What is Vitamin D? It is a vitamin that is essential to having strong bones and a healthy immune system.
Where can you find it? Vitamin D can be obtained from the sun, numerous types of fish and dairy products, liver, cereals, and supplements.
How much do you need? The Skin Cancer Foundation suggests that people should receive 600 international units of Vitamin D each day.
Should you rely on tanning beds to get Vitamin D? NO! Tanning salons may want you to think you should, but the problem has to do with UV Rays and how they affect the body. The sun and tanning beds give off UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays penetrate the deepest layers of the skin, while UVB rays only reach the surface layers. UVB rays react with the vitamin D in the skin, so these have the most health benefits. Even though this is true, tanning salons focus on the UVA rays for 2 reasons: 1. long exposure to UVB causes sunburns, and 2. UVA's give people the tan they are looking for. Therefore, tanning beds are NOT a viable source for Vitamin D.
