After an influx of email forwards over the past few days, I felt compelled to blog on a somewhat timely topic, given the time of year: Tanning. If wasn't already apparent that laying in a blinding, UV bulb-surrounded bed was potentially hazardous, then recent findings may surprise you.
According to the first email I received, the International Agency for Research on Cancer announced Wednesday that it had elevated sunbeds to its highest cancer risk category. The risk of melanoma -- the most lethal form of skin cancer -- increases by 75 percent when use of tanning devices starts before the age of 30.
Ok, so I may be sounding a bit like your mother … and before you accuse me of complete hypocrisy, I’ll be the first to admit I have surrendered to the horror of being pale during the wintertime by partaking in this absurdly stupid practice. My issue is more so with the second email that I received, from a local tanning salon in Austin in response to articles like the one above.
"Saying that UV exposure is harmful and should be avoided is as wrong as saying that water causes drowning, and therefore we should avoid water... Further, it is clearer now more than ever that humans NEED regular UV exposure as the only true natural way to make vitamin D. It is called 'The Sunshine Vitamin' for a reason: You produce more vitamin D by getting a tan than you would from drinking 100 glasses of whole milk."
Maybe it's something about the comparison of sunlight to milk that kind of throws me off, but for a leading cause of cancer, the new promotion of "Vitamin D" seems about as believable as the model above.
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