Did you know that UVB rays are what your skin uses to make vitamin D? I didn't know either. This is another reason why tanning beds are terrible. Tanning bed only emit UVA rays. So all you are doing is damaging your DNA in a tanning bed. Your not even getting vitamin D. Also, Dr. Lim did a study to see if the UVB rays damaged your DNA (and can eventually lead your cells down the pathway to cancer) and his findings were, YES! This means that sunlight is not a good way to get your vitamin D needs. That photoprotection: sunscreen, hats, long sleeves, is more important than getting your vitamin D from the sun.
Dr. Lim fact checked many studies and mentioned at this time that there was not enough evidence to relate vitamin D intake to all cancers or even specific cancers. Here is where I find a large dichotomy between my professional self and my personal self. My professional self practices only evidence based recommendations to my patients. My personal self is willing to use correlations and single studies as recommendations for some of my actions (see organic milk, glass containers, etc). My professional self lives by the moto "a single study does not a recommendation make". My professional self is very Yoda like.
The end product of all of Dr. Lim's research is this: use sunscreen and take a vitamin D supplement with food to average 600 IUs of Vitamin D3 everyday. I have since changed my everyday moisturizer to one that has SPF 15 in it and then have SPF 70 that I can put on for stronger sun days. I take 1000 IUs Monday through Friday. I average 700 IUs a day. That will work for me. And maybe, sometime there will be enough scientific evidence so that professional me will tell patients that vitamin D will help keep cancer away. Until the next study comes along...
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