Seeing the (sun)light on the tanning issue What happens when the message is right, but you don't trust the messenger? You end up twisted in knots. And that's exactly where I find myself after hearing the news that the Indoor Tanning Association (ITA) has launched a new ad campaign promoting the health benefits of a good tan. It's a case of the right message, but from the wrong source. While I do agree with the ITA that exposure to sunlight yields significant health benefits, I DO NOT believe that artificial tanning is safe, or that it yields the same benefits that you get from exposure to full-spectrum sunlight. Of course, the prevailing "wisdom" today is that tanning - whether indoor or outdoor - is bad for you, and that prolonged exposure to sunlight is carcinogenic and potentially fatal. Naturally, this perception has a huge and negative impact on the tanning salon business. To fight this wrong-headed notion, the TV ads encourage viewers to "go get a tan - your body will thank you." The ITA also took out a full-page ad in The New York Times. The fact is, the way to get the health benefits of a tan is to be out in the sunlight - the natural, full-spectrum sunlight. Not the predominantly UV light you get from artificial sunlight. Ironically, it turns out that people actually opt for tanning beds to AVOID the "dangers" of natural sunlight, but it's been proven that UV exposure on tanning beds can actually INCREASE the risk of the most deadly and difficult to treat skins cancers: malignant melanoma. Sarah Longwell of the ITA defended the ad campaign, acknowledging the controversy that it's likely to spark. "The dermatologists, the sunscreen, and cosmetics industries have tried to say that somehow moderate tanning causes melanoma, which is just not true," Longwell said. Which is true - but the problem is, Longwell and the ITA happily lump in tanning beds with sunlight, treating them like they are one and the same. And the fact is, they aren't. Not even close. I'm not alone in my opinion on the dangers of UV bulbs and tanning beds. Dave Leffell from Yale Medical School said ITA's ads "misrepresents scientific fact." According to Leffell, "Ultraviolet radiation from the sun and from the artificial bulbs that are used in tanning parlors can lead to skin cancer." Leffell's statement puts me on the fence again. I agree with everything he says, except for the part about "radiation from the sun." I believe that if you avoid healthy exposure to the sun you deprive yourself of the benefits of the best-known source of vitamin D. And a vitamin D deficiency is a far surer path to deadly disease than exposure to sunlight ever was or ever will be. Vitamin D has been proven to increase your odds of lung cancer survival, to prevent multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, and to help treat steroid- resistant forms of asthma. The sun gets an incredibly bad rap. I've told you about a World Health Organization report that pinned as many as 60,000 deaths worldwide on the sun, every year. It's an absurd notion. The belief is that malignant melanomas and other skin cancers are solely the fault of the sun. That's just plain wrong - the same way that the sun can't be blamed for cataracts, skin aging, and cold sores (just a few of the maladies that have been tied to sun exposure). When you see these ITA ads on television, remember this: the message is right, but the messenger is wrong. Have no fear of walking about and exposing yourself to reasonable doses of full-spectrum, natural sunlight. It's good for you. But never - and I mean NEVER - crawl onto one of those UV-only baking trays and inundate yourself with the harmful rays of a tanning bed. I'm happy to say that there's even more good news about zinc - the miracle mineral that truly seems to do it all. The February issue of the medical journal Pediatrics reports that zinc supplements can put the kibosh on the duration and severity of bouts of persistent or extreme diarrhea in kids. Zinc has been rocketing up my personal supplement charts. For years I've been telling you about its benefits as an ally against the common cold, its testosterone-boosting and somewhat aphrodisiac effects, as well as its ability to ward off pneumonia. The findings tallied the results of 22 studies, 16 of which focused on the benefits of this helpful nutrient. In many cases, the zinc supplements not only reduced diarrhea but also helped to prevent its onset. The only negative finding was that zinc was more apt to cause vomiting in young patients than the placebo used for the research. The findings are not only a boon to parents in the U.S., but could be especially helpful in the Third World where, according to World Health Organization estimates, as many as two million people (most of whom are children) perish from diarrhea each year. It's never a bad idea to keep this handy supplement around the house. | 
