Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Tanning Tax Takes a Toll as Dozens of Minnesota Salons Fold
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Low vitamin D levels linked to type 2 diabetes in obese kids | NY Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/vitamin-levels-linked-type-2-diabetes-obese-kids-article-1.987460#ixzz1fmJDr7zT
Monday, December 5, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Hollywood Tans "Tan-Bassador" Maya Michelle Rew Winner of the Mixed Magazine Model Search
From Mixed-Magazine.com: "Congratulations to the winner of the Mixed Magazine Model Search! Introducing Maya Michelle Rew. She is the half Japanese half French 24 year old GO-GO dancer from Los Angelas, California. She possesses one of the most incredible shaped bodies we have ever seen. Her shapes are almost cartoonistic but it’s all real 100%. She favors dancing and ballet for her incredible physique but we think she got it from her mama. Maya has been modeling now for 5 years and has done everything under the sun. She has been featured in countless music videos, magazine covers, bikini contest, movies, print ads and so much more. She is the ultimate model. But not only is she very successful, she also has a very sexy personality. She has unique sex appeal about her that has you melting the second you meet her. It was a great pleasure to be able to work with such a model and it’s obvious why she completely ran away from the competition scoring the most and highest rates votes."
When asked what Maya likes to do for fun, she replied, "I love watching movies, playing board & card games, getting tan at Hollywood Tans, dancing & (of course) shopping!"
Thanks to Customer Popularity, Roswell Salon expands hours
Thanks to its growing popularity with the people of Roswell, the Hollywood Tans in Roswell, Ga (1425 Market Bogs, Suite 560, Roswell, Ga 30076) has expanded its hours of operation, effective 12/1/2011. The new hours are Monday - Saturday 9am - 8pm, Sunday 11am - 6pm.
Kirsten Dunst Covers Lucky, Talks Spray-Tanning Secret - News - FashionEtc.com
The actress reveals her go-to beauty buys, such as Chanel nail polish ("they have the prettiest colors"), Passage to Hell fragrance ("it's an addictive smell, very spicy and womanly"), foundation ("I look dis-gust-ing without it"), and, believe it or not, spray tans.
"You lose like five pounds immediately, and your face is glowing and gorgeous," gushes the fair-skinned beauty, who admits to having "the kind of skin you touch and it gets red."
“I look amaziiiiiiing," she adds. "I did it for my last movie. Then Isla [Fisher, her co-star] saw me and was like, ‘I’m gonna get spray-tanned too!’ I only did it twice so I’m tan in like two scenes and super-pale in the rest of the film.”
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Increase in Deadly Melanoma Not Due to Sun Exposure | Foodconsumer.org
Story at-a-glance
- The rising rates of melanoma documented over the last three decades are not due to sun exposure as often stated; researchers instead believe they are due to an increase in diagnoses of non-cancerous lesions classified, misleadingly, as “stage 1 melanoma”
- Exposure to sunlight, particularly UVB, is protective against melanoma -- or rather, the vitamin D your body produces in response to UVB radiation is protective
- Optimizing your vitamin D levels through proper sun exposure or use of a safe tanning bed can reduce your risk of skin cancer and as many as 16 different types of cancer
- The sun is your best source of vitamin D because when you expose your skin to sunshine, your skin synthesizes vitamin D3 sulfate. This form of vitamin D is water-soluble and can travel freely in your bloodstream, unlike oral vitamin D3 supplements
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
SprayTanNow.com expanding | Hollywood Tans of Toco Hills open Airbrush Studio
Hollywood Tans of Toco Hills will continue to feature their amazing no-appointment Mystic Tans. Mystic Tans are fast, taking less than 1 minute, and hassle-free, with no appointments to book. Airbrush appointments are available for customers who want the added attention from a qualified technician and the extra detail a technician can provide. And unlike other salons, Hollywood Tans charges no upgrade fees for pre and post applications. Many area salons charge upwards of $75 for an airbrush when you factor in pH balance sprays and post conditioning moisturizers. Hollywood Tans charges just $45, and everything is included!
For more information on spray tan services by HollywoodTansAtlanta.com area salons, visit http://www.spraytannow.com/ or call 866-970-TANS (8267). Hollywood Tans of Toco Hills has been servicing customers in the Toco Hills, Decatur and Emory areas since 2003 and is located at 3015 North Druid Hills Road in the Publix anchored Toco Hills Promenade Shopping Center. Appointments can be booked directly at the salon in Toco Hills by calling 404-636-TANS (8267) or at the Midtown Atlanta salon by calling 404-249-7377.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Private MD Labs: Vitamin D may be key to avoiding illnesses this flu season
Flu season is just about upon the U.S., and this means that many people will soon start coming down with infections. However, a vitamin D test may help individuals prepare for the season and understand if they need to do more to boost their immune system.
A 2005 study published in the FASEB Journal showed that vitamin D plays a crucial role in the production of certain types of white blood cells that are need for fighting off infections. A deficiency of the nutrient may leave individuals short on these important molecules.
This is why vitamin D testing is so important. It can give individuals a sense of how well their immune system is functioning. Low levels of the nutrient may indicate a susceptibility to infections. Higher levels could mean individuals are less likely to come down with a cold or the flu.
Now is the time to start thinking about one's vitamin D status. Waiting until cold and flu season has already begun may be too late. The body may not have had enough time to start producing the immune cells that ward off infections.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Looking Fit: Sun-Avoidant Caucasians Lack Vit D
http://www.lookingfit.com/news/2011/11/sun-avoidant-caucasians-lack-vit-d.aspx
Light-skinned people who avoid the sun are twice as likely to suffer from vitamin D deficiency as those who do not, according to a study of nearly 6,000 people by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Surprisingly, the use of sunscreen did not significantly affect blood levels of vitamin D, perhaps because users were applying too little or too infrequently, the researchers speculate.
The study adds to a growing debate about how to balance the dangers of sun exposure with the need for appropriate levels of vitamin D to prevent bone diseases such as osteoporosis and rickets.
"It's not as simple as telling everyone to wear sunscreen," says dermatologist Eleni Linos, MD PhD. "We may instead need to begin tailoring our recommendations to the skin tones and lifestyles of individual patients. It's clearly a very complex issue."
Linos, who is now an assistant professor of dermatology at the University of California-San Francisco, was a Stanford resident when the research was conducted. She is the first author of the research, which will be published online Nov. 4 in Cancer Causes and Control. Assistant professor of dermatology Jean Tang, MD, PhD, is the senior author.
Vitamin D is produced by the skin in response to exposure to the ultraviolet rays in sunlight; too little of the vitamin causes bone weakening and rickets and possibly contributes to many other chronic diseases including cancer. Small amounts of vitamin D can also be acquired by drinking fortified milk, eating fortified breakfast cereals or eating fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel, as well as from over-the-counter dietary supplements. Although it's not clear exactly how many people may be deficient in the vitamin, experts believe about 30 percent to 40 percent of the United States population may be affected.
Linos and Tang analyzed population-base data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2003 to 2006. The survey included questions about sun-protective behavior, inquiring whether respondents frequently wore long sleeves, hats and sunscreen, and whether they sought out shade on sunny days. It also included each respondent's race, as well as their blood levels of a form of vitamin D called 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
The researchers found that Caucasians who avoided the sun with clothing or stayed in the shade had blood levels of vitamin D that were about 3.5 and 2.2 nanograms per milliliter lower than those who did not report such behavior. In contrast, the association between sun avoidance and reductions in vitamin D levels in Hispanic or African-American survey-takers was not statistically significant. "This may be explained by the inherent pigmentation in darker skin, which acts as natural sun protection," Linos shares. (The researchers did not analyze Asians as a separate group.)
The researchers considered any respondent with blood levels of 20 nanograms per milliliter or below to be vitamin D deficient because lower levels have been associated with adverse health outcomes. They found that although about 40 percent of all survey participants were vitamin D deficient, the prevalence increased to 53 and 56 percent among those who wore long sleeves and stayed in the shade. Whites who wore long sleeves and stayed in the shade were twice as likely to be deficient in the vitamin as those who did not (odds ratios of 2.16 and 2.11, respectively).
Race affects vitamin D production because of differences in skin pigmentation. Highly pigmented skin protects against ultraviolet rays, but also leads to lower overall baseline levels of vitamin D in the blood and frequent vitamin D deficiency. In the current study, African-Americans who rarely took sun-protective measures had an average vitamin D blood level of about 14.5 nanograms per milliliter. Hispanics who didn't avoid the sun had an average level of about 19.7 and sun-loving Caucasians, about 26.4. In contrast, those who frequently stayed in the shade had average levels of 14, 19.2 and 22.8 nanograms per milliliter, respectively.
"This confirms that the issue of vitamin D supplementation is increasingly important," says Linos. She cautioned, however, against wholesale use of dietary supplements before more data has been generated; currently there are two large, randomized clinical trials testing the health effects of relatively high doses of vitamin D.
The real surprise came when Linos found that the reported use of sunscreen did not significantly affect vitamin D levels. Because sunscreens block the ultraviolet rays that trigger the vitamin's production, it seems that regular usage should lower vitamin D in the blood.
"This finding was both interesting and surprising," Linos muses. The apparent contradiction is likely due to sunscreen users not using the protection effectively. "People are probably not applying it often or thickly enough," she suggests. "Often, people use sunscreen when they anticipate getting a lot of sun exposure, unlike others who spend time in the shade in order to avoid the sun."
Other Stanford researchers involved in the study include undergraduate Elizabeth Keiser; clinical professor of dermatology and chief of dermatology at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Matthew Kanzler, MD; clinical assistant professor of health research and policy Kristin Sainani, PhD; and former undergraduate student Wayne Lee. The research was supported by a Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award and the National Institutes of Health.
Light-skinned people who avoid the sun are twice as likely to suffer from vitamin D deficiency as those who do not, according to a study of nearly 6,000 people by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Surprisingly, the use of sunscreen did not significantly affect blood levels of vitamin D, perhaps because users were applying too little or too infrequently, the researchers speculate.
The study adds to a growing debate about how to balance the dangers of sun exposure with the need for appropriate levels of vitamin D to prevent bone diseases such as osteoporosis and rickets.
"It's not as simple as telling everyone to wear sunscreen," says dermatologist Eleni Linos, MD PhD. "We may instead need to begin tailoring our recommendations to the skin tones and lifestyles of individual patients. It's clearly a very complex issue."
Linos, who is now an assistant professor of dermatology at the University of California-San Francisco, was a Stanford resident when the research was conducted. She is the first author of the research, which will be published online Nov. 4 in Cancer Causes and Control. Assistant professor of dermatology Jean Tang, MD, PhD, is the senior author.
Vitamin D is produced by the skin in response to exposure to the ultraviolet rays in sunlight; too little of the vitamin causes bone weakening and rickets and possibly contributes to many other chronic diseases including cancer. Small amounts of vitamin D can also be acquired by drinking fortified milk, eating fortified breakfast cereals or eating fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel, as well as from over-the-counter dietary supplements. Although it's not clear exactly how many people may be deficient in the vitamin, experts believe about 30 percent to 40 percent of the United States population may be affected.
Linos and Tang analyzed population-base data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2003 to 2006. The survey included questions about sun-protective behavior, inquiring whether respondents frequently wore long sleeves, hats and sunscreen, and whether they sought out shade on sunny days. It also included each respondent's race, as well as their blood levels of a form of vitamin D called 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
The researchers found that Caucasians who avoided the sun with clothing or stayed in the shade had blood levels of vitamin D that were about 3.5 and 2.2 nanograms per milliliter lower than those who did not report such behavior. In contrast, the association between sun avoidance and reductions in vitamin D levels in Hispanic or African-American survey-takers was not statistically significant. "This may be explained by the inherent pigmentation in darker skin, which acts as natural sun protection," Linos shares. (The researchers did not analyze Asians as a separate group.)
The researchers considered any respondent with blood levels of 20 nanograms per milliliter or below to be vitamin D deficient because lower levels have been associated with adverse health outcomes. They found that although about 40 percent of all survey participants were vitamin D deficient, the prevalence increased to 53 and 56 percent among those who wore long sleeves and stayed in the shade. Whites who wore long sleeves and stayed in the shade were twice as likely to be deficient in the vitamin as those who did not (odds ratios of 2.16 and 2.11, respectively).
Race affects vitamin D production because of differences in skin pigmentation. Highly pigmented skin protects against ultraviolet rays, but also leads to lower overall baseline levels of vitamin D in the blood and frequent vitamin D deficiency. In the current study, African-Americans who rarely took sun-protective measures had an average vitamin D blood level of about 14.5 nanograms per milliliter. Hispanics who didn't avoid the sun had an average level of about 19.7 and sun-loving Caucasians, about 26.4. In contrast, those who frequently stayed in the shade had average levels of 14, 19.2 and 22.8 nanograms per milliliter, respectively.
"This confirms that the issue of vitamin D supplementation is increasingly important," says Linos. She cautioned, however, against wholesale use of dietary supplements before more data has been generated; currently there are two large, randomized clinical trials testing the health effects of relatively high doses of vitamin D.
The real surprise came when Linos found that the reported use of sunscreen did not significantly affect vitamin D levels. Because sunscreens block the ultraviolet rays that trigger the vitamin's production, it seems that regular usage should lower vitamin D in the blood.
"This finding was both interesting and surprising," Linos muses. The apparent contradiction is likely due to sunscreen users not using the protection effectively. "People are probably not applying it often or thickly enough," she suggests. "Often, people use sunscreen when they anticipate getting a lot of sun exposure, unlike others who spend time in the shade in order to avoid the sun."
Other Stanford researchers involved in the study include undergraduate Elizabeth Keiser; clinical professor of dermatology and chief of dermatology at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Matthew Kanzler, MD; clinical assistant professor of health research and policy Kristin Sainani, PhD; and former undergraduate student Wayne Lee. The research was supported by a Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award and the National Institutes of Health.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Hollywood Tans once again voted Atlanta's Best Tanning Salon by INsite Magazine voters
"As the largest chain of professional tanning salons, memberships at Hollywood Tans can be used at any of their 250+ locations nationwide. No appointments are necessary, and with an average of 15 booths at each location, you can be in and out on your schedule. Their vertical tanning system gives customers the most comfortable, sanitary way to achieve their perfect shade."
We couldn't agree more!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Study: UV Health Benefits Outweigh Risks
http://www.lookingfit.com/news/2011/10/study-uv-health-benefits-outweigh-risks.aspx
In a review article covering 30 years of studies published in the journal "Public Health Nutrition" (September 2011), noted Norwegian researcher Johan Moan concluded that the overall health benefits of an improved vitamin D status may be more important than the possibility of increased cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) risk resulting from controlled UV exposure. Dr. Johan Moan conducts his research at the Department of Radiation Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, The Norwegian Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Professor Moan, a member of The Royal Norwegian Academy of Science, and his colleagues reviewed data published between 1981 and 2011 that addressed the relative risk of CMM associated with sunbed use, vitamin D and UV effects on human health.
In their review, the researchers said, “Sun exposure is commonly supposed to be the main cause of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) in most populations. However, the matter is disputed.” Dr. Moan also concluded, “ It can be estimated that increased sun exposure to the Norwegian population might at worst result in 200–300 more CMM deaths per year, but it would elevate the vitamin D status by about 25 nmol/l and might result in 4,000 fewer internal cancers and about 3,000 fewer cancer deaths overall.”
Professor Moan further states: “Our own findings that sun exposure, probably via vitamin D generation, seems to protect against melanomas on shielded body sites, were recently strongly supported by the findings of Dixon et al indicating that calcitriol protects against UV-induced skin carcinogenesis.” Professor Moan added, "Due to the fear of skin cancer, health authorities warn against the use of tanning beds, but this statement, along with recommended Vitamin D levels, should be re-evaluated."
John Overstreet, executive director of the Indoor Tanning Association says, “This supports what many vitamin D researchers have said for years, that vitamin D generated by ultraviolet light, either from the sun or a sunbed, can be part of supporting good health. This benefit is important and should be considered against any possible risks. We, of course, tell people that moderation is the key and always avoid over exposure or sunburns.
“While people who live in Norway are typically very fair-skinned and are at greater risk of developing skin cancer, I think it is fair to say that Dr. Moan’s findings apply to the U.S. population as well.
“This type of research also provides additional information about the health benefits and risks of vitamin D and ultraviolet light and should help inform the public policy debate in both the regulatory and legislative arenas,” Overstreet adds.
To see the Moan review article, visit this link on the ITA website: Vitamin D Sun Sunbeds and Health.pdf.
In a review article covering 30 years of studies published in the journal "Public Health Nutrition" (September 2011), noted Norwegian researcher Johan Moan concluded that the overall health benefits of an improved vitamin D status may be more important than the possibility of increased cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) risk resulting from controlled UV exposure. Dr. Johan Moan conducts his research at the Department of Radiation Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, The Norwegian Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Professor Moan, a member of The Royal Norwegian Academy of Science, and his colleagues reviewed data published between 1981 and 2011 that addressed the relative risk of CMM associated with sunbed use, vitamin D and UV effects on human health.
In their review, the researchers said, “Sun exposure is commonly supposed to be the main cause of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) in most populations. However, the matter is disputed.” Dr. Moan also concluded, “ It can be estimated that increased sun exposure to the Norwegian population might at worst result in 200–300 more CMM deaths per year, but it would elevate the vitamin D status by about 25 nmol/l and might result in 4,000 fewer internal cancers and about 3,000 fewer cancer deaths overall.”
Professor Moan further states: “Our own findings that sun exposure, probably via vitamin D generation, seems to protect against melanomas on shielded body sites, were recently strongly supported by the findings of Dixon et al indicating that calcitriol protects against UV-induced skin carcinogenesis.” Professor Moan added, "Due to the fear of skin cancer, health authorities warn against the use of tanning beds, but this statement, along with recommended Vitamin D levels, should be re-evaluated."
John Overstreet, executive director of the Indoor Tanning Association says, “This supports what many vitamin D researchers have said for years, that vitamin D generated by ultraviolet light, either from the sun or a sunbed, can be part of supporting good health. This benefit is important and should be considered against any possible risks. We, of course, tell people that moderation is the key and always avoid over exposure or sunburns.
“While people who live in Norway are typically very fair-skinned and are at greater risk of developing skin cancer, I think it is fair to say that Dr. Moan’s findings apply to the U.S. population as well.
“This type of research also provides additional information about the health benefits and risks of vitamin D and ultraviolet light and should help inform the public policy debate in both the regulatory and legislative arenas,” Overstreet adds.
To see the Moan review article, visit this link on the ITA website: Vitamin D Sun Sunbeds and Health.pdf.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Scientists Find Vitamin D Crucial in Human Immune Response to TB
http://www.lookingfit.com/news/2011/10/scientists-find-vitamin-d-crucial-in-human-immune-response-to-tb.aspx
Not just important for building strong bones, an international team of scientists has found that vitamin D also plays an essential role in the body’s fight against infections such as tuberculosis.
A potentially fatal lung disease, tuberculosis is estimated to cause 1.8 million deaths annually and especially impacts those with reduced immunity such as HIV-infected individuals, according to the World Health Organization. In an interesting twist, people with darker skin traditionally have had a higher susceptibility to tuberculosis and areas of Africa lead the world with the highest infection rates. Scientists believe this may be partly due to the skin pigment melanin, which is more abundant in darker skin that shields the body from absorbing ultraviolet rays, but also reduces vitamin D production.
Vitamin D – a natural hormone, rather than a vitamin – is known to be instrumental in bone development, but also may protect against cancer and autoimmune diseases, as well as fight infections. Published online Oct. 12 in the peer-reviewed journal, Science Translational Medicine, researchers examined the mechanisms that govern the immune system’s ability to kill or inhibit the growth of pathogens such as M. tuberculosis, the bacteria causing tuberculosis.
The team found that T-cells, which are white blood cells that play a central role in immunity, release a protein Researchers next tested serum taken from blood samples in healthy humans with and without sufficient vitamin D and found that the immune response was not triggered in serum with lower vitamin D levels, such as those found in African Americans. But, when adequate vitamin D was added to deficient serum, the immune response was effectively activated that triggers communication between cells and directs the infected immune cells to attack the invading tuberculosis bacteria. However, this activation requires sufficient levels of vitamin D to be effective. Surprisingly, researchers found that although both the innate and acquired immune systems start out by using different receptors to trigger a complex chain reaction in infected cells to kill the tuberculosis bacteria, both converge early on to follow the same pathway that utilizes vitamin D.
"The findings of our previous research with innate immunity provided us with a new opportunity to take a look at the effects and role of Vitamin D with acquired immunity, both critical systems of human defense," said senior investigator Dr. Robert Modlin, Klein Professor of Dermatology and Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Chief of Dermatology, Vice Chair for Cutaneous Medicine and Dermatological Research, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
The current research findings demonstrate that vitamin D is also critical for the action of T-cells, key players in adaptive immunity, a highly specialized system that humans acquire over time as they encounter different pathogens. Previous research by the team found that vitamin D played a key role in the production of a molecule called cathelicidin, which helps the innate immune system kill the tuberculosis bacteria. Humans are born with innate immunity, which is the preprogrammed part of the immune system.The team notes that vitamin D may help both innate and adaptive immunity, two systems that work synergistically together to fight infections.
"Over the centuries, vitamin D has intrinsically been used to treat tuberculosis. Sanatoriums dedicated to tuberculosis patients were traditionally placed in sunny locations that seemed to help patients – but no one knew why this worked," said first study author Dr. Mario Fabri, who conducted the research at UCLA and is currently at the Department of Dermatology at the University of Cologne, Germany. "Our findings suggest that increasing vitamin D levels through supplementation may improve the immune response to infections such as tuberculosis.""These current findings provide the first credible mechanistic explanation for how vitamin D critically contributes to acquired T-cell immunity that protects us from infections, particularly tuberculosis," said Modlin.
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health; the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, which is the German research association and the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea. According to researchers, the next step is to initiate clinical trials to learn whether vitamin D supplementation augments resistance to host resistance to tuberculosis and other infections.
"At a time when drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis are emerging, understanding how to enhance natural innate and acquired immunity through vitamin D may be very helpful," said co-author Barry Bloom, former dean of the faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health, Distinguished University Service Professor, Jack and Joan Jacobson Professor of Public Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and Department of Global Health and Population.Fabri notes that most people with tuberculosis are asymptomatic, perhaps due to successful immunological control and sufficient vitamin D to keep the infection from developing into active disease. According to the team, the findings are also important because they show that this unique pathway to fight tuberculosis cannot be studied in a mouse model. These nocturnal animals are not exposed to the sun to absorb vitamin D and as a result, use an entirely different pathway than humans to kill tuberculosis.
Not just important for building strong bones, an international team of scientists has found that vitamin D also plays an essential role in the body’s fight against infections such as tuberculosis.
A potentially fatal lung disease, tuberculosis is estimated to cause 1.8 million deaths annually and especially impacts those with reduced immunity such as HIV-infected individuals, according to the World Health Organization. In an interesting twist, people with darker skin traditionally have had a higher susceptibility to tuberculosis and areas of Africa lead the world with the highest infection rates. Scientists believe this may be partly due to the skin pigment melanin, which is more abundant in darker skin that shields the body from absorbing ultraviolet rays, but also reduces vitamin D production.
Vitamin D – a natural hormone, rather than a vitamin – is known to be instrumental in bone development, but also may protect against cancer and autoimmune diseases, as well as fight infections. Published online Oct. 12 in the peer-reviewed journal, Science Translational Medicine, researchers examined the mechanisms that govern the immune system’s ability to kill or inhibit the growth of pathogens such as M. tuberculosis, the bacteria causing tuberculosis.
The team found that T-cells, which are white blood cells that play a central role in immunity, release a protein Researchers next tested serum taken from blood samples in healthy humans with and without sufficient vitamin D and found that the immune response was not triggered in serum with lower vitamin D levels, such as those found in African Americans. But, when adequate vitamin D was added to deficient serum, the immune response was effectively activated that triggers communication between cells and directs the infected immune cells to attack the invading tuberculosis bacteria. However, this activation requires sufficient levels of vitamin D to be effective. Surprisingly, researchers found that although both the innate and acquired immune systems start out by using different receptors to trigger a complex chain reaction in infected cells to kill the tuberculosis bacteria, both converge early on to follow the same pathway that utilizes vitamin D.
"The findings of our previous research with innate immunity provided us with a new opportunity to take a look at the effects and role of Vitamin D with acquired immunity, both critical systems of human defense," said senior investigator Dr. Robert Modlin, Klein Professor of Dermatology and Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Chief of Dermatology, Vice Chair for Cutaneous Medicine and Dermatological Research, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
The current research findings demonstrate that vitamin D is also critical for the action of T-cells, key players in adaptive immunity, a highly specialized system that humans acquire over time as they encounter different pathogens. Previous research by the team found that vitamin D played a key role in the production of a molecule called cathelicidin, which helps the innate immune system kill the tuberculosis bacteria. Humans are born with innate immunity, which is the preprogrammed part of the immune system.The team notes that vitamin D may help both innate and adaptive immunity, two systems that work synergistically together to fight infections.
"Over the centuries, vitamin D has intrinsically been used to treat tuberculosis. Sanatoriums dedicated to tuberculosis patients were traditionally placed in sunny locations that seemed to help patients – but no one knew why this worked," said first study author Dr. Mario Fabri, who conducted the research at UCLA and is currently at the Department of Dermatology at the University of Cologne, Germany. "Our findings suggest that increasing vitamin D levels through supplementation may improve the immune response to infections such as tuberculosis.""These current findings provide the first credible mechanistic explanation for how vitamin D critically contributes to acquired T-cell immunity that protects us from infections, particularly tuberculosis," said Modlin.
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health; the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, which is the German research association and the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea. According to researchers, the next step is to initiate clinical trials to learn whether vitamin D supplementation augments resistance to host resistance to tuberculosis and other infections.
"At a time when drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis are emerging, understanding how to enhance natural innate and acquired immunity through vitamin D may be very helpful," said co-author Barry Bloom, former dean of the faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health, Distinguished University Service Professor, Jack and Joan Jacobson Professor of Public Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and Department of Global Health and Population.Fabri notes that most people with tuberculosis are asymptomatic, perhaps due to successful immunological control and sufficient vitamin D to keep the infection from developing into active disease. According to the team, the findings are also important because they show that this unique pathway to fight tuberculosis cannot be studied in a mouse model. These nocturnal animals are not exposed to the sun to absorb vitamin D and as a result, use an entirely different pathway than humans to kill tuberculosis.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Underdone: Tanning tax revenue falls short of estimates – USATODAY.com
Shocker, the federal government's excise tax falls about 59% short of expectations... pretty much exactly what the entire tanning industry was yelling when they implemented it!
Underdone: Tanning tax revenue falls short of estimates – USATODAY.com
Underdone: Tanning tax revenue falls short of estimates – USATODAY.com
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Is Sunscreen Group Lying About ‘D’ Sources?
“Vitamin D is essential for strong bones and a healthy immune system. While a limited amount of vitamin D can be obtained from exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation, the health risks of UV exposure — including skin cancer — are great. Instead, The Skin Cancer Foundation suggests you get your recommended daily 600 IU (international units) of vitamin D a day from food sources like oily fish, fortified dairy products and cereals, and supplements.” — The sunscreen-industry-funded Skin Cancer Foundation, from the group’s web site.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
The Vitamin D Scam
Interesting commentary on the benefits of Vitamin D, but the downside to getting it through Vitamin D supplements.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Avoid Patchy Fading w/ Sunless
http://www.lookingfit.com/blogs/guest/2011/08/avoid-patchy-fading-w-sunless.aspx
By Michele Major & Lori Reiss
“Why is my sunless tan fading patchy?” Before addressing this question, it’s important to understand how the browning affect takes place with solution. The active ingredient in sunless dihydroxyacetone solution (DHA) works with the amino acids on the skin and air to create the brown appearance.
Example: If you take a bite out of an apple and leave it for a while, the acids in the apple combine with air to create a natural reaction, resulting in a browning affect. This reaction is similar to what takes place with the DHA, air and the amino acids on your client’s skin. The solution absorbs into the skin cells and the air activates the solution, creating the appearance of a tan.
Skin preparation and application technique will determine the end result. There are a few scenarios a technician can explore if their client complains of patchy fading:
1. The client did not properly prepare for their airbrush . The purpose of exfoliating prior to a sunless session is to remove the loose dead skin cells that naturally shed from the body. If solution is applied on these loose cells, the sunless tan will shed off pre-maturely in those areas, leaving a patchy result.
How to properly exfoliate: Keep it simple. We recommend using a regular-ole washcloth and bar soap to exfoliate the skin. The fibers found in most washcloths are perfect to loosen and gently remove tired, dry skin. Choose a soap that does not leave a residue.
A note about scrubs and poufs : Scrubs generally contain moisturizers that leave a film residue. This may prevent the solution from penetrating. In addition, the granules found in many scrubs can damage healthy skin. Shower poufs, while they seem like they are exfoliating the skin, are not. They are made with plastic webbing that, while it feels like it is exfoliating the skin, is not doing it evenly.
2. The client did not properly hydrate their sunless tan. A lack of moisture in the skin due to skin conditions or dry air (generally found in the winter months) can cause uneven shedding of the skin. To minimize this natural occurrence, moisturize the skin with the recommended moisturizer. The client’s favorite lotion may not be the remedy. Just because a lotion is free from mineral- or petroleum-oil based ingredients, doesn’t mean that it’s the right moisturizing system to maintain a sunless tan. Make sure you send every client home with a moisturizer that’s purpose is to be used with sunless tans.
3. The technician applied too much solution. The over-application of a sunless solution is often the culprit for uneven fading. The solution needs air to react with the skin. By over-spraying the client, the air cannot penetrate through the solution to react with the skin. The solution must be applied in light, even strokes.
4. The technician applied solution on an existing sunless tan. Other than piggyback applications to add depth to your color, you should never apply sunless solution on top of an existing sunless tan. The skin must be clean and free from previous sunless residue. Leftover airbrush from previous sessions will have noticeably darker patches, resulting in uneven fading.
5. The technician used too deep a color. Skin cells shed at different times. If the color is too dark for the client’s natural skin tone, the fading will be more prominent. The fading will appear patchy. Always assess your client’s skin tone and use the proper color. If a client insists on the darkest possible color, you should set realistic expectations on how their tan will fade.
Another notable reason for patchy fading can be the use of deodorant, makeup, perfume, lotions and powders prior to a sunless application. These substances will prevent the sunless solution from absorbing evenly. Exfoliating, sweating, rubbing or excessive exposure to liquids (swimming, exercising, etc.) may also result in patchy fading.
As with everything else, moderation is the key. Often our desire for perfection leads us down a path of excess. In this instance, excessive sunless application will create the opposite of perfection. Skin is always shedding. This process is random. If the skin is over-treated with solution or has been reapplied too frequently, the shedding becomes more obvious.
Beauty is not a new concept to Michele Major and Lori Reiss, the co-creators of Sol Potion®. Their 26-year friendship and desire for a beautiful sunless tan helped them to develop a business with a solid purpose: offering a product that salons and spas will love to use and their clients will love the result. Sol Potion® offers customized sunless tanning solutions for both professional and personal use. The company creates, sells and supports a complete turnkey solution that includes sunless tanning products, a skincare line, training and customer support to the tanning and beauty industry. To learn more, visit www.solpotion.com ; to contact a representative directly, e-mail sales@solpotion.com. To watch their videos on You Tube, visit www.youtube.com/solpotion.
By Michele Major & Lori Reiss
“Why is my sunless tan fading patchy?” Before addressing this question, it’s important to understand how the browning affect takes place with solution. The active ingredient in sunless dihydroxyacetone solution (DHA) works with the amino acids on the skin and air to create the brown appearance.
Example: If you take a bite out of an apple and leave it for a while, the acids in the apple combine with air to create a natural reaction, resulting in a browning affect. This reaction is similar to what takes place with the DHA, air and the amino acids on your client’s skin. The solution absorbs into the skin cells and the air activates the solution, creating the appearance of a tan.
Skin preparation and application technique will determine the end result. There are a few scenarios a technician can explore if their client complains of patchy fading:
1. The client did not properly prepare for their airbrush . The purpose of exfoliating prior to a sunless session is to remove the loose dead skin cells that naturally shed from the body. If solution is applied on these loose cells, the sunless tan will shed off pre-maturely in those areas, leaving a patchy result.
How to properly exfoliate: Keep it simple. We recommend using a regular-ole washcloth and bar soap to exfoliate the skin. The fibers found in most washcloths are perfect to loosen and gently remove tired, dry skin. Choose a soap that does not leave a residue.
A note about scrubs and poufs : Scrubs generally contain moisturizers that leave a film residue. This may prevent the solution from penetrating. In addition, the granules found in many scrubs can damage healthy skin. Shower poufs, while they seem like they are exfoliating the skin, are not. They are made with plastic webbing that, while it feels like it is exfoliating the skin, is not doing it evenly.
2. The client did not properly hydrate their sunless tan. A lack of moisture in the skin due to skin conditions or dry air (generally found in the winter months) can cause uneven shedding of the skin. To minimize this natural occurrence, moisturize the skin with the recommended moisturizer. The client’s favorite lotion may not be the remedy. Just because a lotion is free from mineral- or petroleum-oil based ingredients, doesn’t mean that it’s the right moisturizing system to maintain a sunless tan. Make sure you send every client home with a moisturizer that’s purpose is to be used with sunless tans.
3. The technician applied too much solution. The over-application of a sunless solution is often the culprit for uneven fading. The solution needs air to react with the skin. By over-spraying the client, the air cannot penetrate through the solution to react with the skin. The solution must be applied in light, even strokes.
4. The technician applied solution on an existing sunless tan. Other than piggyback applications to add depth to your color, you should never apply sunless solution on top of an existing sunless tan. The skin must be clean and free from previous sunless residue. Leftover airbrush from previous sessions will have noticeably darker patches, resulting in uneven fading.
5. The technician used too deep a color. Skin cells shed at different times. If the color is too dark for the client’s natural skin tone, the fading will be more prominent. The fading will appear patchy. Always assess your client’s skin tone and use the proper color. If a client insists on the darkest possible color, you should set realistic expectations on how their tan will fade.
Another notable reason for patchy fading can be the use of deodorant, makeup, perfume, lotions and powders prior to a sunless application. These substances will prevent the sunless solution from absorbing evenly. Exfoliating, sweating, rubbing or excessive exposure to liquids (swimming, exercising, etc.) may also result in patchy fading.
As with everything else, moderation is the key. Often our desire for perfection leads us down a path of excess. In this instance, excessive sunless application will create the opposite of perfection. Skin is always shedding. This process is random. If the skin is over-treated with solution or has been reapplied too frequently, the shedding becomes more obvious.
Beauty is not a new concept to Michele Major and Lori Reiss, the co-creators of Sol Potion®. Their 26-year friendship and desire for a beautiful sunless tan helped them to develop a business with a solid purpose: offering a product that salons and spas will love to use and their clients will love the result. Sol Potion® offers customized sunless tanning solutions for both professional and personal use. The company creates, sells and supports a complete turnkey solution that includes sunless tanning products, a skincare line, training and customer support to the tanning and beauty industry. To learn more, visit www.solpotion.com ; to contact a representative directly, e-mail sales@solpotion.com. To watch their videos on You Tube, visit www.youtube.com/solpotion.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Taxes Burning Tanning Industry
Jul 13, 2011- 2:12 - Fox Business New's Ashley Webster breaks down how the tan tax is killing business.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Last day to enter the "Dance with Britney Spears" contest!
Atlanta, GA Radio - WWVA - WiLD 105.7 & 96.7 FM!: "Atlanta's Party Radio Station WiLD 105.7 and 96.7 FM!"
Last day to enter the Wild 105.7 Dance with Britney Spears contest!
Last day to enter the Wild 105.7 Dance with Britney Spears contest!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Senate bill introduced to repeal 10% excise tax on indoor tanning
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s1278/show
The house version of the bill was introduced earlier in the month as HR 2092 (http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h2092/show), with Rep Michael Grimm (R-NY) sponsoring and 29 co-sponsors.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Win a chance to Dance with Britney Spears! Sponsored by Hollywood Tans!
Atlanta, GA Radio - WWVA - WiLD 105.7 & 96.7 FM!: "Atlanta's Party Radio Station WiLD 105.7 and 96.7 FM!"
Are you ready to get down like Britney Spears? Atlanta’s New WiLD 105.7 & 96.7 can get YOU and a friend on stage with Britney July 17th at her Phillips Arena concert.
HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN:
• Take a listen to Britney’s “I Wanna Go” HERE
• Choreograph your dance moves
• Make a short video (less than 1 minute)
• Post on youtube or another video sharing site
• Enter your info and the video URL below
• Deadline for videos is 7/7 at 5pm
• Starting 7/8 – get all your friends to vote for your video
• Voting ends 7/14 at noon – most votes wins
Courtesy of Jive Records, Live Nation, and Hollywood Tans Atlanta.
Read more: http://wildatlanta.clearcontests.com/ImageContest/OpenContest.asp?Action=Login&SurveyID=138323&zx=595#ixzz1PvNsqG3I
Are you ready to get down like Britney Spears? Atlanta’s New WiLD 105.7 & 96.7 can get YOU and a friend on stage with Britney July 17th at her Phillips Arena concert.
HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN:
• Take a listen to Britney’s “I Wanna Go” HERE
• Choreograph your dance moves
• Make a short video (less than 1 minute)
• Post on youtube or another video sharing site
• Enter your info and the video URL below
• Deadline for videos is 7/7 at 5pm
• Starting 7/8 – get all your friends to vote for your video
• Voting ends 7/14 at noon – most votes wins
Courtesy of Jive Records, Live Nation, and Hollywood Tans Atlanta.
Read more: http://wildatlanta.clearcontests.com/ImageContest/OpenContest.asp?Action=Login&SurveyID=138323&zx=595#ixzz1PvNsqG3I
Friday, June 17, 2011
Hollywood Tans: Senior Tanologist: Tanning Truths with Janessa Lopez of Hollywood Tan...
Hollywood Tans: Senior Tanologist: Tanning Truths with Janessa Lopez of Hollywood Tan...: "We sat down with Hollywood Tans' Janessa Lopez and had her fill us in on tanning tips, routines and more! (Credit/Off Guard Photography)..."
Hollywood Tans: Senior Tanologist: Tanning Truths with Janessa Lopez of Hollywood Tan...
Hollywood Tans: Senior Tanologist: Tanning Truths with Janessa Lopez of Hollywood Tan...: "We sat down with Hollywood Tans' Janessa Lopez and had her fill us in on tanning tips, routines and more! (Credit/Off Guard Photography)..."
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Hollywood Tans: Senior Tanologist: Meet Janessa Lopez, the new face of Hollywood Tans...
Hollywood Tans: Senior Tanologist: Meet Janessa Lopez, the new face of Hollywood Tans...: "Janessa Lopez isn’t someone who lets her circumstance get the best of her. At one point in her life, the model found herself in the middl..."
Friday, June 3, 2011
Legislation to Repeal Tan Tax in Congress
https://smarttan.com/blog/index.php/legislation-to-repeal-tan-tax-in-congress/
The Indoor Tanning Association and Hollywood Tans applaud Congressmen Michael Grimm of New York, Pat Tiberi of Ohio and Phil Roe of Tennessee and the 24 original cosponsors for their leadership in introducing H.R. 2092, legislation to repeal the regressive 10% tax on tanning services enacted as a part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (President Obama’s healthcare reform legislation).
“This tax has been a serious hardship on our industry” ITA President Dan Humiston said. “Because the industry depends on consumers’ discretionary income, the recession and this tax have had a profound negative effect on our businesses. In reality, this tax takes money out of the pockets of some of those least able to afford it: working women, who are not only customers but also make up a majority of our business owners; and college students, who are both customers and employees.”
The recession and this tax have resulted in business closings and lost jobs. Since 2009, more than 3,100 businesses representing 15% of the industry have closed nationwide resulting in approximately 24,000 lost jobs in the private sector.
The Indoor Tanning Association is a national trade association representing all major manufacturers, suppliers and distributors of indoor sun tanning equipment as well as professional sun tanning facilities nationwide. The industry includes approximately 18,000 small businesses employing approximately 120,000 people
“This tax has been a serious hardship on our industry” ITA President Dan Humiston said. “Because the industry depends on consumers’ discretionary income, the recession and this tax have had a profound negative effect on our businesses. In reality, this tax takes money out of the pockets of some of those least able to afford it: working women, who are not only customers but also make up a majority of our business owners; and college students, who are both customers and employees.”
The recession and this tax have resulted in business closings and lost jobs. Since 2009, more than 3,100 businesses representing 15% of the industry have closed nationwide resulting in approximately 24,000 lost jobs in the private sector.
The Indoor Tanning Association is a national trade association representing all major manufacturers, suppliers and distributors of indoor sun tanning equipment as well as professional sun tanning facilities nationwide. The industry includes approximately 18,000 small businesses employing approximately 120,000 people
Dermatologist Leader: Working on a tan is like training muscles
https://smarttan.com/blog/index.php/derm-leader-tans-are-natural-2/
“Working on a tan is analogous to training muscles; both, if done in moderation and reasonably, serve a worthwhile purpose.” — Dr. Bernard Ackerman, founder of the New York City-based Ackerman Academy of Dermatopathology and author of The Sun and the ‘Epidemic’ of Melanoma: Myth on Myth.
Ackerman, decorated by the American Academy of Dermatology with the group’s Master Dermatologist designation (its highest honor), is one of several dermatology leaders who take issue with dermatology organizations who attempt to characterize tans as damage.
Tans are different fundamentally from sunburns, Ackerman points out. “A sunburn is pathologic, it calling forth redness at the least, ulcerations and scarring at worst, and blisters in between. A suntan is physiologic, the result of normal melanocytes at the dermoedidermal junctions producing more melanin for the epidermis, that dark pigment serving to protect against ultraviolet radiation.”
In his Myth on Myth book, Ackerman quotes Newcastle University Professor of Dermatology Dr. Sam Shuster, summing up tans as part of nature’s design: “The dogma, now fossilized in print, is that any tan is a sign of skin damage. Tell that to Darwin.”
“Working on a tan is analogous to training muscles; both, if done in moderation and reasonably, serve a worthwhile purpose.” — Dr. Bernard Ackerman, founder of the New York City-based Ackerman Academy of Dermatopathology and author of The Sun and the ‘Epidemic’ of Melanoma: Myth on Myth.
Ackerman, decorated by the American Academy of Dermatology with the group’s Master Dermatologist designation (its highest honor), is one of several dermatology leaders who take issue with dermatology organizations who attempt to characterize tans as damage.
Tans are different fundamentally from sunburns, Ackerman points out. “A sunburn is pathologic, it calling forth redness at the least, ulcerations and scarring at worst, and blisters in between. A suntan is physiologic, the result of normal melanocytes at the dermoedidermal junctions producing more melanin for the epidermis, that dark pigment serving to protect against ultraviolet radiation.”
In his Myth on Myth book, Ackerman quotes Newcastle University Professor of Dermatology Dr. Sam Shuster, summing up tans as part of nature’s design: “The dogma, now fossilized in print, is that any tan is a sign of skin damage. Tell that to Darwin.”
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Rep. Grimm (R-NY) announces bill to repeal tan tax
New York Congressman Michael Grimm (R-NY) recently committed to introduce legislation to repeal the federal 10% excise tax on indoor tanning. Click here to see a copy of his letter to the rest of Congress seeking co-sponsors for the bill.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Sunshine linked to fatherhood: Vitamin D boosts sperm quality
Male sexual health may be improved with vitamin D and sun exposure, University of Copenhagen researchers reported this week — another reason researchers are saying that overzealous sun avoidance is unnatural and has potential negative side effects.
“Would-be fathers should make the most of the next sunny day by taking off their shirt and topping off their tan,” London’s Daily Mail reported in a story Saturday. “A study of 340 men found that vitamin D, produced by the body when exposed to the sun, boosts the quality of sperm.”
According to the research team, sperm in vitamin D sufficient men were better at swimming toward an egg, had more speed and were better able to penetrate the egg. Their findings were published this month in the journal Human Reproduction and correspond to previous research linking low vitamin D levels to decreased sperm production.
To read the Daily Mail report click here.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
WebMD: Study Helps Explain How Ultraviolet Light Therapy and Vitamin D Creams Treat Psoriasis
May 12, 2011 -- Ultraviolet light therapy and vitamin D creams are widely prescribed treatments for psoriasis, and now a new study may help explain why they work for so many patients. Read full article
Study: Long-Term Tanners – Less Breast Cancer
http://www.lookingfit.com/news/2011/05/long-term-tanners-less-breast-cancer.aspx
A study out of Sweden suggests a powerful connection between tanning and a decreased incidence of breast cancer and other cancers in women. The research followed nearly 50,000 Swedish women for 15 years. The participants ranged in age from 30 to 49 when the program began back in 1991-1992. Approximately 2,000 of the ladies received a cancer diagnosis during the study, with the following types reported: brain, colon-rectal, lung, ovarian and breast cancer.
In an effort to examine potential associations between UV exposure and the increased or decreased risk of various cancers – including breast cancer – the researchers reviewed the history of UV exposure for all the women when they were ages 10 to 29. The breast cancer rate was nearly 50 percent less among those subjects who had spent more than a week a year during those years enjoying moderate UV exposure (even on an annual vacation). The tanned Swedes also showed 30 percent less risk of developing an internal cancer as compared to their non-tanning counterparts.
The researchers – from the University of Oxford in England, the University of Oslo in Norway, The Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the Harvard School of Public Health in the United States – concluded there was no support to establish a negative link between overall cancer risk and ongoing UV exposure experienced earlier in life. In fact, the women who received UV exposure through indoor tanning or the sun experienced significantly fewer cases of internal ailments such as breast cancer.
The study’s authors intimate that the decreased propensity for illness can be attributed to vitamin D associated with increased UV exposure through tanning equipment or sunlight.
Source
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention: Prospective study of UV exposure and cancer incidence among Swedish women
A study out of Sweden suggests a powerful connection between tanning and a decreased incidence of breast cancer and other cancers in women. The research followed nearly 50,000 Swedish women for 15 years. The participants ranged in age from 30 to 49 when the program began back in 1991-1992. Approximately 2,000 of the ladies received a cancer diagnosis during the study, with the following types reported: brain, colon-rectal, lung, ovarian and breast cancer.
In an effort to examine potential associations between UV exposure and the increased or decreased risk of various cancers – including breast cancer – the researchers reviewed the history of UV exposure for all the women when they were ages 10 to 29. The breast cancer rate was nearly 50 percent less among those subjects who had spent more than a week a year during those years enjoying moderate UV exposure (even on an annual vacation). The tanned Swedes also showed 30 percent less risk of developing an internal cancer as compared to their non-tanning counterparts.
The researchers – from the University of Oxford in England, the University of Oslo in Norway, The Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the Harvard School of Public Health in the United States – concluded there was no support to establish a negative link between overall cancer risk and ongoing UV exposure experienced earlier in life. In fact, the women who received UV exposure through indoor tanning or the sun experienced significantly fewer cases of internal ailments such as breast cancer.
The study’s authors intimate that the decreased propensity for illness can be attributed to vitamin D associated with increased UV exposure through tanning equipment or sunlight.
Source
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention: Prospective study of UV exposure and cancer incidence among Swedish women
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Derm: Tans are Nature’s Sunblock
https://smarttan.com/blog/index.php/derm-tans-are-natures-sunblock/
British dermatology leader Dr. Sam Shuster says that a suntan is not damage — it is nature’s intended design and that anyone who thinks otherwise should “tell that to Darwin.” Shuster’s comments on suntans are published as a portion of the book “Panic Nation: Unpicking the Myths We’re Told About Food and Health” available on www.Amazon.com.
Here is an excerpt about sunscreens, UV exposure and base tans:
What then should we do about UV exposure and sunscreens? The short answer is that in moderate climates like the UK, apart from avoiding sunburn and staring at the sun, it doesn’t matter what we do, because the risk of exposure is trivial. Of course, children have to learn how much sun they can take without burning, and their parents need to ensure they get a gradual UV exposure in order to achieve a protective tan (that is more important in children with ginger hair and freckles, most of whom will need to take care not to burn throughout adult life). In the UK, there is no point in trying to minimise sun exposure to avoid skin cancer because our sun is usually too weak to be a danger. Although sunscreens will reduce epithelioma formation they have not been shown to prevent melanomas. The use of a sun blocker in countries such as the UK could be harmful, by impairing Vitamin D synthesis in the skin, causing a risk of osteoporosis.
We still have a lot to learn about what may be the silent benefits of sun exposure. We do not know the significance and purpose of the profound changes in immune mechanisms, the extraordinary improvement in mood and the alleged decreased risk in bowel and prostatic cancer experienced after sun exposure. We may do more harm avoiding these advantages than anything we might gain from the uncertain benefits of sun avoidance.
But not all of the sun’s benefits are uncertain, particularly the protective effect of a suntan. Since there is some epidemiological evidence to suggest that sunburn in children may be more harmful later in life, parents have been told that sun exposure must be avoided in childhood. However, if you take a close look at people who were sunburnt as children, you will see areas of white skin that doesn’t tan because the pigment cells have been lost by the sunburning. Such skin will always be oversensitive to sun. It is evident that the original sunburn, and subsequent damage, would have been less had there already been a protective tan.
Excessive avoidance and UV screening is a danger because it does not allow a tan, nature’s own sun block, to develop and as a result exposure is likely to cause sun-burn. The dogma, now fossilised in print, is that any tan is a sign of skin damage. Tell that to Darwin. Pigmented melanocytes in the skin are a system that protects it from excessive UV, which evolved long before the advent of sunscreens. Even if there was hard evidence that melanoma was UV-induced it would be all the more important to keep a protective tan.
It must now be evident that the effect of the sun on the skin is in desperate need of illumination, and that the prophylactic message, particularly on melanoma, is unreliable. By presenting the fragility of the case against the dangers of UV I hope I will provoke consideration of real cause of melanoma.
Dr. Sam Shuster is Emeritus Professor of Dermatology at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, and Honorary Consultant to the Department of Dermatology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. This is an edited version of a chapter in “Panic Nation? Unpicking the myths we’re told about food and health” edited by Stanley Feldman and Vincent Marks. Buy this book from www.amazon.com.
British dermatology leader Dr. Sam Shuster says that a suntan is not damage — it is nature’s intended design and that anyone who thinks otherwise should “tell that to Darwin.” Shuster’s comments on suntans are published as a portion of the book “Panic Nation: Unpicking the Myths We’re Told About Food and Health” available on www.Amazon.com.
Here is an excerpt about sunscreens, UV exposure and base tans:
What then should we do about UV exposure and sunscreens? The short answer is that in moderate climates like the UK, apart from avoiding sunburn and staring at the sun, it doesn’t matter what we do, because the risk of exposure is trivial. Of course, children have to learn how much sun they can take without burning, and their parents need to ensure they get a gradual UV exposure in order to achieve a protective tan (that is more important in children with ginger hair and freckles, most of whom will need to take care not to burn throughout adult life). In the UK, there is no point in trying to minimise sun exposure to avoid skin cancer because our sun is usually too weak to be a danger. Although sunscreens will reduce epithelioma formation they have not been shown to prevent melanomas. The use of a sun blocker in countries such as the UK could be harmful, by impairing Vitamin D synthesis in the skin, causing a risk of osteoporosis.
We still have a lot to learn about what may be the silent benefits of sun exposure. We do not know the significance and purpose of the profound changes in immune mechanisms, the extraordinary improvement in mood and the alleged decreased risk in bowel and prostatic cancer experienced after sun exposure. We may do more harm avoiding these advantages than anything we might gain from the uncertain benefits of sun avoidance.
But not all of the sun’s benefits are uncertain, particularly the protective effect of a suntan. Since there is some epidemiological evidence to suggest that sunburn in children may be more harmful later in life, parents have been told that sun exposure must be avoided in childhood. However, if you take a close look at people who were sunburnt as children, you will see areas of white skin that doesn’t tan because the pigment cells have been lost by the sunburning. Such skin will always be oversensitive to sun. It is evident that the original sunburn, and subsequent damage, would have been less had there already been a protective tan.
Excessive avoidance and UV screening is a danger because it does not allow a tan, nature’s own sun block, to develop and as a result exposure is likely to cause sun-burn. The dogma, now fossilised in print, is that any tan is a sign of skin damage. Tell that to Darwin. Pigmented melanocytes in the skin are a system that protects it from excessive UV, which evolved long before the advent of sunscreens. Even if there was hard evidence that melanoma was UV-induced it would be all the more important to keep a protective tan.
It must now be evident that the effect of the sun on the skin is in desperate need of illumination, and that the prophylactic message, particularly on melanoma, is unreliable. By presenting the fragility of the case against the dangers of UV I hope I will provoke consideration of real cause of melanoma.
Dr. Sam Shuster is Emeritus Professor of Dermatology at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, and Honorary Consultant to the Department of Dermatology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. This is an edited version of a chapter in “Panic Nation? Unpicking the myths we’re told about food and health” edited by Stanley Feldman and Vincent Marks. Buy this book from www.amazon.com.
U.S. Derms Refer 900,000 To Sunbeds: Survey
Based on the survey, dermatologists refer an estimated 900,000 people to sunbeds in the United States every year.
“Two of my doctors told me I needed to tan: my dermatologist for my skin psoriasis, and my regular doctor for depression from not getting enough sun light…Tanning did help a lot,” said Robert Van Dine, a patron at Midnight Sun & Cruise in Holland, Mich., a Smart Tan member facility.
According to Smart Tan an estimated 1.5 million Americans utilize tanning salons to informally treat psoriasis in lieu of phototherapy in a dermatologist’s office. Phototherapy procedures use the same equipment found in tanning salons. In fact, the Mayo Clinic cites UV light therapy as the standard of care for treating these ailments.
But many patients are referred to tanning salons instead by physicians, as the cost of a tanning session is almost always less expensive than the health insurance co-payment of a dermatology-based phototherapy session. As a result, the number of phototherapy treatments by dermatologists has plummeted.
•In 1993 dermatologists administered 873,000 visits for phototherapy sessions.
•By 1998, that number dropped by 94 percent according to the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, which in 2002 described phototherapy sessions as “a safe and effective treatment for psoriasis.”
“If any UV exposure were as dangerous as a recent statement from the AAD claims, then dermatologists would be guilty of violating their Hippocratic oath for using UV in what they describe as burning dosages to treat purely cosmetic skin conditions,” said Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy. “Professional tanning facilities are trained to deliver non-burning dosages of UV light to create a cosmetic tan, but a side effect is that people are treating all sorts of conditions informally and effectively. What we’re really seeing is dermatology’s anger for the loss of billions of dollars in phototherapy treatments in their offices, as consumers choose a more economical and convenient method of self-care.”
Professional indoor tanning facilities promote a balanced message about UV exposure — acknowledging the risks of overexposure. In contrast, AAD continues to mislead the public by suggesting in its statements that any UV exposure causes melanoma, which completely misrepresents the science. “This has never been a health care debate,” said Levy. “This is the cosmetic dermatology industry attacking indoor tanning for strictly financial gain.”
The AAD has come under fire from within its ranks for its position on melanoma. In 2008, Dr. Bernard Ackerman — a pioneer in dermatology pathology recognized as a Master Dermatologist by AAD — backed up Smart Tan’s position about the complex relationship between UV and melanoma in the Dermatology Times stating, “There is no compelling evidence that sun tan parlors have induced a single melanoma,” and that any regulation of the tanning market “…should be predicated on evidence and not on accusation.”
In fact, AAD spokesperson Dr. James Spencer admitted in a May 2008 article in Dermatology Times that, “We don’t have direct experimental evidence,” referring to the fact that research has not shown a causative mechanism between indoor tanning and melanoma. The studies the AAD has referred to do not show causation — only weak correlations that are confounded by study design. The organization continues to omit refuting evidence and studies and the fact that most studies don’t show a correlation.
Further, while AAD is lobbying to restrict indoor tanning, its lobbying efforts have always called for phototherapy treatment in dermatology offices to be exempted from further restriction.
“It’s time that researchers and the media start asking tough questions about why dermatologists refuse to talk about these issues and their real motivations around their attacks on indoor tanning,” Levy said.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Quote of the week: Cosmetic Co. Says Sunscreen ‘A Plastic Bag’
From "The Truth about SPF Index & Sun Protection" at http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-truth-about-spf-index--sun-protection-119179429.html
"Almost 99% of the vitamin D we make comes from sun exposure. With the overuse of SPF, Americans are becoming more vitamin D deprived, resulting in an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and PMS symptoms. In addition to the deprivation of vitamins, this over-exposure to the sun-protecting chemicals creates a "plastic bag" effect which suffocates the skin." - BIONOVA cosmetics press release
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
National Cancer Institute admits that there is no evidence that avoiding sunlight or sunbeds decreases the risk of skin cancer
https://smarttan.com/blog/index.php/nci-admits-sun-scare-lacks-proof-2/
NCI Admits ‘Sun Scare’ Lacks Proof
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
posted in: Headline Story
The U.S. National Cancer Institute — in bold type on an a section added to its web site in June 2010 — admits that there is no evidence that avoiding sunlight or sunbeds actually decreases the risk of skin cancer.
“It is not known if protecting skin from sunlight and other UV radiation decreases the risk of skin cancer,” the NCI writes in an advisory titled “Skin Cancer Prevention.” The article continues, “Sunscreen may help decrease the amount of UV radiation to the skin. One study found that wearing sunscreen can help prevent actinic keratoses, scaly patches of skin that may become squamous cell carcinoma. However, the use of sunscreen has not been proven to lower the risk of melanoma skin cancer.”
The NCI couches its recommendations about sun exposure and UV light with the words “may” and “suggest” — showing that the agency and others continue to blur the line in public health recommendations, encouraging people to avoid UV and mid-day sun even though they do not have cause-and-effect evidence to say that UV “will” cause skin cancer.
“Being exposed to ultraviolet radiation is a risk factor that may increase the risk of skin cancer,” the agency writes in the same advisory. “Studies suggest that being exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation and the sensitivity of a person’s skin to UV radiation are risk factors for skin cancer.”
What’s it mean?
“The difference between advising people to avoid sunburn based on what studies suggest and blurring the line to still make it appear that any and all UV exposure is harmful — when evidence does not support that statement — is the wrong way to approach this” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy says. “You keep reading items like this from so many agencies and the inferences all seem to point in the same direction, benefiting the $6 billion chemical sunscreen pharmaceutical market. Still, this article is quite clear: Dermatology leaders need to stop saying point blank that avoiding sun will decrease the risk of cancer. The government does not support that claim.”
To read the NCI advisory click here.
NCI Admits ‘Sun Scare’ Lacks Proof
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
posted in: Headline Story
The U.S. National Cancer Institute — in bold type on an a section added to its web site in June 2010 — admits that there is no evidence that avoiding sunlight or sunbeds actually decreases the risk of skin cancer.
The NCI couches its recommendations about sun exposure and UV light with the words “may” and “suggest” — showing that the agency and others continue to blur the line in public health recommendations, encouraging people to avoid UV and mid-day sun even though they do not have cause-and-effect evidence to say that UV “will” cause skin cancer.
“Being exposed to ultraviolet radiation is a risk factor that may increase the risk of skin cancer,” the agency writes in the same advisory. “Studies suggest that being exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation and the sensitivity of a person’s skin to UV radiation are risk factors for skin cancer.”
What’s it mean?
“The difference between advising people to avoid sunburn based on what studies suggest and blurring the line to still make it appear that any and all UV exposure is harmful — when evidence does not support that statement — is the wrong way to approach this” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy says. “You keep reading items like this from so many agencies and the inferences all seem to point in the same direction, benefiting the $6 billion chemical sunscreen pharmaceutical market. Still, this article is quite clear: Dermatology leaders need to stop saying point blank that avoiding sun will decrease the risk of cancer. The government does not support that claim.”
To read the NCI advisory click here.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Customer service at Hollywood Tans
Friday, March 18, 2011
Chicago Tribune: FAIL
https://smarttan.com/blog/index.php/chicago-tribune-needs-to-correct-error/
The Chicago Tribune authored an editorial on Friday slamming indoor tanning but misstated facts in an attempt to dissuade readers from using indoor tanning equipment. “The use of tanning beds by people under age 30 is associated with melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer,” the paper wrote. “Researchers cannot explain the rising incidence of the disease for any reason except the increased popularity of indoor tanning over the past two decades.”
In fact, independent researchers HAVE offered several reasons – in peer-reviewed journals – in the past 12 months, bolstering peer-reviewed explanations about melanoma’s complex relationship with UV that have been promoted for more than a decade.
•British dermatology leaders conduced a study of melanoma incidence titled, “Melanoma Epidemic: A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the British Journal of Dermatology last year, showing that the alleged increase in melanoma incidence is, in fact, merely an increase in the diagnosis of thin melanoma lesions without a corresponding increase in diagnosis of thicker lesions or an increase in the mortality rate. Because thick lesions and mortality aren’t increasing, it’s nearly impossible to state that actual melanoma incidence is increasing. This study bolstered a similar paper written at Emory University more than a decade ago about U.S. Melanoma incidence.
•“Overdiagnosis in Cancer” published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute supported the same point — that melanoma overdiagnosis “is simply the detection of pseudo-disease” because doctors are removing more thin lesions today and calling them melanomas, which is falsely inflating incidence numbers. The main point: There is a difference between incidence and reported incidence.
•The government’s own data support these two papers, showing actual increases in melanoma in men over age 50, but not in women under age 50. Dermatology lobbyists have skewed data to make their statements.
•A commentary in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings written by a melanoma researcher right in the Tribune’s back yard — “Melanoma’s Public Message” by Dr. Arthur Rhodes of Chicago — points the fingers at the fact that the vilification of UV as the cause of melanoma is killing older men who don’t tan, who get melanoma but who never get lesions checked out because dermatology’s message about UV is archaic.
On top of that, the Tribune’s main point — that those under 18 should be kept out of sunbed centers — will drive teenagers to unregulated home-garage sunbeds and back to the beaches and blacktops to get overexposed instead of non-burning exposure in regulated sunbed studios. We can supply PLENTY of evidence supporting this contention.
In 20 minutes we could have explained all of this and how dermatology industry lobbying groups have not told the whole story to editorial boards nationwide to the Tribune. But the Tribune elected simply to pen an editorial based on the talking points of anti-UV lobbying groups who are lobbying to provide UV to millions of teens themselves with their own sunbeds for cosmetic skin conditions at $85-$100 a session while making $6 indoor sunbed sessions illegal.
So here’s an open invitation to the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board: We’re willing to sit down with you and show you why your “researchers cannot explain” editorial was wrong and why you will WANT to change your position. We hope you return our call.
The Chicago Tribune authored an editorial on Friday slamming indoor tanning but misstated facts in an attempt to dissuade readers from using indoor tanning equipment. “The use of tanning beds by people under age 30 is associated with melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer,” the paper wrote. “Researchers cannot explain the rising incidence of the disease for any reason except the increased popularity of indoor tanning over the past two decades.”
In fact, independent researchers HAVE offered several reasons – in peer-reviewed journals – in the past 12 months, bolstering peer-reviewed explanations about melanoma’s complex relationship with UV that have been promoted for more than a decade.
•British dermatology leaders conduced a study of melanoma incidence titled, “Melanoma Epidemic: A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the British Journal of Dermatology last year, showing that the alleged increase in melanoma incidence is, in fact, merely an increase in the diagnosis of thin melanoma lesions without a corresponding increase in diagnosis of thicker lesions or an increase in the mortality rate. Because thick lesions and mortality aren’t increasing, it’s nearly impossible to state that actual melanoma incidence is increasing. This study bolstered a similar paper written at Emory University more than a decade ago about U.S. Melanoma incidence.
•“Overdiagnosis in Cancer” published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute supported the same point — that melanoma overdiagnosis “is simply the detection of pseudo-disease” because doctors are removing more thin lesions today and calling them melanomas, which is falsely inflating incidence numbers. The main point: There is a difference between incidence and reported incidence.
•The government’s own data support these two papers, showing actual increases in melanoma in men over age 50, but not in women under age 50. Dermatology lobbyists have skewed data to make their statements.
•A commentary in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings written by a melanoma researcher right in the Tribune’s back yard — “Melanoma’s Public Message” by Dr. Arthur Rhodes of Chicago — points the fingers at the fact that the vilification of UV as the cause of melanoma is killing older men who don’t tan, who get melanoma but who never get lesions checked out because dermatology’s message about UV is archaic.
On top of that, the Tribune’s main point — that those under 18 should be kept out of sunbed centers — will drive teenagers to unregulated home-garage sunbeds and back to the beaches and blacktops to get overexposed instead of non-burning exposure in regulated sunbed studios. We can supply PLENTY of evidence supporting this contention.
In 20 minutes we could have explained all of this and how dermatology industry lobbying groups have not told the whole story to editorial boards nationwide to the Tribune. But the Tribune elected simply to pen an editorial based on the talking points of anti-UV lobbying groups who are lobbying to provide UV to millions of teens themselves with their own sunbeds for cosmetic skin conditions at $85-$100 a session while making $6 indoor sunbed sessions illegal.
So here’s an open invitation to the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board: We’re willing to sit down with you and show you why your “researchers cannot explain” editorial was wrong and why you will WANT to change your position. We hope you return our call.
Derm’s Own Son ‘D’ Deficient: NBC Report
https://smarttan.com/blog/index.php/derm%e2%80%99s-own-son-%e2%80%98d%e2%80%99-deficient-nbc-report/
A Washington, D.C., dermatologist was unable to identify her 14-year-old son’s severe vitamin D deficiency even after he complained of constant pain, headaches, exhaustion, body aches and stomach pain — classic signs of severe vitamin D deficiency, NBC News-Washington reported in a televised story Tuesday.
“Because Benjamin’s an active tennis player she (his mother) thought he’d just pulled a muscle or strained something,” NBC-Washington reported after talking with Dr. Marilyn Berzin, Benjamin’s mother. She is a Washington, D.C., dermatologist whose web site states she is considered “to be one of Washington, D.C.’s leading cosmetic dermatologists.” The web site encourages people to always apply sunscreen with at least an SPF15 rating.
Based on video images of Berzin and her son — who both appear pale in the story — it is likely they don’t get a lot of sun.
It was the stomach pain that got Dr. Berzin to take her son to a pediatrician, NBC reported. “Doctors tested him for everything from arthritis to muscular dystrophy to Lyme disease,” the story reported. The tests ultimately showed he was severely deficient in vitamin D and was put on 50,000-international-unit-weekly supplements for an eight-week period.
“Within about two to three weeks he started feeling a lot better — he grew immediately about two inches,” Dr. Berzin said in the NBC-Washington report.
The story did correctly report that 70 percent of children are believed to be vitamin D deficient, and that kids not getting outdoor sunlight like they used to is most likely the cause. But doctors in the report only recommended 400 IU of vitamin D daily.
While the story did not mention Benjamin’s vitamin D level, it is likely that it was below 10 ng/ml, based on the symptoms he reported and the level of vitamin D prescribed to him. The number of children below 10 ng/ml has increased significantly in the past generation, according to government data — levels so low that childhood rickets, virtually eradicated in the mid-20th century, is making a resurgence. Overzealous sun avoidance is believed to be the cause.
“While the dermatology lobby has been advising people they don’t need to get sun exposure to make vitamin D – even though sun is the natural and intended way to make vitamin D and getting full-body summer sun makes more than 100 times the vitamin D supplemented into a glass of milk — here’s an example of a dermatologist who clearly didn’t know anything about vitamin D deficiency and it was hurting her own family,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. “We are glad that Dr. Berzin and her family are in better health> Hopefully dermatology can learn something from this story.”
To watch the NBC-Washington report click here.
A Washington, D.C., dermatologist was unable to identify her 14-year-old son’s severe vitamin D deficiency even after he complained of constant pain, headaches, exhaustion, body aches and stomach pain — classic signs of severe vitamin D deficiency, NBC News-Washington reported in a televised story Tuesday.
“Because Benjamin’s an active tennis player she (his mother) thought he’d just pulled a muscle or strained something,” NBC-Washington reported after talking with Dr. Marilyn Berzin, Benjamin’s mother. She is a Washington, D.C., dermatologist whose web site states she is considered “to be one of Washington, D.C.’s leading cosmetic dermatologists.” The web site encourages people to always apply sunscreen with at least an SPF15 rating.
Based on video images of Berzin and her son — who both appear pale in the story — it is likely they don’t get a lot of sun.
It was the stomach pain that got Dr. Berzin to take her son to a pediatrician, NBC reported. “Doctors tested him for everything from arthritis to muscular dystrophy to Lyme disease,” the story reported. The tests ultimately showed he was severely deficient in vitamin D and was put on 50,000-international-unit-weekly supplements for an eight-week period.
“Within about two to three weeks he started feeling a lot better — he grew immediately about two inches,” Dr. Berzin said in the NBC-Washington report.
The story did correctly report that 70 percent of children are believed to be vitamin D deficient, and that kids not getting outdoor sunlight like they used to is most likely the cause. But doctors in the report only recommended 400 IU of vitamin D daily.
While the story did not mention Benjamin’s vitamin D level, it is likely that it was below 10 ng/ml, based on the symptoms he reported and the level of vitamin D prescribed to him. The number of children below 10 ng/ml has increased significantly in the past generation, according to government data — levels so low that childhood rickets, virtually eradicated in the mid-20th century, is making a resurgence. Overzealous sun avoidance is believed to be the cause.
“While the dermatology lobby has been advising people they don’t need to get sun exposure to make vitamin D – even though sun is the natural and intended way to make vitamin D and getting full-body summer sun makes more than 100 times the vitamin D supplemented into a glass of milk — here’s an example of a dermatologist who clearly didn’t know anything about vitamin D deficiency and it was hurting her own family,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. “We are glad that Dr. Berzin and her family are in better health> Hopefully dermatology can learn something from this story.”
To watch the NBC-Washington report click here.
Panel Blasts World Health Organization for Ties To Profiteers
https://smarttan.com/blog/index.php/panel-blasts-who-for-ties-to-profiteers/
An independent medical panel blasted the World Health Organization — the group that prompted worldwide headlines about UV and sunbeds in 2009 by calling sunbeds as dangerous as arsenic and mustard gas — for conflicts of interest among members of its advisory panels that may affect policy decisions, the Associated Press reported this week.
The expert panel — commissioned by WHO to evaluate that group’s widely criticized over-trumping of the 2009 H1N1 swine flu “pandemic” — was referring to WHO experts who had ties to pharmaceutical companies who made millions selling H1N1 vaccine based on WHO’s reports which spread panic about the virus. But the panel’s ruling could also be applied to WHO’s handling of the “sunbed/mustard gas” committee, members of which also had direct and indirect ties to pharmaceutical companies who market chemical sunscreen and to the dermatology industry, which markets all-out sun avoidance to sell its cosmetic services.
“The group described WHO’s definition of a pandemic and its phases as “needlessly complex,” criticized the agency’s decision to keep the members of its advisory committee secret, and said potential conflicts of interest among those experts, some of whom had ties to drug companies, were not well managed,” the Associated Press reported.
WHO staff — who months after the July 2009 “sunbed/mustard gas” story spread worldwide admitted that the evidence against sunbeds was “limited” — are now being criticized for allowing profiteers inroads to help shape WHO policy. The panel, according to AP, “warned that under WHO’s health oversight, the world is not ready to handle a major health disaster in the future.”
WHO has allowed its name to be used to suggest that sunbed centers are linked to higher rates of melanoma in those under age 35, despite the fact that the data in those studies includes home tanning units, medical phototherapy usage of sunbeds under doctors directions and subjects with skin type I who do not tan in sunbed centers. Home units and phototherapy units were associated with higher risk, but professional sunbed centers were not, according to the data the WHO panel studied for under-35 tanners.
To read the AP story click here.
An independent medical panel blasted the World Health Organization — the group that prompted worldwide headlines about UV and sunbeds in 2009 by calling sunbeds as dangerous as arsenic and mustard gas — for conflicts of interest among members of its advisory panels that may affect policy decisions, the Associated Press reported this week.
The expert panel — commissioned by WHO to evaluate that group’s widely criticized over-trumping of the 2009 H1N1 swine flu “pandemic” — was referring to WHO experts who had ties to pharmaceutical companies who made millions selling H1N1 vaccine based on WHO’s reports which spread panic about the virus. But the panel’s ruling could also be applied to WHO’s handling of the “sunbed/mustard gas” committee, members of which also had direct and indirect ties to pharmaceutical companies who market chemical sunscreen and to the dermatology industry, which markets all-out sun avoidance to sell its cosmetic services.
“The group described WHO’s definition of a pandemic and its phases as “needlessly complex,” criticized the agency’s decision to keep the members of its advisory committee secret, and said potential conflicts of interest among those experts, some of whom had ties to drug companies, were not well managed,” the Associated Press reported.
WHO staff — who months after the July 2009 “sunbed/mustard gas” story spread worldwide admitted that the evidence against sunbeds was “limited” — are now being criticized for allowing profiteers inroads to help shape WHO policy. The panel, according to AP, “warned that under WHO’s health oversight, the world is not ready to handle a major health disaster in the future.”
WHO has allowed its name to be used to suggest that sunbed centers are linked to higher rates of melanoma in those under age 35, despite the fact that the data in those studies includes home tanning units, medical phototherapy usage of sunbeds under doctors directions and subjects with skin type I who do not tan in sunbed centers. Home units and phototherapy units were associated with higher risk, but professional sunbed centers were not, according to the data the WHO panel studied for under-35 tanners.
To read the AP story click here.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Bill would give tanning salons relief - LivewellNebraska.com
We hope the rest of the country is as level headed as Nebraska, including the federal government.
Bill would give tanning salons relief - LivewellNebraska.com
Bill would give tanning salons relief - LivewellNebraska.com
Monday, March 7, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
American Cancer Society: Melanoma rates decreasing in women under 50 since 2000
The American Cancer Society’s key document measuring cancer rates in the United States — “Cancer Facts and Figures” — says that melanoma rates have not increased since 2000 and that rates are declining for women under age 50 — directly contradicting what ACS lobbyists have testified to state legislative panels this year.
“During the 1970’s, the incidence rate of melanoma increased rapidly by about 6 percent per year. However, from 1981-2000, the rate of increase slowed to 3 percent per year and since 2000 melanoma incidence has been stable,” the ACS “Cancer Facts and Figures 2008” reports. “The death rate for melanoma has been decreasing rapidly in whites younger than 50, by 3 percent per year since 1991 in men and by 2.3 percent per year since 1985 in women.”
ACS lobbyists — calling for legislation to further restrict teenage usage of indoor tanning — have falsely testified that melanoma rates are increasing in young women.
“Dermatology’s contention that melanoma is increasing in young women is totally anecdotal — it amounts to nothing more than cosmetic doctors saying that they see more young women,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. “But they see more young women because that’s who they market all their cosmetic services to. It’s well-documented that dermatology has always had an extremely high percentage of young female clients compared to every other medical discipline.”
The National Cancer Institute’s charts show that melanoma is increasing rapidly in men over age 50, but is on the decline in women under 50. “Yet no public health campaigns are directed at men,” Levy said.
New Study: Vitamin D supplements not enough, UV exposure needed
Authors of a peer-reviewed study generated from the world’s largest database of vitamin D blood tests say that 9,600 IU of vitamin D — an amount only naturally consistent with vitamin D production from regular sun exposure — is needed daily to get virtually all of the population up to 40 ng/ml vitamin D blood levels – the level targeted by the world’s leading vitamin D researchers as minimal.
Published this week in the journal Anticancer Research, researchers from the University of California-San Diego, Creighton University and GrassRoots Health – a California-based public health organization that has collected vitamin D data since 2008 – point out that the level is well below levels found to present any risk of vitamin D toxicity and is naturally consistent with what outdoor workers get from UVB exposure to their skin.
“Although an order of magnitude higher than current recommended oral intakes, these calculated daily intakes are of the same magnitude as produced by a single, minimal erythemal dose of UVB radiation, such as would be obtained during a few minutes of solar UVB exposure near noon in midsummer, assuming nearly complete skin exposure,” the authors wrote.
Complete skin exposure – in a bathing suit – means 90 percent of skin surface is getting sunlight. It has been estimated that indoor tanners in most tanning equipment make around 1,000 IU of vitamin D per minute.
The authors believe this study is the first analysis of the relation of vitamin D status to vitamin D supplementation as practiced in the community. More than 3,600 subjects took part in the study.
While 9,600 IU is 16 times what the government – based solely on bone health – believes people need daily, vitamin D researchers point to thousands of studies showing that vitamin D regulates cell growth and other functions at levels significantly higher than what are needed for bone health. Grassroots Health recommends vitamin D blood levels between 40-60 ng/ml based on that belief and a worldwide consortium (D-Action) of 35 vitamin D scientists supports that conclusion.
Indoor tanning clients, according to independent research, have average vitamin D blood levels higher than 40 ng/ml — about 90 percent higher than levels found in the non-tanning population.
To read the Anticancer Research study click here.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Smoking vs Tanning
https://smarttan.com/blog/index.php/put-smoking-comparison-up-in-smoke/
Thousands of news reports continue to suggest that “sun tanning is as dangerous as tobacco” because UV and cigarettes are both considered carcinogens. But the comparison is a blatant misrepresentation.
1.Smoker’s risk of lung cancer: 15 percent — or 2,000 percent higher than that of non-smokers. Smoking introduces up to 60 man-made known carcinogens into the body — substances the body was never designed to process. Smoking is related to 1 in 3 cancer deaths.
2.Tanner’s risk of melanoma: 0.3 percent — compared to 0.2 percent for non-tanners (a difference of 1 in 1,000) UV is natural and intended — the body needs ultraviolet light to survive. Simply calling it a carcinogen without that caveat is totally misleading.
One thing we know for certain: You would be dead today if you did not receive any ultraviolet light.
Thousands of news reports continue to suggest that “sun tanning is as dangerous as tobacco” because UV and cigarettes are both considered carcinogens. But the comparison is a blatant misrepresentation.
1.Smoker’s risk of lung cancer: 15 percent — or 2,000 percent higher than that of non-smokers. Smoking introduces up to 60 man-made known carcinogens into the body — substances the body was never designed to process. Smoking is related to 1 in 3 cancer deaths.
2.Tanner’s risk of melanoma: 0.3 percent — compared to 0.2 percent for non-tanners (a difference of 1 in 1,000) UV is natural and intended — the body needs ultraviolet light to survive. Simply calling it a carcinogen without that caveat is totally misleading.
One thing we know for certain: You would be dead today if you did not receive any ultraviolet light.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Hollywood Tans: Senior Tanologist: Red Light Therapy to the Rescue!
Hollywood Tans: Senior Tanologist: Red Light Therapy to the Rescue!: "You may have been seeing a lot of posts about Red Light Therapy coming to some of our Hollywood Tans salons, so we're here to give you all t..."
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
IRS to spend $11.5 million on agents in order to collect the tan tax (US News)
Healthcare Reform Law Requires New IRS Army Of 1,054 (including 81 agents just to collect the tan tax) - Washington Whispers (usnews.com)
Tired of paying the tan tax? Worried about the government spending hundreds of millions in order to collect the 10% tax on UV tanning? Visit www.repealtantax.com today and let your members of Congress know you don't support this punitive and unfair tax.
Tired of paying the tan tax? Worried about the government spending hundreds of millions in order to collect the 10% tax on UV tanning? Visit www.repealtantax.com today and let your members of Congress know you don't support this punitive and unfair tax.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Hollywood Tans: Senior Tanologist: Tanning Rules To Live By!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Study: Effects of Red Light on Development
"Furthermore, our data suggest that developmental 670-nm light exposure may exert beneficial effects on growth and development, including improved survival."
http://www.warplighttherapy.com/PDFs/670nm.pdf
http://www.warplighttherapy.com/PDFs/670nm.pdf
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Mystic tan my review (unbiased)
She did a Mystic Tan, but not at Hollywood Tans of Atlanta. Gives you a good idea of how happy customers are with the color from a Mystic Tan. More info about Hollywood Tans' Mystic Tan at www.SprayTanNow.com.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Another reason to shop at Toco Hills Promenade: Publix Goes Curbside
Publix Goes Curbside - 11Alive.com WXIA Atlanta, GA
Before you pickup your groceries curbside, swing on by Hollywood Tans of Toco Hills: www.HollywoodTansAtlanta.com/toco.htm
Before you pickup your groceries curbside, swing on by Hollywood Tans of Toco Hills: www.HollywoodTansAtlanta.com/toco.htm
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Web MD: Vitamin D Deficiency
http://www.webmd.com/diet/vitamin-d-deficiency
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