TEMPTED TO TAN

    Are you a person who considers a trip to a tanning salon a part of your routine?  Perhaps you are getting ready for a trip to the beach or hope to raise blood levels of vitamin D by using indoor tanning.  Resist the temptation!

     Just know that evidence continues to come in about the dangers of using a tanning salon.  The International Journal of Cancer reported on an analysis of data compiled from nineteen studies on indoor tanning and the risk of developing skin cancer.  The results reported were that people who used artificial tanning equipment before the age of 35 had double the risk for developing squamous cell skin cancer which is potentially disfiguring and had a seventy-five percent greater risk for the deadliest skin cancer, melanoma.

     Be aware that the UV intensity of tanning beds may be as much as ten to fifteen times greater than the exposure of the midday sun.  You are being endangered by those trips to the tanning salon.  If you want the look of a tan, use tanning creams.  If you are outside less than an hour a week without sunscreen, you are likely getting enough vitamin D from the sun.  If you seldom go outside or always use sunscreen and keep completely covered, a supplementation of 1,000 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D through supplementation is much safer than using a tanning salon.

    I've had clients tell me they are "addicted" to tanning salons.  If you have this bad habit and want to stop, hypnotherapy can be a great tool.  Stop artificial tanning and BE WELL.