Sun and Vitamin D: And why vampires won't survive a tanning booth…

One of the silliest questions that I've read in a while now is if vampires would survive if they used a tanning bed… it makes you wonder how many people visit the site known as idonothingallday [Dot] com until a stroke of genius hits them square in the face.

But really, would they survive and could we find the answer to this question that is all over the internet for some freekin' reason with the possible Blade 4?

Maybe it's true – we're being taken over by vampires, and which is why our growing inability to handle the UVA and UVB rays of the sun is causing dry skin, wrinkles and even skin cancer in the form of melanoma. (Read this article for a not-so-funny analysis of the situation.)

So much for that desire to get a 'tan', huh?

Yet one might also be tempted to pose the question: Is it really all that bad to soak up the sun (and all that jazz)?

Sun – A source of Vitamin D for free!

Interestingly, a lack of Vitamin D has also been the cause for 10 percent of all cancer-related deaths, and even though this figure outnumbers the million cases of skin cancer each year due to overexposure to the sun's rays, it's fair to say that there is confusion as to whether or not sunbathing is a good idea.

If that's not enough, health organizations around the world claim that visiting the tanning booth frequently can also result in cataracts and skin cancer as well, thanks to the exposure of skin to UVA rays as opposed to UVB rays.

This has also raised the question whether or not tanning booths should be banned or not, as depicted in this article.

So who do you trust?

And as evidence suggests from these statistics that tell you a lot about no exposure as well as overexposure, it's only obvious that people will want to know how much exposure is enough.

But before that, let's look at the benefits of UVB rays which benefit our bodies on exposure…

Benefits of UVB Radiation

The first benefit of UVB radiation is from the fact that the body needs Vitamin D that works well for vital functions such as insulin secretion, blood pressure, immunity, cell proliferation and calcium metabolism.

But at a basic level, exposure to the Sun provides warmth and light, which we, as humans cannot survive without, and most of all, a sunny day makes most of us feel good as it has the ability to affect our emotions.

Interestingly, patients with diseases such as Lupus vulgaris, Rickets, Psoriasis and Vitiligo need to be exposed to UV radiation to increase levels of Vitamin D in the body.

So there should be no doubt that a minimal amount of exposure to the sun's rays are definitely required!

But then again, how much is enough?

Limits of Exposure for Healthy People

Observations made by experts consider this to be at least 5 to 15 minutes a day for two days in a week. Ideally, the best time to do this would be between 8 AM to 4 PM during these days.

Yet another interesting observation that might reduce this exposure time to a few minutes might be if you live near the equator.

But no matter what – sunscreen lotion with an SPF of 15 and above is VITAL to use when doing so!

In Closing

While the answer to this question of exposure to the sun's UV rays might be sufficient, you can also eat Vitamin D foods to supplement your daily need of this very important nutrient that the body requires.