Tanning and Vitamin D by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Health Queen
Hi Tara,
You present some interesting questions. The first of which is why you have osteopenia if you are tanning on a regular basis.
While osteopenia is a lack of minerals in the bones, this is MOST OFTEN accompanied by Vitamin D Deficiency since Vitamin D is responsible for calcium absorption.
So, my first question to you is, "Have you had your Vitamin D Level Checked?" If the answer is no, then you Absolutely Must get one. If you haven't had your Vitamin D Level checked, this is a MAJOR OVERSIGHT on the part of your doctor!
Even if you are tanning, this does not mean anything. First of all, you live in Pennsylvania which is above 37 deg latitude- so you make ZERO Vitamin D from October through April- even if it is sunny and you are out tanning!!
Second, all tanning beds are Not created equal. There is a link between tanning beds and skin cancer so you may want to rethink your use of tanning beds.
But tanning doesn't guarantee that you are vitamin D sufficient as proved from a study done in Hawaii where people who got 12 hours of sunlight each week without using sunscreen were Still vitamin D deficient.
So, please get your Vitamin D Level checked and report back to us. If your level is between 40 and 80 ng/ml, then taking your calcium with Vitamin D supplement will be fine- most have only 800 IU's of Vitamin D at the most.
But if you are low in Vitamin D, then you want to find out WHY! There are many reasons for this. If you are showering with soap within 48 hours of tanning, then you could be washing the vitamin d right off the skin..
Some other possibilities is that you are magnesium deficient, are obese or have poor liver function- all of which can prevent you from converting the Vitamin D that you make in your skin into the active form in your blood.
So, please get your vitamin D level checked and let us know what it is.
Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Health Queen Functional Medicine Practitioner Easy Immune Health.com
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