You know that you need more vitamin D. If you don’t, you should know.

Because low levels of vitamin D (“the sunshine vitamin”) is one of the extremely risky factors for cancer. And Covid. And a whole lot of things.

Your skin takes sunshine in, and uses the sun rays to synthesize what we know as vitamin D.

Unfortunately, we’ve been brainwashed for decades into fearing sunshine. Slathering on suntan lotion prevents your body from getting the sun exposure needed to produce vitamin D. And that’s for those who actually go out in the sun. There are plenty who won’t go out in the sun at all.

But you NEED vitamin D, and the easiest way to get that is from sun exposure. (The tablet form of vitamin D is better than nothing, but not as easily absorbed by the body).

The usual cautions: don’t get burned. Go gradually – if you’ve been away from the pool or beach for the last twenty years, don’t stay out in the sun for eight hours your first day. It will not end well.

But get out in the sun. You really, really do need it. Problem: you don’t live in Miami or Mallorca. So what do you do? Well, first, get out in the sun when you can. I’m in North Carolina, and we enjoy the sun from around the middle of April until the end of September. So outside of that time frame, I go to a tanning bed twice a week. I suggest you do the same.

It’s going to cost you around $25 a month, more or less depending on where you are. Many tanning places are also hair salons – the tanning is an add on they use for their business. There are usually two types of “beds”offered, a lay down bed or a stand up. The lay down is the more traditional, and the bulbs not as intense, so you’ll probably do 15-20 minutes in a lay down bed, while you’re likely to do 10 minutes or so in a stand up.

If you’ve never done a tanning bed before, ask someone on the staff to show you how to do it. They will strongly encourage you to wear protective goggles. Wear them! It’s important for eye protection..

As I said earlier, if you’re able to get a lot of consistent outdoor sun count your blessings. You probably don’t need a tanning bed. But if you’re anywhere north, find a place to tan, and use it. You will feel better, look better, and the act itself feels nice, like that pleasant feeling after an hour in the sun. Who doesn’t want that?