Many indoor tanning companies advertise their beds to be beneficial for providing vitamin D. This is a marketing angle that these companies have come up with in an attempt to offset the bad reputation that indoor tanning has gathered in the more recent years in regards to skin cancer and other health and cosmetic problems.
Surprisingly, this tactic has worked quite well in attracting people who are interested in this new, and so called “healthy” way to get their vitamin D. While we obviously need healthy levels of vitamin D, this is definitely not the ideal way to get it and we will tell you why!
As most of us know there are 3 main rays that are dispersed from the sun. UVA, UVB and UVC rays.
UVA rays are the rays that cause tanning, skin cancer and are responsible for breaking down collagen and elastin fibers deep in the skin which is why they’re also responsible for causing the majority of premature aging.
UVB rays are the rays that damage the skin more superficially (on the surface), cause burns and enable the skin to make vitamin D.
Thankfully UVC rays are filtered out by the earth’s atmosphere, so we don’t have to worry too much about those ones!
A tanning bed will contain up to about 90% UVA rays, since these are the rays that cause tanning, and only 10% UVB rays. Clearly the concentration of UVB is very low, however this isn’t the main problem when talking about why a tanning bed would actually diminish our levels of vitamin D.
The real problem is a sneaky one and probably something you’ve never heard about before.
UVA rays denature and destroy vitamin D. Yup, that’s right! You see normally, in cases of long term sun exposure outside the balance of UVB allowing us to create the vitamin, along with UVA denaturing it would keep us from essentially over dosing on vitamin D. But, since tanning beds are about 12x the concentration and are mostly UVA rays, this throws any natural balance way off whack. This means that any vitamin D we’re creating from the low levels of UVB rays in a tanning bed, is being destroyed just as fast by the UVA rays.
In addition, any vitamin D we walked in with is also being destroyed straight from the skin as well as the blood stream since UVA rays penetrate deep down into the dermis which is home to many nutrient rich blood vessels. It’s because of this that we’re actually leaving the tanning salon with less vitamin D than when we entered it!
So, now that we’ve thoroughly discredited tanning beds in offering us any health benefits…what is the best way to get vitamin D?
Some health care professionals will actually recommend getting natural sunlight outside and collecting your vitamin D that way. That however, leads us to a problem…actually several problems, but let’s take it one at a time shall we?
How much sun does one need to get their daily dose of vitamin D? This can vary greatly from person to person and is solely dictated by skin color. Someone who has fair skin and light hair needs a lot less sun exposure than someone who has brown or black skin with dark hair to get their vitamin D.
This process can also be effected by factors like certain prescriptions. For example, something like cholesterol lowering medications can inhibit your skin from making vitamin D since the vitamin is ultimately created from a precursor of cholesterol!
The less cholesterol available, the less vitamin D can be created.
Another factor is the time you would have to spend in the sun on a day to day basis is going to vary greatly with weather/seasonal changes. One day it could be 10 minutes on a beautiful sunny day, the next it could be 25+ minutes on a cloudy one. The amount of exposure needed also varies widely depending on where you live and how close you are to the equator.
So, that being said, as a general rule when exposing yourself to the sun without any protection such as long sleeves, an umbrella or sunscreen for example. The time it takes for your skin to turn light pink is the recommended time someone should stay in the sun in order to create enough vitamin D.
However, another general rule for sun exposure is when the skin starts to turn red, there has already been free radical damage to the area.
This may not sound so bad to most people but keep in mind, it’s actually free radical damage that leads to development of something like skin cancer. There’s a fine line between some pink tones developing and redness developing in the skin. Most people won’t be paying enough attention to even notice that there’s any difference at all and would therefor end up causing unwanted damage.
People also often assume the skin is not only creating, but is absorbing the vitamin D instantly, or at least in a relatively short amount of time, right? Guess again!
New research shows that the process of the vitamin D reaching and being absorbed into the blood stream can take up to 48 hours! Until then, it’s vulnerable near the surface of the skin and can even be washed off with soap in the shower!
So it’s for ALL of these reasons that getting your vitamin D outside is simply not a safe, reliable or a realistic option!!
Our opinion and that of many skin health professionals is that the safest and most effective way to get your vitamin D is through supplementation. A high quality, high absorbency type of nutritional supplement not only keeps you safely out of the sun, but allows you to dispense exactly how much vitamin D you need for your specific needs. Depending on body weight and many other factors, this can range anywhere between 1,000 to 5,000+ UI’s.
Checking in with your doctor is always a good idea to make sure you’re getting the amount you need. Hopefully with this new information, you’ll be able to make the best choice for yourself!!
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