Tanning beds may be even more effective as a vitamin D producer than was previously believed. That’s the consensus of research published by Dr. Michael Holick’s group at Boston University. Holick’s group studied 15 people aged 20-53, tracking their vitamin D blood levels as they tanned in tanning equipment three times a week. How’d they do?

• 50 percent higher vitamin D blood levels after one week of tanning.
• 150 percent higher vitamin D blood levels after 5 weeks of tanning.

Bottom line: Un-natural supplements can’t do that! Not at over-the-counter levels. Consider: Three tanning sessions a week will deliver the equivalent of 30,000-75,000 international units of vitamin D (depending on skin type and other factors) – levels that cannot possibly be obtained through any other source. Even fresh salmon from the stream has a maximum of only 1,000 IU of vitamin D – not enough to move vitamin D blood levels nearly as much as tanning.

Vitamin D scientists now target vitamin D blood levels of 40-60 ng/ml (nanograms per milliliter). Many vitamin D specialists now refer to these levels as “Natural Vitamin D levels” – amounts that are consistent only with natural outdoor living in sunny climates.

Previous research has shown that sunbed users, on average, have 90 percent higher vitamin D levels as compared to non-tanners, who are deficient today, according to vitamin D researchers.