Tanning beds emit mainly UVA rays, but they do emit some UVB rays, according to the World Health Organization, or WHO. UVB rays are the type of ray that helps your body increase vitamin D production. Both types of rays can lead to skin cancer. The main concern, according to WHO and the American Academy of Dermatology, is skin cancer. Ask your health care provider whether you should tan to increase vitamin D production.
UVA vs. UVB
There are three different types of ultraviolet, or UV, rays. UVA refers to ultraviolet A rays, UVB refers to ultraviolet B rays, and UVC is ultraviolet C, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Tanning beds emit UVA and UVB rays only. The sun emits all three types of rays, but UVC rays do not reach the ground because they are absorbed by the ozone layer. UVC rays are very dangerous. UVA rays are the most common type of rays; they are the most likely to reach the earth's surface, and they can reach beyond the top layer of skin. UVB rays are predominately absorbed into the ozone layer, but some do pass to the earth's surface. UVB rays are responsible for helping your body produce vitamin D, but they don't reach deep layers of the skin as UVA rays can.
Increased Vitamin D Production
While tanning beds emit UVA and UVB rays, they mostly emit UVA rays. More and more tanning bed manufacturers are creating tanning beds that produce UVB rays to help increase vitamin D production in humans. Studies performed the Department of Medicine at the Boston University Medical Center and the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta concluded that tanning beds do help increase vitamin D production. The study performed by the Emory University School of Medicine proved that tanners had significantly higher levels of vitamin D than those who did not tan.
Warning
Tanning beds, along with regular sunlight exposure, can cause skin cancer. The American Academy of Dermatology Association warns that there is a 75 percent increased risk of melanoma, a type of skin cancer, in those have been exposed to UV rays from tanning indoors via the use of tanning beds. Skin cancer can happen to anyone at any age. Even if you are lucky and do not develop skin cancer, indoor tanning beds pose the same risk as natural sunlight when it comes to sunburns, blistering, skin peeling and skin irritation.
Considerations
If you live in a climate that does not permit outdoor activities on a regular basis either due to snow, rain or for some other reason, you may have low vitamin D levels. Your physician can perform blood testing to determine whether you suffer from a vitamin D deficiency. You can increase your vitamin D levels by consuming foods fortified with vitamin D, such as milk and cereal. If your doctor is concerned about your vitamin D levels, he may recommend taking a vitamin D supplement. Taking vitamin D supplements instead of tanning, either in a tanning bed or in natural sunlight, does not carry the same risk for skin cancer.
References
- World Health Organization: Sunbeds, Tanning and UV Exposure
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Tanning Is Associated With Optimal Vitamin D Status (Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentration) and Higher Bone Mineral Density; Vin Tangpricha, Adrian Turner, Catherine Spina, Sheila Decastro, Tai C Chen and Michael F Holick; December 2004
- "Journal of General Internal Medicine"; Sunlight and Vitamin D; Michael F. Holick, M.D., Ph.D; September 2002
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Basic Information About Skin Cancer
- American Academy of Dermatology: The Dangers of Indoor Tanning
