proteins.

They're not the only ones who say so.

According to an article on the Vitamin D Council website, in 1985, Cedric and Frank Garland found that increased sunlight and vitamin D reduced the likelihood of colon cancer . In 1989, the Garlands further found that vitamin D deficiency –– as created by air pollution and haze –– played a major role in colorectal cancer.

By understanding those genetic changes, the scientists at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute hope to improve patients' responses to vitamin D therapies, which are quickly becoming a popular chemotherapy alternative or complimentary therapy.

I'm no scientist, but it sounds like vitamin D just scored another major point on the critical vitamin board.

I'm definitely not a regular reader of the American Journal of Respiratory and Clinical Care Medicine and I'm going to guess that neither are most of my readers. However, next month's issue of the journal has a compelling article connecting vitamin D deficiencies with increased or aggravated asthma symptoms.

And while the article title, Serum Vitamin D Levels and Markers of Severity of Childhood Asthma in Costa Rica , may not suggest it's the most compelling nighttime reading, anyone looking for more proof about the health benefits of vitamin D should definitely check it out. Personally, I'm a collector of this kind of information. If you're a tanning salon owner with curious or conscientious customers, you should be too.

According to the research, which was done across a number of schools and hospitals including Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, low vitamin D levels in children is linked to several indicators of allergy and asthma severity, including increased steroid dependence and hospitalization.

The study followed 616 Costa Rican children with asthma, tracking both their vitamin D levels and the severity of their asthma symptoms. They found that a disproportionate number of those children (175) had insufficient vitamin D levels; those same 175 also tended to have the most aggressive forms of the condition.

The end result? More vitamin D = Good for asthma sufferers.

If you're an asthma sufferer, this could be yet another reason to stay on top of your vitamin D intake. And if you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that indoor tanning is a great source of UV-B rays, which are useful for creating vitamin D in the body.



Original article citation:
Brehm, John M.; Celedón, Juan C.; Soto-Quiros, Manuel E.; Avila, Lydiana; Hunninghake, Gary M.; Forno, Erick; Laskey, Daniel; Sylvia, Jody S.; Hollis, Bruce W.; Weiss, Scott T.; and Litonju., Augusto A.; Serum Vitamin D Levels and Markers of Severity of Childhood Asthma in Costa Rica, Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 2009; 179: 765-771.

Vitamin D is essential to our health and luckily, it's one of the few vitamins that our body can create on its own, simply by synthesizing sunlight. It's responsible for maintaining calcium and phosphorous levels, improving bone growth and boosting the immune system.

Osteoperosis, Rickets, Osteomalacia and arthritis have all been linked to vitamin D deficiency. A recent 2006 study published in the American Journal of Public Health even determined that healthy vitamin D levels could reduce cancer incidence .

Recommended Vitamin D Levels

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin D is 400 IU for anyone over the age of 4.

How to Get Vitamin D

One of the easiest ways to get vitamin D is through UV-B ray exposure. In other words, via sunlight or artificial methods such as tanning lamps. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , "Most people meet their vitamin D needs through exposure to sunlight."

The NIH goes on to say, "It has been suggested by some vitamin D researchers, for example, that approximately 5-30 minutes of sun exposure between 10 AM and 3 PM at least twice a week to the face, arms, legs, or back without sunscreen usually lead to sufficient vitamin D synthesis and that the moderate use of commercial tanning beds that emit 2-6% UVB radiation is also effective. "

Vitamin D can also be obtained through dietary sources, with wild-caught fish having some of the highest levels in the food chain:

Cod liver oil, 1 tbsp: 1,360 IU
Wild mollusks or oysters, raw, 8.7 ounces: 794 IU
Salmon, cooked, 3.5 oz: 360 IU
Mackerel, cooked, 3.5 oz: 34I U
Sardines, canned in oil, 3.5 oz: 270 IU
Beef Liver, cooked, 3.5 oz: 30 IU
Whole Egg: 25 U

Many foods are also fortified with vitamin D. For example, most of the U.S. milk supply is fortified to the tune of 100 IU/cup since fortification became standard practice in the 1930s as a way of combating rickets.

The FDA does not endorse indoor tanning, nor does the National Institutes of Health. However, both organizations agree that vitamin D is critical to our health and UV-B ray exposure is a primary source of the crucial vitamin.

In the tanning bed business, there has been almost nothing as polarizing, nothing getting as much news attention, or generating as much controversy, as vitamin D. Some experts say we shouldn't be out in the sun. But other medical experts are now saying a vitamin D deficiency is being linked to teenage obesity, increased chronic pain, seasonal affective disorder, breast cancer, and many other ailments.

We're told that a vitamin D deficiency could result in rickets and other disorders that could impair proper growth and development and lead to liver or kidney disorders.

According to a recent MSNBC article, the vitamin D craze has been building over the last few years, with low levels of the nutrient being blamed as a source of many of our ills . Depression and chronic pain are said to be diminished with vitamin D. Vitamin D can also help prevent many diseases such as kidney disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, colon and breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, or even the common cold.

The best source for vitamin D is adequate sunshine or UV-B rays . But other sources like fish (tuna and sardines), milk, and egg yolks are enriched with vitamin D. However not everyone enjoys or eats these products. Therefore, sunshine, which doesn't have a taste, is the way most people get their vitamin D requirement.

Unfortunately for many people, getting adequate doses of sunshine is difficult, especially when they work indoors throughout the day or spend four or five months indoors because of cold weather. For several, an alternative way of getting their vitamin D fix is through indoor tanning, which can be beneficial. An advantage indoor tanners have is access to control and comfort, something that can't be done outdoors where we're at the mercy of the elements and other factors. Since indoor tanning has become more popular, national guidelines and regulations have been put in place by the Federal government.

The MSNBC article also discusses vitamin D and indoor tanning, which, like vitamin D, has had a polarizing effect on researchers, doctors and scientists to its actual benefit or harm. MSNBC noted the news that Ultraviolet light was a source of vitamin D was good to the indoor tanning industry, long maligned by doctors who have linked it to the rising rates of melanoma skin cancer.

"UV is a proven carcinogen," said Dr. Barbara Gilchrest, chair-emeritus of the department of dermatology at Boston University Medical School. "The wavelengths of light that damage DNA and cause cancers are exactly the same ones that produce vitamin D in the skin."

Still, others are skeptical that UV light alone is the cause, especially when emitted from a tanning bed.

The Indoor Tanning Association (ITA) launched an aggressive nationwide campaign encouraging the public to rethink sun-tanning and criticizing dermatologists, doctors and the sunscreen and cosmetics industries for scaring people.

It's a never-ending argument. The fact remains that both indoor and outdoor tanning can be beneficial as long as tanners take care while tanning. But unlike outdoor tanning, indoor tanning can be done any time of day or year, can save time, and be done in short, controlled blocks of time.

The big news this week was the link between vitamin D deficiency and obesity in teenagers.

Obesity, especially teen obesity has had numerous effects on the physical and emotional health [of what, whom?]. Poor dietary habits, a lack of exercise and smoking have all contributed to obesity. However, new findings suggest that a lack of vitamin D can also contribute to adolescent and teen obesity.

In addition, low levels of vitamin D can lead to high blood pressure and high blood sugar, which compound the health issues.

A new study by Jared Reis of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said that teens in the study with the lowest vitamin D levels were more than twice as likely to have high blood pressure and high blood sugar. The teens were also four times more likely to have metabolic syndrome, defined as having three or more conditions that contribute to heart disease and diabetes - including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, big waists, and high cholesterol.

Admittedly, more research will be needed to factor whether vitamin D is really behind the health problems and whether getting more would make a difference.

In addition, minorities were also more likely to be vitamin-D deficient, however the study didn't determine if they were more like to suffer from the normal vitamin D deficient conditions.

To further boost the findings of the Johns Hopkins study, researchers at the Medical College of Georgia studied more than 650 teenagers from 14 to 19. They found that teens reporting a higher intake of vitamin D had lower body fat and lower amounts of abdominal fat. Once again, it showed that minority teens were getting insufficient vitamin D intake.

Black females had the lowest vitamin D intake and also had higher percentages of body fat and abdominal fat, while black males reported the lowest percentages of body fat and visceral fat. White males, were shown to be getting the recommended minimum amount of vitamin D.

While we're still waiting to see whether the vitamin D deficiency is a cause-and-effect relationship, we have maintained all along that vitamin D is an important part of any healthy lifestyle.  Although we get vitamin D from the sun and its rays, overexposure could prove damaging so we have to use caution and limit our exposure to the sun. Plus, with our busy schedules and cold weather, it's not always possible to get outside. That's where tanning beds can be helpful. Research has shown that people who use indoor tanning equipment that emits UVB – which most equipment does – also produce Vitamin D. Studies have also shown that indoor tanning clients have higher Vitamin D blood levels than non-tanners according to Tanningtruth.com.