<p>While enjoying outdoor activities or at tanning salons, getting a sun tan was just one of many things we did through countless years of human history that we thought was completely normal and benign.</p>
<p>Apparently we were wrong, we were so wrong.</p>
<figure id="attachment_107" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-107" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="wp-image-107 size-medium" src="http://warriorbodyandmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/so-wrong-300x131.jpg" alt="sun tan" width="300" height="131" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-107" class="wp-caption-text">This movie was such a disappointment</figcaption></figure>
<p>But thankfully now we know better, for the last thirty some years we know that the sun is our enemy.<strong> Its rays are apparently a huge cosmic danger, a catastrophic emission from space that threatens mankind as a whole!</strong></p>
<p>Thankfully we came to the realization before it was too late. To protect us from the dangerous UV rays and getting a sun tan, we now have a plethora of carcinogenic creams and oils that we slather on our skin to prevent cancer&#8230; Wait that doesn’t sound right… at all&#8230;</p>
<h2>WHY YOU SHOULD WANT TO GET A SUN TAN</h2>
<p>Let’s check the facts.<strong> In the words of Reuters health editor, less than 0.3% (less than a third percent) of people develop melanoma, and that includes people that regularly visit sun tanning salons</strong> (Oransky, 2010).</p>
<p>What do we do? Well in a media fueled (and skin care industry due to profits) panic, to prevent something, that is <strong>statistically less likely to happen then lets say a woman dying during birth in a first world country</strong>, we douse our skin with oxybenzone, which is associated with hormonal imbalances and call damage which can lead to skin cancer and retinyl palmitaze.</p>
<p>Something that can accelerate the development of skin tumors and skin lesions after they are applied on to the skin in the presence of sunlight (Dellorto, 2014). <strong>Is it just me or does that seems counter productive?</strong></p>
<p><a class="thirstylink" href="www.awin1.com/cread.php?s=2272021&;v=10423&;q=349292&;r=324139" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"><img class="thirstylinkimg alignnone" src="http://warriorbodyandmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/e68f932a-6639-43b4-afe9-37700a83cd89.jpeg" alt="" width="728" height="90" /></a></p>
<p>But your sunscreen doesn’t have these chemicals right, so no worries. Will&#8230; Environmental Working Group says that only 25% creams out of 800 tested sunscreens that don’t have these chemicals are effective at protecting your skin.</p>
<p>But that’s not enough, people like to go a step further. <strong>Usually the same people who slather their skin in carcinogenic sunscreens almost zealously go out of their way to avoid the sun</strong>. Something which in turns limits their vitamin D production.</p>
<p><strong>Studies have shown that melanoma patients who were subjected to sunlight have a better odds of survival</strong> (Rosso, 2008), and the people with the highest concentration of vitamin D in the blood had the thinnest melanoma (they are easier to cure), the highest chance of survival and the lowest chance of developing melanoma (Caini, 2004).</p>
<p>Basically, it&#8217;s healthier to have a sun tan, than to look like milk. But the benefits don’t end there.</p>
<p><strong>Being outside in the sun promotes bone strength and density, prevents and cures tuberculosis</strong>, <strong>lowers the risk</strong> <strong>of death of breast, ovarian, pancreatic, colon and certain other cancers. </strong></p>
<p>It also lowers the risk for multiple sclerosis, metabolic, and cardiovascular disasters, as well as high blood pressure (Mead, 2008).</p>
<p><strong>On top of It also helps with mood disorders and energy levels</strong>. Sunlight boosts levels of serotonin and dopamine (Tsai, Chen Yang, Chen, Yeh, Chiu, Lee, 2011). Both are neurotransmitters, which are important for mental health.</p>
<p><strong>Serotonin improves mood</strong>, and lower levels of it are found in people who suffer from SAD as in seasonal affective disorder, while <strong>dopamine is pivotal to motivation, creativity and sexual desire</strong>.<br />
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<h2>BUT TANNING SALONS ARE DIFFERENT, RIGHT?</h2>
<p>So let’s say you don’t live near the equator or that it&#8217;s winter, how do you deal with this problem?</p>
<p><strong>You can either supplement it with vitamin D3 capsules, or you can visit one of the cancer producing factories aka sun tan salons</strong>.</p>
<p>But I’m not serious am I, we all know the dangers and threats of tanning salons&#8230; Right?</p>
<p>Turns out those threats are empty, just like a jar of peanut butter if you leave it near me.</p>
<figure id="attachment_98" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-98" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="wp-image-98 size-medium" src="http://warriorbodyandmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/empty-peanut-butter-jar-300x225.jpg" alt="sun tan" width="300" height="225" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-98" class="wp-caption-text">Case in point</figcaption></figure>
<p>In a study conducted by Moan, the results ended up more than convincing. <strong>The advantage you get from higher vitamin D blood concentration outweighs all the potential risks</strong>, you would supposedly subject yourself with exposing your skin to more UV rays.</p>
<p>The study took into account 106 thousand women and the results were as follows. <strong>Less than 0.3% percent of women who regulator visited tanning salons developed melanoma, compared to 0.2% of women who developed melanoma despite not going</strong>.</p>
<p>Which means that a statistically insignificant number was replaced with a little less insignificant. (Veierød, 2003).</p>
<p><strong>But the fact that isn’t mentioned in the study are the other health benefits that come due to higher blood concentrations of vitamin D</strong> due to visiting said tanning salons.</p>
<p>Although I admittedly don&#8217;t visit tanning salons, my gym happens to have a couple of tanning beds.</p>
<p>So in the wintertime i like to kill two birds with one stone, I do my workout and after that I hit the tanning booth, to get a little energy and a mental boost, especially after an intensive workout.</p>
<p>You could also reverse the order, drink your <a href="http://warriorbodyandmind.com/how-to-make-your-own-pre-workout/">pre-workout</a>, get in the booth, and after that, smash the weights right as the PWO starts to kick in. Trust me, If you have the option try it.</p>
<h2>CONCLUSION</h2>
<p><strong>The sun is not our enemy</strong>, I repeat it is not our enemy.</p>
<p>Far from it, but that doesn’t mean you should lay in the sun during the whole day, and get third-degree burns to resemble and feel like a cooked lobster.</p>
<p><strong>As with anything in life, the key is in moderation</strong>, be smart about sun exposure, and reap the benefits of having a sun tan. Aesthetic and health-wise.</p>
<p><strong>REFERENCES:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Oransky, Ivan. Tanning beds: What do the numbers really mean? Association of Health Care Journalists. 7 May 2010. Web. 6 Aug 2014. <a href="http://healthjournalism.org/blog/2010/05/tanning-beds-what-do-the-numbers-really-mean/">http://healthjournalism.org/blog/2010/05/tanning-beds-what-do-the-numbers-really-mean/</a></li>
<li>Dellorto, Danielle. Avoid sunscreens with potentially harmful ingredients, group warns. CNN. 16 May 2012. Web. 6 Aug 2014. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/16/health/sunscreen-report/">http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/16/health/sunscreen-report/</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/the-problem-with-vitamin-a/">http://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/the-problem-with-vitamin-a/</a></li>
<li>Rosso S, Sera F, Segnan N, Zanetti R. Sun exposure prior to diagnosis is associated with improved survival in melanoma patients: results from a long-term follow-up study of Italian patients. Eur J Cancer. 2008 Jun;44(9):1275-81. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18406602">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18406602</a></li>
<li>Caini S, Boniol M, Tosti G, Magi S, Medri M, Stanganelli I, Palli D, Assedi M, Marmol VD, Gandini S. Vitamin D and melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer risk and prognosis: A comprehensive review and meta-analysis. Eur J Cancer. 2014 Jul 30. pii: S0959-8049(14)00806 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25087185</li>
<li>Mead MN. Benefits of sunlight: a bright spot for human health. Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Apr;116(4):A160-7. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2290997/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2290997/</a></li>
<li>Tsai, H. Y., Chen, K. C., Yang, Y. K., Chen, P. S., Yeh, T. L., Chiu, N. T., &; Lee, I. H. (2011). Sunshine-exposure variation of human striatal dopamine D 2/D 3 receptor availability in healthy volunteers.<em>Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry</em>, <em>35</em>(1), 107-110. <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278584610003659">http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278584610003659</a></li>
<li>Veierød MB, Weiderpass E, Thörn M, Hansson J, Lund E, Armstrong B, Adami HO. A prospective study of pigmentation, sun exposure, and risk of cutaneous malignant melanoma in women. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003 Oct 15;95(20):1530-8. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14559875">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14559875</a></li>
</ol>

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