Vitamin D and Indoor Tanning

Did you know that vitamin D is essential for the development of strong bones? Did you know that, deficiency of vitamin D is widespread in the North American society, including a majority of the American population and about 97 percent of the Canadian population? The human body sources its regular dose of vitamin D from exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet-B or UVB rays. Since most of the North American population does not reside in equatorial areas, their exposure to the sun and thus UVB rays is already reduced thus lowering the production of vitamin D in the body. Also with people spending more time indoors now than at any other time in human history, the human body’s natural way of getting vitamin D has become very limited, giving rise to side effects resulting from its deficiency. However, UVB emitting tanning lamps have provided people with an opportunity to produce vitamin D. Here in this article we will take a closer look at why the body needs vitamin D and how indoor tanning can help improve vitamin D levels in the body. Importance of UVB Generated Vitamin D Vitamin D’s main function is to absorb calcium and phosphorus from the food and help maintain the normal calcium and phosphorus levels in the body, thus promoting bone health. However, hundreds of observational as well as clinical studies including a 2007 breakthrough study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition have revealed that the body not only needs vitamin D to support strong bone health but also for regulating the normal rate of cell growth in the body. This is why healthy vitamin D levels in the body have been associated with lowered risks of developing most types of cancer, heart disease, infectious and autoimmune diseases. While you might think that the body’s vitamin D requirements can be met by dietary supplements alone. However, according to Dr. Reinhold Vieth, an expert on Vitamin D, as apart from fish, our diet does not provide enough vitamin D to fulfill the body’s requirement. On the other hand vitamin D levels generated on exposure to ultraviolet B rays in the sunlight are consistent with the vitamin D levels recommended by experts. Indoor Tanning to Improve Vitamin D Levels As mentioned earlier, majority of the population residing in North America don’t live in equatorial climates so they don’t get required amount of regular sun exposure to manufacture sufficient levels of vitamin D. Indoor tanning methods such as tanning beds can prove to be a good option for such people. These tanning beds use lamps for producing cosmetic tans. The lamps imitate the action of the sun and thus emit certain amount of UVB rays. The UVB rays lying within the 290 nm spectrum range stimulates the production of vitamin D in the body. Indoor tanning methods using UVB rays within 290- 320 nm range are also used for the treatment of diseases such as psoriasis and eczema.

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