Dr. Michael Holick took a big step forward in 2001 in making the
case that sun-induced vitamin D is critical to human health. He stood
there, again, on the ballroom stage in Nashville in front of hundreds
of indoor tanning facility operators, for the sixth year in a row
playing a major part in Smart Tan's educational conference.
He is Boston University's Dr. Michael Holick - perhaps the world's
leading researcher touting the belief that humanity, in its recent
obsession over fitness and preventative medicine, has overlooked the
importance of one particular vitamin - the human hormone sometimes
called "The Sunshine Vitamin."
We know it as vitamin D.
So Holick stood there again Oct. 25 in Nashville, reviewing what he
has deemed The Good, The Bad and The Ugly about ultraviolet
light. Many in the audience have heard him speak several times before
- three, four or even five times. For any other speaker, that's a
recipe for yawns. But the indoor tanning industry soaks in Holick's
material each year, and Holick pours an increasing amount of energy
and excitement into his talks.
And this year the tanning industry had something to be excited about.
Holick is on the verge of publishing the results of research the
tanning industry funded, confirming some long-believed theories about
indoor tanning and vitamin D production. Call it the first giant step
in the tanning industry's new effort to mount data in support of the
positive effects of ultraviolet light.
"We think that in general the population is in risk of vitamin D
deficiency chronically at all ages," Holick said. "Only by having
adequate exposure to sunlight or taking much more vitamin D will you
satisfy your vitamin D requirements."
Holick is the director of the General Clinical Research Center at the
Boston University School of Medicine - a lofty, credible position in
the research community. He also directs the school's Vitamin D, Skin
and Bone Center. He is perhaps the world's most respected
photobiologist who believes that the benefits of regular sun exposure
received in a non-burning fashion outweigh the risks.
The lack of vitamin D, and what that deficiency can lead to, is
Holick's main concern. Bone diseases such as osteoporosis and
osteomalacia are linked to vitamin D deprivation, and researchers this
year have uncovered the mechanism by which vitamin D plays a role in
the prevention of breast, colon and prostate cancers.
That discovery has Holick very excited. "The dermatology community is
beginning to rethink this issue," he explained. "It has been a long
and tough battle in trying to have them appreciate that there are some
beneficial effects to the tanning process and being exposed to
sunlight."
To make his case, Holick had to attack some pretty established
preconceived notions about ultraviolet light. "I think many
dermatologists don't understand it. They have pseudo-information, and
as a result it is easy for them to stick their heads in the sand and
say that 'That is our policy: No exposure to sunlight and always wear
sunscreen. End of story.' They don't appreciate the potential health
consequences of that."
But now he believes he is turning the corner in getting people to
recognize his work and the work of others who believe in the positive
effects of sunlight. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for
instance, is watching his work very closely. "I think that more of the
research dermatologists - those that are really in the forefront of
dermatology - are finally getting the message that I have been trying
to get across for a long time that maybe there is in fact a benefit.
And that we really need to look at both sides of the coin, that it is
not simply black and white that you should not have any exposure to
sunlight or tanning bed radiation."
Holick's New Research
Dr. Michael Holick presented preliminary data on three studies he
completed this year at Smart Tan's educational conference at the ITA
Indoor Tanning World Expo. Holick first proposed these studies in 1999
and approached the tanning industry for financial support for the
project. Smart Tan did much of the early legwork, and funded 38
percent of the project. The Indoor Tanning Association - formed in
1999 to fund research and promotional efforts for the industry - made
completion of the project funding possible, by funding 62 percent of
the effort.
"Tanning bed exposure has both benefits and potential harmful effects
if not used properly," Holick says. "The concept that Smart Tan is
trying to get across is a very good one. That is, that if you want to
tan, you should tan properly and intelligently and you should never,
never burn." Here is a glimpse at what Holick will be publishing in
peer-reviewed medical journals in the coming months from research
conducted with funding from ITA and Smart Tan:
1. UV Light Treats Osteoporosis
Holick has submitted a paper
to the Journal of Gastroneurology summarizing a case study completed
with funding from ITA and Smart Tan. The study is of a 61-year-old
woman who came to his Vitamin D clinic who was severely vitamin D
deficient and showed signs of significant bone decay consistent with
osteoporosis.
"It was so severe when she came to my office she couldn't sit down,
she was in tears because all her bones ached so much," Holick
explained. "So what do you do? Tanning beds to the rescue." Using the
tanning equipment donated to Holick by Tan America and puretan as part
of the ITA study, Holick exposed the woman three times a week to
tanning bed light, following the recommended exposure schedule for her
skin type. The woman's condition improved significantly.
"The bone pain over several months gradually dissolved, and the
vitamin D level increased by 700 percent, just by simply being exposed
to tanning bed radiation," Holick explained. Osteoporosis is a greater
problem than many people realize. More than 25 million Americans
suffer from osteoporosis, 20 million of whom are women. This
debilitating disease usually leaves a person stooped over, and their
activity is severely limited. Vitamin D deficiency also can cause
osteomalacia, a mineralization defect that causes intense pain.
However, vitamin D alone isn't enough for good bone health; calcium
helps the body absorb the vitamin. Dr. Holick's recipe: Calcium plus
vitamin D plus exercise equals good bone health. Without vitamin D,
the body can only absorb 10 to 15 percent of the calcium it does when
healthy vitamin D levels are present.
Holick's case study should be published in the next few months.
2. Tanning Bed Light Is a Good Source of Vitamin D
For years Holick has talked about the theory of "Vitamin D Winter" - a
term he coined describing the fact that there is not sufficient UVB
outdoors from November through March in the Northeast for a person to
even produce vitamin D.
This may explain why so much of the population is vitamin D deficient.
In 1998, Holick published a paper in the medical journal The Lancet
showing that 41 percent of hospital patients at Massachusetts General
Hospital were vitamin D deficient.
Since that time, with funding from ITA and Smart Tan, Holick has
compiled data on another group of chronically unexposed people: his
own medical students, whose studies leave them little time outdoors at
all. "These are people who never see the light of day," Holick
explained.
Sure enough, 41 percent of his medical students were vitamin D
deficient. But, upon exposure to the tanning beds in Holick's lab, the
condition was corrected. Holick will be publishing a paper on this
data in the near future. "It will show that tanning is a very
effective way to maintain your vitamin D status," Holick said.
His work with the medical students also produced some other results.
Using a flash spectrometer purchased by Smart Tan, Holick was able to
"measure" and chart the progress of the students' tans. Two hours
after tanning, the group showed immediate pigment darkening - a 2-3
percent increase in pigmentation. Within 48 hours, melanin content
increased up to 40 percent.
Holick believes there may be a link between melanin production and
vitamin D production. This data will help him explore that theory.
3. Studying UV Light and DNA
Studying the intercellular activity of tanned skin cells is a field
Holick is pioneering. In the mid 1990s California Tan purchased a
specialized $100,000 confocal microscope for Holick that helped him
gaze into individual live skin cells as they tanned and explore this
field for the first time.
Now ITA and Smart Tan have leased Holick a $100,000 genetic testing
machine that will help him measure gene expression, DNA repair and
chart the role vitamin D plays in the regulation of cell growth. He is
closely monitoring a substance known as TGF beta which is believed to
regulate cell growth. This is particularly important, given work that
now suggests vitamin D may play a role in the prevention of breast,
colon and prostate cancers.
"We are now in the process of trying to understand how that impacts
skin health and disease," Holick said. "We are now in the process of
analyzing our data."