Glamour magazine — one of the beauty industry’s flagship magazines — told readers this month that vitamin D deficiency is a problem for women and can be solved by eating more breakfast cereal fortified with vitamin D.

“That’s like telling an Eskimo to look for ice cubes in the Tropics,” Smart Tan Executive Director Joseph Levy said. “There’s not one study I am aware of that says vitamin D deficiency can be improved by turning solely to dietary sources of vitamin D.”

Sun exposure is the natural source of vitamin D, and sun deprivation is the cause of most vitamin D deficiencies. The Glamour article does not even mention sun exposure as a source of vitamin D.

Glamour — a Conde Naste magazine along with Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Self, Allure and other titles — nets millions of dollars annually in advertising revenue from skin care companies who market sunscreen as a daily-use product instead of just to prevent sunburn, which is sunscreen’s intended use.

The skin makes up to 20,000 IU of vitamin D from non-burning full-body sun exposure. A serving of vitamin D fortified cereal contains 100 IU of vitamin D — 200 times less.

“It’s one thing for a beauty magazine to say that they recommend artificial sources of vitamin D over the body’s natural source, sun exposure. But it’s just plain deceiving for Glamour to not even mention sun as a source,” Levy said.

To read the article click here.

SmartTan.com news articles regularly report medical and scientific information to keep you abreast of current events related to UV light. This information is not intended to be used by any party to make unwarranted health claims to promote sunbed usage. Indoor tanning businesses are obligated to communicate a fair and balanced message to all clients about your products and services including the potential risks associated with indoor tanning. Contact your Smart Tan representative to find out more about what you can and can’t say in your tanning salon business.

© 2012 International Smart Tan Network. All rights reserved.