Quote:
Originally Posted by Don Smith  I asked the question: "Is the stimulation of vitamin D the "primary" (i.e., the most important) result/benefit of UVR exposure?"
Feel free to disagree but I believe that the stimulation of vitamin D by UVR is a "secondary" benefit, albeit a very, very important one. The most important benefit (IMHO) is the development of photo-protective, thermo-protective and immuno-protective facultative pigmentation, a.k.a., a "tan". The fact that vitamin D is stimulated at the same time you are developing a tan is a valuable "fringe benefit".
Think about it: From an evolutionary point of view the ability to increase your tolerance to UVR (and decreasing your sensitivity to UVR) made it possible to spend more time outdoors in sunlight hunting, fishing and farming; all activities necessary for survival.
That is why I have come to believe that the best way to "change the discussion about indoor tanning" is to focus on the incontrovertible benefits of developing a tan and only secondarily about the "side benefit" of stimulating vitamin D. In summary, the message should be that the client gets two benefits for the price of one. |
Derms have poo poo'ed the idea that tans protect the body since day 1 of the debate. But what do they know? They call freckles pre-cancer!
The biggest health problem in America today is the fact that most Americans believe at face value everything a doctor tells them and everything that they read in glamour magazine. Americans have come to terms with the fact that just about everything they see and hear is truthless propaganda. You have to be willing to seek the truth, which for many Americans just takes too much effort.