Tanning can be dangerous!

I can attest to this article! From working at a tanning salon in high school to being raised by a family who LOVES the california sun, I have always been obsessed with being tan and warm! When I was tanning, it was VERY addictive! I've gone through phases where I tan and then I stop. But when I'm tanning I just can't seem to get enough! Wait, let me clarify ... I USE to feel that way! Then, after a little visit to the dermatologist last year I was scared out of my mind. I went in for a routine check up and 2 minutes later I'm having pieces of skin removed and stitched up. I had let go of my love for tanning beds and have given up worshipping the sun in the summer. It's hard, but I know it's worth it for my health. Please read this if you tan or are thinking about tanning.

How Tanning Changes the Brain
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR

The brains of frequent tanners may be similar to those of addicts.
People who frequently use tanning beds experience changes in brain activity during their tanning sessions that mimic the patterns of drug addiction, new research shows.

Scientists have suspected for some time that frequent exposure to ultraviolet radiation has the potential to become addictive, but the new research is the first to actually peer inside the brains of people as they lay in tanning beds.

What the researchers found was that several parts of the brain that play a role in addiction were activated when the subjects were exposed to UV rays. The findings, which appear in the coming issue of the journal Addiction Biology, may help explain why some people continue to tan often despite awareness about risks such as skin cancer, premature aging and wrinkles.

“What this shows is that the brain is in fact responding to UV light, and it responds in areas that are associated with reward,” said Dr. Bryon Adinoff, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and an author of the study. “These are areas, particularly the striatum, that we see activated when someone is administered a drug or a high-value food like sugar.”

Despite all the public warnings about skin cancer, tanning remains as popular as ever, with nearly 30 million Americans tanning indoors every year, and more than a million visiting tanning salons on an average day. Frequent users say they simply enjoy the way they look with darker skin.

But in recent years, scientists also began to wonder whether deliberately ignoring the potentially lethal side effects of regular UV exposure was a sign that the motivation for frequent tanners was more than skin-deep. Could habitual tanning be an addictive behavior?

A study in 2005 did show that a large proportion of sunbathers met the psychiatric definition of a substance abuse disorder, based on their answers to a variation of a test often used to help diagnose alcohol addiction.

But Dr. Adinoff and his colleagues decided to go a step further. They recruited a small group of people from tanning salons who said that they liked to tan at least three times a week and that maintaining a tan was important to them. The frequent tanners agreed to be injected with a radioisotope that allowed researchers to monitor how tanning affected their brain activity.

On one occasion, the study subjects experienced a normal tanning session. But on another occasion, the researchers used a special filter that blocked only the UV light, although the tanners weren’t told of the change.

Brain images later showed that during regular tanning sessions, when the study subjects were exposed to UV rays, several key areas of the brain lighted up. Among those areas were the dorsal striatum, the left anterior insula and part of the orbitofrontal cortex – all areas that have been implicated in addiction. But when the UV light was filtered out, those areas of the brain showed far less activity.

The researchers also found evidence that the tanners appeared to know — on a subconscious level, at least — when they had undergone sham tanning sessions and not received their usual dose of UV rays. The tanners, questioned after each session, expressed less desire to tan after the real sessions, indicating they had gotten their fill. But on days when the tanners were unknowingly deprived of the UV rays, their desire to tan after the session remained as high as it was before the session began.

“They all liked the session where they got the real UV light,” said Dr. Adinoff. “There was some way people were able to tell when they were getting the real UV light and when they were not.”

Dr. Adinoff said the research suggests that some people appear addicted to tanning, a finding bolstered by the fact that many longtime tanners have a difficult time stopping or even just cutting back on tanning sessions. He said the research was inspired by a colleague, based on her experiences with dermatology patients.

“She approached me because of her concern about young adults who were coming to see her with these beautiful bronze tans,” he said. “And she would cut out skin cancers, and they would immediately go back to tanning.”

The Diet Detective: Fall Into Healthy Eating Habits

By Charles Stuart Platkin for Active.com

It's that time of year when it starts to get dark early, the days get cooler--in other words, it's the fall. And something else happens as well--we start eating more.

People show a marked seasonal rhythm with increased total caloric consumption, especially from carbohydrates, in the fall, associated with an increase in meal size and a greater rate of eating. (Interestingly, alcohol intake has a different seasonal pattern, with the highest intake occurring in the summer and the lowest in the fall.)

According to John de Castro, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas, El Paso, "We have a tendency to eat about 200 calories more per day during the fall." What does that translate to in terms of potential weight gain? As much as three to four pounds a year. "We tend to blame much of this 'fall' weight gain on the holidays; however, there are other causes," says de Castro, who excluded the holiday periods from his research.

Why We Eat More

Why do we eat more in the fall? More than likely, it's biological--putting on weight in preparation for the potential winter famine our ancestors faced. "It all makes sense--the fall harvest, storing up for the long winter months," explains de Castro. Historically, we have a tendency to eat when food is plentiful, because we never knew when our next meal was going to be available.

Kurt Krauchi, a scientist at the Psychiatric University Clinic in Basel, Switzerland, studied patients with seasonal affective disorder (a type of mood disorder that is caused by lack of light). He found that they ate more carbohydrates, particularly sweets but also starch-rich foods, during their depression in winter, and that their intake could be reduced with light therapy.

"There seems to be a relationship between light and depression, which leads to consumption of additional carbohydrates," says Krauchi. De Castro, however, found an increase in fall eating independent of decreased light and/or depression.

Tips For a Healthy Fall

Perhaps we eat more simply because bathing suit season is over, and we can start hiding excess calories beneath our winter clothes. Whatever the reason, it's important to realize that fall foods (soups, stews, breads, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, apples, pumpkins and all types of greens) can actually be healthier than foods of other seasons. They are typically packed with great nutrients, such as fiber, protein, beta carotene and vitamin C. Here are a few tips to keep the fall tasty and healthy:

Soups are great for you if they're not made with cream or cheese. Just watch serving sizes--we tend to eat whatever's in our bowls.

Stews can be hearty and fattening. Use loads of fresh vegetables, and go light on the meat and potatoes.

Avoid unconscious eating while watching football and the new fall TV lineup. Never bring the whole bag or bowl of anything to the couch or coffee table--pre-measure it in the kitchen beforehand. When it comes to chips, make sure they're baked, not fried.

For pizza, watch the toppings--they can double the calories.

Celebrate the fall harvest in other ways besides making pies. Apples are low in calories when they're off the tree, not in a pie.

If it's gotta be pie, try making pumpkin pie with artificial sweetener, egg whites and low-fat milk. And of course, just have one piece. Keep in mind that pumpkin seeds have about 300 calories per 1/4 cup.

Turkey is healthy, as long as you keep it lean and white.

Get out and enjoy the fall weather. The air is cooler, the leaves are turning and the countryside becomes more scenic. It's the perfect time to go outdoors and do something: Take walks on the beach or by the lake; go to the zoo; or ride a bike.

Keep in mind that once we set the clocks back, it gets darker earlier, so there are fewer outdoor options for physical activities in the evening. Make adjustments by joining a gym, planning evening walks at the mall or becoming an early riser.

Charles Stuart Platkin is an Active Expert , nutrition and public health advocate, author of the best seller Breaking the Pattern (Plume, 2005), Breaking the FAT Pattern (Plume, 2006) and Lighten Up (Penguin USA/Razorbill, 2006) and founder of Integrated Wellness Solutions. Sign up for The Diet Detective newsletter free at www.dietdetective.com.

Source:http://www.active.com/nutrition/Articles/The_Diet_Detective__Fall_into_healthy_eating_habits.htm?cmp=17-1-1403