Finding Time to Workout

One of the biggest complaints that I hear from people getting started, or trying to get stated, in working out is:
“Where will I find the time to workout?”
We all lead busy days and often the time between the morning when we get up and the evening when we go to sleep goes by in a blur of work, family, preparing meals, finding and foraging for food and getting a little bit of downtime.
So where do we find that few minutes a day to workout? I think that I have a bit of an answer.

Get you priorities straight
First things first. Look at your day from the time that you awake until the time that you go to sleep. What are you doing in every 15 minute block? You may think of this as micromanagement but really it is more important to look at your day and see little gaps and times when you are not batching your work.
Batching? Batching is where you get a bunch of things that are related and do them at once. An easy example is that when you are cooking food, if you are cleaning dishes as you are waiting for the cooking to finish as well as emptying and then refilling the dishwasher then you can see how these related items done in the same place at the same time will save you a lot of time.
Besides batching, you may also find that you are spending time surfing on the internet looking at the same new stories over and over again during the day. Get out of this habit and instead pick a time for news and surfing and do not go back to it unless it is part of the batching process.

How much time do you need

Everyone that does not workout a few times a week thinks that they have to find a couple of hours to workout. Everyone that works out efficiently knows that you can get a great workout in with only 30 minutes. If you are looking for 2 hours to train then you will never find it but if you only need 30 minutes then it is easy to find the time.
30 minutes to workout is not enough for some people but as you care more about this part of your life you will use that time better and maybe let it creep up to an hour. There is nearly no reason that any normal person not training for athletic events would need more than an hour to workout. In fact science says that even an hour may be too long.

Pick a downtime to workout

Either first thing in the morning or an hour after dinner are the best times to workout. Look at how early you are getting up. If you have a shower anyway in the morning why not have a workout as soon as you get up. This is the best time to workout as you are not going to get distracted by life at 5:30, no one even knows that you are awake.

Decide why you are working out

This may be the first thing on the list or else the thing that gets you working out harder. I always have another big fitness goal. These goals are not things like winning the Mr Olympia or anything but smaller ones that may be vane. For example,weightlifting hard in the Spring so that you would look better on the beach in Hawaii.
The thing is as the time of year changes and as your prioirites change you can get in great shape all the time by shifiting the reasons and types of workouts.
So there you have simple ideas for how to get time, prioirtize and get yourself on the road, into the gym or into the basement to get a heart pumping workout that will improve your health for today and into the future.

25 Ways to Stop Smoking

For all the intense efforts to reduce smoking in the world over the past two decades, the progress has not been stellar. Today; one in four men and one in five women still smoke.

For those who never smoked, this is a befuddling fact. Don't smokers understand that cigarettes are the number one killer in America, that they dramatically increase risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer, high blood pressure, and almost every other health concern, small or large? How could any habit be worth this?

The truth is, most smokers do understand. They also understand the huge financial toll of smoking, with a pack of 20 cigarettes costing $10 in some areas (imagine: $3,650 spent a year on cigarettes by pack-a-day smokers —often people of only modest resources).

Then why do millions still smoke? Maybe because the nicotine in cigarettes is highly addictive. Or because the smoking provides psychological comfort to some people. Perhaps most of all, because quitting smoking is so hard.

Researchers and businesses have responded strongly to the last point. Never have there been so many tools, systems, and programs available for quitting smoking. And with every month that passes, there is more research showing the benefits of quitting, and the drawbacks of not quitting.

So if you smoke, consider again whether it is time, finally, to quit. If yes, you’ll need to think through the best approach, perhaps working with your doctor or an expert. But the following tips will help you succeed.

1. Make an honest list of all the things you like about smoking.

Draw a line down the center of a piece of paper and write them on one side; on the other side make a list of all the things you dislike, such as how it can interfere with your health, work, family, etc. Think about the list over time, and make changes. If you are brave enough, get feedback from family and friends about things they don’t like about your use of cigarettes. When the negative side outweighs the positive side, you are ready to quit.

2. Then make another list of why quitting won’t be easy.

Be thorough, even if the list gets long and discouraging. Here’s the important part: Next to each entry, list one or more options for overcoming that challenge. For instance, one item might be: “Nicotine is an addictive drug.” Your option might be: “Try a nicotine replacement alternative.” Another reason might be: “Smoking helps me deal with stress.” Your option might be: “Take five-minute walks instead.” The more you anticipate the challenges to quitting, and their solutions, the better your chance of success.

3. Set a quit date

and write a “quit date contract” that includes your signature and that of a supportive witness.

4. Write all your reasons for quitting on an index card

and keep it near you at all times. Here are some to get you started: “My daughter, my granddaughter, my husband, my wife…”You get the idea.

5. As you’re getting ready to quit, stop buying cartons of cigarettes.

Instead, only buy a pack at a time, and only carry two or three with you at a time. Eventually you’ll find that when you want a smoke, you won’t have any immediately available. That will slowly wean you down to fewer cigarettes.

6. Keep a list of when you smoke, what you’re doing at the time, and how bad the craving is

for a week before quitting to see if specific times of the day or activities increase your cravings. Then arrange fun, unique things to do during those times.

7. Prepare a list of things to do when a craving hits.

Suggestions include: take a walk, drink a glass of water, kiss your partner or child, throw the ball for the dog, wash the car, clean out a cupboard or closet, have sex, chew a piece of gum, wash your face, brush your teeth, take a nap, get a cup of coffee or tea, practice your deep breathing, light a candle. Make copies of the list and keep one with you at all times so when the craving hits, you can whip out the list and quickly do something from it.

8. When your quit date arrives, throw out anything that reminds you of smoking.

That includes all smoking paraphernalia, leftover cigarettes, matches, lighters, ashtrays, cigarette holders, even the lighter in your car.

9. Instead of a cigarette break at work, play a game of solitaire on your computer.

It takes about the same time and is much more fun (although, like cigarettes, it can get addictive). If your company prohibits games like that, find another five-minute diversion: a phone call, a stroll, or eating a piece of fruit outdoors (but not where smokers congregate).

10. Switch to a cup of herbal tea whenever you usually have a cigarette.

That might be at breakfast, midmorning, or after meals. The act of brewing the tea and slowly sipping it as it cools will provide the same stress relief as a hit of nicotine.

11. Switch your cigarette habit for a nut habit.

four nuts in their shell for every cigarette you want to smoke. This way, you’re using your hands and your mouth, getting the same physical and oral sensations you get from smoking.

12. Carry some cinnamon-flavored toothpicks with you.

Suck on one whenever a cig craving hits.

13. Make an appointment with an acupuncturist.

There’s some evidence that auricular acupuncture (i.e., needles in the ears) curbs cigarette cravings quite successfully. You can even do it yourself by taping “seeds” (small beads) onto the acupuncture points and squeezing them whenever cravings arise.

14. Swing by the health food store for some Avena sativa (oat) extract.

One study found that, taken at 1 milliliters four times daily, it helped habitual tobacco smokers significantly decrease the number of cigarettes they smoked.

15. Think of difficult things you have done in the past.

Ask people who know you well to remind you of challenges you have successfully overcome. Be confidence to stick with your pledge not to smoke.

16. to minimize cravings, change your routine.

Sit in a different chair at breakfast or take a different route to work.

17. Tell your friends, coworkers, boss, partner, kids, etc.

, how you feel about situations instead of bottling up your emotions. If something makes you angry, express it instead of smothering it with cigarette smoke. If you’re bored, admit to yourself that you’re bored and find something energetic to do instead of lighting up.

18. if you relapse, just start again.

You haven’t failed. Some people have to quit as many as eight times before they are successful.

19. Put all the money you’re saving on cigarettes in a large glass jar.

You want to physically see how much you’ve been spending. Earmark that money for something you’ve always dreamed of doing, but never thought you could afford.

20. Switch to decaf until you’ve been cigarette-free for two months.

Too much caffeine while quitting can cause the jitters.

21. Create a smoke-free zone.

Don’t allow anyone to use tobacco in your home, car, or even while sitting next to you in a restaurant. Make actual “No Smoking” signs and hang them around your house and in your car.

22. Find a healthy snack food you

can keep with you and use in place of cigarettes to quench that urge for oral gratification. For instance, try pistachio nuts, sunflower seeds, sugarless lollipops or gum, carrot or celery sticks. The last ones are best if you are concerned about weight gain.

23. Picture yourself playing tennis.

Or go play tennis. British researchers found volunteers trying to quit smoking were better able to ignore their urges to smoke when they were told to visualize a tennis match.

24. Quit when you’re in a good mood.

Studies find that you’re less likely to be a successful quitter if you quit when you’re depressed or under a great deal of stress.

25. Post this list in a visible location in your house.

Whenever you’re tempted to light up, take a look at all the ways smoking can damage your health:

· Increases risk of lung, bladder, pancreatic, mouth, esophageal, and other cancers, including leukemia

· Reduces fertility

· Contributes to thin bones

· Affects mental capacity and memory

· Reduces levels of folate, low levels of which can increase the risk of heart disease, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease

· Increases likelihood of impotence

· Affects ability to smell and taste

· Results in low-birth-weight, premature babies

· Increases risk of depression in adolescents

· Increases risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure

· Increases risk of diabetes

· Increases your child’s risk of obesity and diabetes later in life if you smoked while pregnant

Have a nice Sunday! :)

How Much Protein Do You Really Need Per Day to Build Muscle?

Protein could be one of the most popular and controversial topics in all of nutrition. It’s become the golden child of muscle building and fat loss. Wanna build big muscles? Eat your protein. Wanna lose fat and look like a fitness model? Eat your protein. After all, everyone knows you need to eat a minimum of 30 grams of protein every two to three hours.

But how much protein do you REALLY need per day to build muscle? Chances are that you may be actually overeating. But how much is enough to help maintain and build muscle? Is there a limit per meal that the body can use?

According to the recent researches, muscle protein synthesis maxes out after a meal at 20-30 grams and anything in over will actually not help stimulate more muscle protein synthesis, but rather just increase excess oxidation (burn for energy).

More Protein Does Not Mean More Muscle?!

If you thought it's scientifically PROVEN that more protein equaled more muscle. Don't be so sure!

While protein is of course essential to build up muscles, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that just eating more and more guarantees bigger muscles. So how much do we really need in the first place? Well here’s some numbers for you:

·The RDA (recommended dietary allowance) for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight of adults (or roughly 0.36 grams per lb of body weight). Or I have also seen advised that women need at least 46 grams of protein per day, and men need at least 56 grams of protein per day (to avoid deficiency).

· NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) recommends that for active people, endurance and strength training, a higher intake is advised at around 0.4-0.6 per lb of bodyweight (and up to 0.8g/lb for full time athletes).

*Note that most of these “body weights” for calculating protein are more based on “ideal” (or even “fat free”) weight.

These are interesting numbers and much lower than what you may hear out there. You can see that with more activity, and then the recommended amount of protein will increase. What is also important to remember is the overall calorie intake is also increasing with activity level. So in essence, while the amount of protein may increase the % of protein per daily calories may actually be the same (or less). Just something to keep in mind, as calories also matter.

Let’s take a look at one of the research studies that the super-high protein advocates always use to ‘prove’ that eating protein after a workout makes you build muscle.

If you were in this study, this is how your day would have gone:

You would show up at a research lab around 10 PM, and you would go to sleep (no eating). The researchers would wake you up around 6 AM and start poking and probing you (again no eating). After a bunch of weighing and measurements, you would start working out around 9 AM…you still haven’t eaten yet.

This would be one of the toughest workouts you have ever done. Most likely you would do 10 sets of 8 reps on the leg press machine, followed by 8 sets of 8 reps on the leg extension machine. All of your reps would be done at 80% of your one rep max. Like I said, it's one brutal workout. It’s about 10am now, still haven’t eaten.

After your workout you would be given a drink that contains 3 to 6 grams of essential amino acids (the same amount of amino acids found in a glass of milk).

After that, the researchers would take measurements for the next 4 hours and measure your rate of "protein syntheses". This is pretty much the standard protocol for these types of studies.

And guess what they found?

An increase in protein synthesis over these four hours. So what does this prove? It proves that if you haven’t eaten since 10 PM the night before, do a brutal workout at 9 AM the next morning, and drink a glass of milk, you will increase your protein synthesis for four hours!

So much for needing 30 grams of protein, and so much for needing protein every couple hours.

You know what else? The only reason for protein synthesis increasing for 4 hours is because after 4 hours the researchers stopped measuring. Who knows how long you would have stayed in a muscle building state. Some researchers have estimated that a single workout can put you into ‘muscle building mode’ for as long as 48 hours after your workout!

Even more interesting is that researchers have found similar results when they made people drink the amino acids before their workout, and even when they made them wait and drink the amino acids a couple hours after their workout!

First, the TYPE of protein you are consuming does matter
You can get it from a variety of sources, with the difference being the rate at which the body absorbs and uses it. For practical purposes know this, the average person has the ability to process and use:

Egg protein 1.3 grams/hour
Casein isolate - 6.1 grams/hour
Whey isolate - 8-10 grams/hour
At BEST if all your protein comes from Whey the most you can process in 24 hours is 240 grams. Bear in mind for even that to be the case; you have to ingest it through out the day fairly evenly. So, clearly any recommendation that puts the average person over this amount is false.

Secondly, not all of your body weight needs protein. Fat doesn’t

So don’t feed it. Calculating the body weight used without removing your fat stores results in too much protein, which in and of itself isn’t unhealthy. But it does mean that you are likely taking in too many CALORIES in total, which results in additional FAT GAIN, which is unhealthy. 

Thirdly, the FDA’s RDA is for sedentary adults

For babies and young children they double it to .75 gram per day per pound. Why? They are growing of course. Obviously then if your goal is to add lean muscle mass you too will grow. So at least .75 is needed. In fact it has been determined that 1.1 to 1.5 gram is good for active, strength training adults.

Lastly and most importantly, no amount of protein matters if you are not hitting the weights.

If anybody tells you that more protein will make up for any shortcomings in your training they are wrong. Erratic, high rep, low weight training will not add muscle mass even if you take Whey protein 24/7 intravenously.

In conclusion the amount of protein needed to add lean muscle mass is determined this way:

Your weight - (Your body weight X %body fat)] X 1.3* = Grams per day of protein
Example 1: you weigh 200 lbs and your body fat is 15%
[200 – (200 x .15)] = 170 x 1.3* = 221 grams Example 2: you weigh 200 lbs and your body fat is 25% [200 – (200 x .25)] = 150 x 1.3* = 195 grams 

* Younger people can use the 1.5 multiplier and be fairly safe in avoiding fat gain.

Have a nice night! :)

Does The Iced Green Tea Provide The Same Health Benefits as Hot One?

Many people all over the world enjoy the benefits of green tea these days. Loaded with antioxidants and nutrients that aid in preventing the onset of a wide range of ailments, the options for loose tea, green tea bags, and various sorts of green tea powders and supplements have never been more plentiful. In the midst of all this consumption of green tea products, there is the question of whether or not iced green tea is as healthy as hot green tea. The answer to that question has a lot to do with the type of product used, and the method of brewing.
With commercially brewed green tea beverages, the issue is not so much whether the iced green tea is healthier than a commercial beverage that is warmed before consumption. Rather, the focus is on what ingredients other than green tea is found in the beverage. In some cases, the product has very little tea, but is heavy on carbonated water and artificial flavors that provide no nutritional value whatsoever. In this scenario, it makes little difference whether the beverage is served hot or cold, since the nutritional content of the beverage itself is quite low.

When the hot or iced green tea is prepared using loose tea or even pre-packaged teabags, there is often a concern about the role of oxidation in the preparation of the tea. One school of thought holds that subjecting the tea to excessively hot temperatures decreases the presence of antioxidants in the brewed tea. According to this concept, tea that is brewed using water near body temperature is a better option, and has the added benefit of preventing the tea from becoming bitter. After the steeping is complete, the tea should be consumed either by drinking at room temperature or allowing it to chill in a refrigerator for a short time. In either case, drinking the tea soon after brewing is considered the best way to get the most nutrition from the drink.

Others believe that iced green tea does not lose its nutritional value, and has just as many benefits as hot green tea. Here again, the method of brewing is considered important. One approach calls for pouring cold water into a clear glass container, and adding either green tea bags of loose green tea contained in a tea ball to the water. The container is placed in the sun for a couple of hours, allowing the tea to steep as the sun’s rays gradually increase the temperature of the water. From there, the tea can be poured over ice and enjoyed as a refreshing beverage on a hot summer day, with no fears of losing any of the health benefits.

There is some support for the idea that while iced green tea and hot green tea both contain a substantial amount of nutrients and antioxidants, those nutrients are more readily absorbed when the tea is hot. Cold beverages must be warmed within the body to a certain temperature before they begin to break down and allow absorption into the bloodstream. By drinking hot tea instead, the nutrients spread throughout the body faster, providing nourishment at a more efficient pace.

Since both iced green tea and hot green tea are consumed in both Eastern and Western cultures, supporters for both approaches are readily found in just about any setting. The difference of opinion tends to settle on the use of fresh tea leaves, versus commercial products such as lattes made with green tea powder, or various forms of diet supplements. Research that indicates that hot wins out over iced green tea, or vice versa, is not universally accepted, with critics usually pointing out flaws in the testing methods or the selection of the tea used for the research. At present, green tea lovers should choose iced or hot tea based on personal preference, making sure to use tea products that are not loaded with a lot of extra ingredients.

Have a nice weekend! :)

Does Walking Really Help You Lose Weight?

In this post I want to talk about walking as a form of exercise and whether it will really help you to lose weight.

Does walking really burn fat?

I understand that this issue is going to be close to many readers’ hearts. For a lot of us, walking has formed the basis of our weight loss program and as such we have become quite attached. However, I feel it is important to write honestly as there are a lot of women out there placing all their hope in a morning walk.
The truth is that walking does work. It will help you burn enough calories to lose weight.
However. There are things you need to do in order to make sure your walks are effective. These factors are so crucial to your progress it is vital that you know them.

How to ensure your walks are burning fat?!

1. Walking needs to be done before breakfast
Walking is a very low intensity exercise. It gets your heart rate up but not enough that you will burn many calories after the session is finished. For this reason you need to make sure it is done before breakfast. Why? Because as soon as you give your body some fuel (food) it will use that instead of your fat stores for energy.

2. Walking needs to be done for at least 45 minutes
Science has shown that you don’t start tapping into your fat stores until around the 30 minute mark. That means that for the first half an hour your body is relying on mostly calories for its energy. Sure, some fat is getting burned but not very much. Try and make sure your walks are at least 45 minutes long if you want to tap into the annoying fat stores on your butt, thighs, legs, abs and love handles.

3. Walking needs to be fast
A walk is not a walk. All walks are not created equal. If you are doing walking as a form of exercise you need to be going at it a lot harder than if you were going for a leisurely walk in the park. A slow plodded walk will not do anything. However, a fast paced, arm pumping, lung burning race walk will burn a lot of calories.

4. Your walks need to progress
If you walk the same distance and the same pace for the same amount of time everyday for a year you are going to stop making progress. This is one of the biggest mistakes that women make when using walking as a form of weight loss. As walking is quite low in intensity you need to make sure you are making it harder all the time. If you don’t, it will soon start to plateau and you won’t make any new progress.

5. A post-dinner walk is a giant advantage
Going for a walk after dinner is one of the best things you can do for your weight. Why? Because you will use up some of your dinner calories that would otherwise get stored as fat while you sleep. Many women have lost a tonne of weight by going for a walk before bedtime. I highly recommend it.

Conclusion

Walking does burn fat and it will help you lose weight. However, it is important to take on board the tips I have given as these make the process a lot faster and more effective. And remember, not all walks are created equal. Make sure yours count.

Have a peaceful night! ^_^

Do Tanning Beds Cause Skin Cancer and Other Harmful Effects?

Before one can discuss harmful effects of tanning equipment and increased sun exposure, one must be familiar with the components of ultraviolet light and how affects the skin.

What is UV radiation?
Sunlight contains two types of ultraviolet (UV) light: UVA and UVB. UVA rays consist of longer wavelengths that penetrate deep into the dermal layer of skin. Limited exposure to UVA rays causes skin to tan; however, most experts agree that overexposure to UVA can lead to other long-term skin damage. UVB rays wavelengths are much shorter, affecting the outermost layers of skin. UVB rays are known as the "burning rays" and are considered more dangerous. Tanning beds and sun lamps generally emit 93% to 99% UVA radiation increasing the benefits of a tan This is three times the UVA radiation given off by the sun

What is the difference between a tan and sunburn?

It is also important to know what happens to the skin as it is tanned or burned and what the long-term, harmful effects may be. UVB rays are most responsible for a skin's burning. The rays actually pop the capillaries just beneath the surface of the skin .Long-wavelength; UVA rays have totally different results on the skin. As UVA rays penetrate into the skin, melanin granules are oxidized and tan, or, turn golden brown. However, UVB rays are required to stimulate these melanin granules to rise to the skin's surface, especially in skin that possesses small amounts of the pigment, melanin.

What makes tanning beds safer?

Most tanning bed industries agree that indoor tanning is much safer than receiving outdoor exposure to the sun. Light emitted from tanning equipment contains approximately 40% less UVB rays, the most harmful type of radiation, than does light from the sun. Tanning beds, therefore, have the power to control exposure time and the ratio of UVA to UVB rays for a "perfect balance" .Since tanning beds filter out most of the burning UVB rays, chances of getting burned decrease dramatically. Therefore, the companies can claim that the tanning beds cannot be any more harmful than the sun.

Tanning salons also state that some UV radiation is needed for the manufacturing of vitamin D. Vitamin D certifies that a constant level of calcium remains in the blood and controls its absorption. In an advertisement for tanning equipment, one tanning bed company, The Beach House Tanning, claims that the sun is the only source of Vitamin D. However, vitamin D is also found in foods such as dairy products, cereal

In addition, tanning industries claim that UVA radiation has no harmful effects on the skin. They say that only UVB radiation can harm the outermost layer of the skin. Since UVA rays penetrate deep into the skin, then they say that tanning beds cannot cause any type of premature aging, burn the skin, or thicken the skin, revealing a leathery type appearance.

In fact, The Beach House Tanning states that it isn't safe not to tan. They report that avoiding the sun highly increases the risks for many cancers including skin cancer and that most studies prove that people who are not exposed to the sun on a regular basis have a greater chance of acquiring some forms of cancer. One study that was conducted showed that malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is actually more common in people who do not receive regular sun exposure and develops on areas that are not usually exposed to the sun.

Also, some sun exposure abates or retards the development of breast, colon, prostate, and ovarian cancers. Actually, many studies have shown that heredity and repeated sunburn, which are not caused by tanning beds, are the most prominent factors for skin cancer. Since tanning is, "your body's natural defense against sunburn," as stated by Beach House, and since, "tanning beds are a responsible way to get a base tan," as claimed by them, then it is safe to say that tanning beds are a reliable source of UV exposure.

Nearly every single article that was researched concluded that indoor tanning is directly linked to skin cancer, specifically malignant melanoma, and other numerous health problems. Although tanning industries claim that UVA radiation is safe, medical research disproves this theory.

Researchers say that because UVA rays penetrate deep into the skin, they destroy skin fibers and damage elasticity. Long-term effects of UVA rays include premature aging and wrinkles. Scientists agree that UVA rays are less likely to cause burns, but that they are still linked to malignant melanoma, damage to the immune system, weakening of the skin's inner tissue, and other types of skin cancers. In fact, studies show that large doses of UVA lead to an increased risk of developing skin cancer.

From his research, Dr. David Sidransky concluded that UVA radiation causes the same damage as UVB radiation to skin cells which leading to cancer. In cases where exposure to light was increased, it was more likely that the damage would exceed the constructive, cellular-repair mechanisms, and a tumor would be more likely to develop.

A study conducted in Sweden helps to prove that tanning beds are a major factor in the development of malignant melanoma. Different people, all under the age of 30, were included in the study. The data concluded that the people who used tanning beds more than 10 times a year were seven times more likely to develop malignant melanoma than those who did not use tanning beds as often. Researchers estimated that by the year 2000, the risk of developing skin cancer for those who did not use tanning beds would be one out of every 97 persons, and that the chances for those who did use tanning beds would be one out of every 13 persons. The study also concluded that melanoma risks are increased by 300% for those using tanning beds occasionally, and that the risks increase by 800% for those who use tanning beds more than 10 times a year.

Dr. Douglas Reintgen believed that as long as tanning devices were not used in excess and the customer avoided burns, then the equipment could be considered safe.

However, it has been proven that tanning beds do cause sunburns, and are, therefore, dangerous. Actually,one sunburn doubles the risk of developing skin cancer.

Tanning is also skin damage. Although skin cancer has been associated with UVB radiation and sunburns, scientists say that even tanning in moderation produces the same harmful effects, as would a burn. Tanning causes premature aging, causing the skin to appear leathery and wrinkled, and also damages the immune system. Other sources reveal that tanning always damages the skin. Plastic surgeon Dr. Dean Johnson who treats skin cancer patients in 25% of his surgeries, declares, "There is no safe tan"

A number of various authorities warn the public of the dangers of tanning devices:

Dermatologists believe that tanning beds are a leading factor in skin cancer cases. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lists tanning beds as possible health hazards and the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) encourage people to avoid using tanning and sun lamps Even the American Medical Association (ADA) and the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) are fighting to ban the use of tanning equipment for non-medical purposes.

Both types of UV radiation can cause damage to blood vessels, photosensitivity (allergic) reactions, or even eye damage). According to the CDC, tanning beds create problems in the eyes such as conjunctivitis and corneal infections. Ultraviolet rays can cause serious damage to the cornea and retina.

What are people's motives for tanning?

Why do people desire a tan? In general, most people are concerned about their appearance. It can be assumed that people desire to be considered beautiful by others and to have more pleasant features. The stereotypical good-looking person is usually a thin female or muscularly built male with nice, clean hair and bronze or tan skin.

In recent years there has been a tremendous amount of pressure placed upon females, especially teenagers, to become what the media considers to be a beautiful person. All this explains why more white female teens are using tanning equipment with disregard to medical warnings.

Why won't people listen?

Because of exposure to sun, tanning beds, and sun lamps, the number of skin cancer cases has increased dramatically. It has been predicted that this year, more than one million new skin cancer cases will be diagnosed. Also, malignant melanoma can be fatal if it is not detected early. This year in the United States, 38,000 cases and 7,300 deaths are being anticipated So, why are people not complying with the warnings? Why are people not changing poor skin care treatment?
Perhaps the public is not fully aware of the harmful effects of UV radiation. Most of skin cancer patients are over 50, but lately more teenagers have become victims, and this was probably due to the fact that now more than 2.5 million people are using tanning bed equipment daily (mostly teens).

Which group is right?

Although benefits do exist from choosing to use tanning beds over bathing outdoors in the sun, tanning bed industries have failed to mention many important and harmful risk factors of tanning equipment. The long-term effects of UVA radiation far exceed the short-term, ephemeral benefits, and trust should be placed into the hands of scientists, researchers, and doctors.

Have a beautiful Friday! ^_^