Skip indoor tanning beds

Much as I would love to be bronzed rather than pale and freckled, I’ve always opted for self tanner rather than visit an indoor tanning salon.

After all, as the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) points out, “some tanning beds can expose you to five times as much radiation as the sun, so using indoor tanning beds and lamps should be avoided.” Those at most risk of skin damage from indoor tanning beds and lamps include anyone who has had skin cancer or has a family history of skin cancer, is under 18 or who is fair-skinned or freckled.

Yet the Joint Canadian Tanning Association (JCTA) is trying to sell tanning beds as a way to get much-needed vitamin D.

Don’t believe the hype: getting the vitamin D you need can be accomplished in just a few minutes a day of unprotected sun exposure, according to CCS. Taking a supplement with 1,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D will also deliver want you need, without exposing you to excess radiation. The Canadian Dermatology Association also warns against tanning beds and recommends a 1,000 IU Vitamin-D supplement, to maintain “healthy levels of this vitamin in the body while avoiding the risk of getting skin cancer.”

That’s good enough for me.