Ban the Tan

About author / Victoria Wesseler

Healthy eating advocate; master gardener; local food expert. Even veggie haters love her recipes.

Today I’m taking a bit of a departure from my healthy eating focus to write about something I am very passionate about—preventing skin cancer. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S. with over 1.3 million cases diagnosed last year alone. There are three types of skin cancer. The most common forms are basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The third most common is melanoma which is potentially deadly and is the leading cause of cancer fatalities in women ages 20-29.

When I was a teenager, my friends and I would slather on a homemade tanning lotion made from baby oil and iodine. Then we would sit in the sun and literally fry ourselves in the hopes of getting a “healthy tan”. Fortunately, my mother would usually catch me lying on my beach towel in the driveway (all the better to reflect those tanning rays) and tell me to come inside. She somehow instinctively knew that all that sun couldn’t be good for me. Now, 30 some years later, I have her to thank for a relatively unlined face and a skin cancer free body. But many of my friends were not so lucky.

There is no such thing as a “healthy tan.” The ultraviolet rays of the sun and those from tanning beds are classified as known carcinogens according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Skin cancer is on the rise in the United States and 1 in 5 of us will be diagnosed with it sometime during our lifetime.

Fortunately, you can take action to prevent getting skin cancer. First, stay out of tanning beds. They do not provide you with a “healthy base” for a tan. They are not safe. A friend of mine who is a dermatologist says that there’s a reason they’re shaped like coffins! Many of her female melanoma patients under age 30 have a history of tanning bed use. And if the skin cancer possibility doesn’t scare you, she also notes that transmission of wart viruses, bacterial infections and sexually transmitted diseases such as genital herpes also can occur when tanning beds are not properly sanitized. And she has the patients to prove it.

I know you have heard this a thousand times before, but it bears repeating: When you are out in the sun, frequently apply sunscreens with at least a 30 SPF, wear sun protective clothing, and wide brimmed hats.

Still want that bronzed goddess look? Check out the wonderful array of cosmetic tanning products at the drug store or beauty counter.

I cannot imagine all the time it takes to bake yourself in the pursuit of a tan. With all the things we have to do in our lives, that time can be put to much better use—like relaxing in the shade with a good book and a tall glass of this delicious Orange Lemonade!

Serves/Makes: 8

• 4 cups water
• 2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/4 cup extra fine white sugar (or to taste)
• mint sprigs for garnish, optional