Where to buy a UVB light?

[CCS]

We know we need UVB light to make vitamin D. What if there are other vitamins not yet discovered that also require sunlight?
Vitamin D is made when radiation strikes oils in your skin. If you wash the oils off, say, in a shower, you wash away the vitamin D too, which is why many people are deficient despite sun exposure.

Sunlight has 95% UVA and UVB, but that really depends on angle in the sky.
Tanning beds are 97/3 UVA and UVB, or up to 5% uvb
On Amazon, you can buy lamps that are 30/10 UVA and UVB

Both can cause cancer, but UVA is more responsible for that because we get more of it, through windows or in the morning.
Both can cause burns, but UVB is far more responsible for that. You need hours to get burned by UVA on an overcaste day.
Only UVB makes vitamin D, which you need to prevent cancer. It also destroys vitamin D.
UVA is believe to stimulate appetite in bearded dragons.
UVB is higher frequency than UVA yet somehow does not penetrate as deep. I believe it since a similar phenomina is well known in laser hair removal lasers.


I want a UV light that has visible light so I know it is on, but is 30 UVB 10 UVA. I can then put it under a heavy blanket so my eyes are not hit, and I can move it about and get my good UVB light that way year round.


I'll look around for more bulbs, but please help me look.

And maybe follow the advice: only wash where the sun don't shine, and just rinse or wipe everywhere else.

 

[CCS]

http://www.natbiocorp.com/narrow-band-uvb.htm

The bulbs are expensive. They can't patent the frequency, but maybe they can patent any bulb that uses that frequency.

UVA is what tans you, not UVB. And tans reduce vitamin D production.

Vitamin D pills are maid from the oil of sheep wool.

We need to find the patent. I bet all bulbs will be expensive because of royalties. Maybe the method is simple and we can make our own at home. At $1600, they are marketting this only to the super rich, and giving the finger to the rest of us. That or it really costs that much to make.

 

[CCS]

Here is what I found:
DNA absorbs lots of UVB light below 305 nm, as well as a small bump of UVA around 330 to 360 nm. Although vitamin D is made fastest at 297 nm, the sweet spot frequency is 308 nm since not as much damage is done. You need to get a prescription to get a lamp that does just 308, but you are free to buy a UVB lamp that has UVC rays, which are very damaging and normally kept out by our atmosphere.

As for tanning beds, they peak around 360, and have a small spike around 314 nm. They do make some vitamin D, but not enough to be worth the radiation at 303 nm. I suspect they would be safer for tanning if they ran from 360 nm to 380 nm.


In summary, we have the knowledge and technology to have very safe, healthy, effective tanning beds. However, there is too much fda red tape. I'm trying to find glass screens I can use to optimize stuff.

If you tan, tan at peak noon, and do not wash off your oils. 10 minutes of full body exposure is best. Maybe vitamin D3 pills are better.
I don't know if there is a different vitamin our body makes and needs sunlight for. I still think direct sun light is inferior to the right frequencies.

 

[CCS]

OK, here is a summary of the useful info I found:


Vitamin D3 pills help absorb calcium, but they do not help your immune system or mental health. You need Vitamin D sulfate from the sun for those two.

If you sunbathe with the sun directly overhead, you get too many rays between 290 nm and 300 nm, which is where most burning happens. If you go out to early or late in the day, you only get rays above 315 nm, and thus don't get vitamin D made. You get a tan, but no D. The optimal time is when your shadow is a bit shorter than you are tall, maybe 50-80%. It definitely needs to be less than 100%, though I don't know the perfect angle.

Tanning beds have a pretty good ratio of rays, maybe better than the sun, but they are too intense, often 3x as strong as the sun. It is better to have less intense for longer. If you use a sheet or anything, it first blocks the UVB that makes vitamin D.

UVB bulbs have rays as low as 275 nm, which never makes it through the thick atmosphere. They are bad, for you and for lizards, though lizards die without uvb.

There are prescription lamps that have the optimal wave lengths for making vitamin D without burning, but we don't know if maybe there are other vitamins we need full spectrum for. They do treat skin conditions, but FDA does not want us getting that narrow of a wavelength unless we need it.

Vitamin D is made in your oil glands. If you wash with soap right after sun bathing, you wash away most of your vitamin D with the oils. It needs several hours to diffuse into your blood. It is made from cholesterol and sulfur, so you need some cholesterol or saturated fat and sulfur in your diet. Vegetarians watch out. Vitamin D2 is in plants and also does not have the benefits of sun made vitamin D sulfate.

Finally, you need about 10-20 minutes of full body exposure to make the right amount of vitamin D. I do 10 minutes per day, 5 each side. More than 20 minutes will not make more. There are feedback inhibition processes, including the sun breaking it down. After that you just get burned.

 

[CCS]

I think the moral of this thread is, be careful what you wish for. And research research research. I remember when I once wanted some flutamine.

 

[Jacob]

http://tanningbeds.mercola.com/tanning-beds/standup-tanning-systems.aspx if you haven't already been there.

 

[CCS]

I did not know about the value of blue light at 418 nm and red light at 633 nm.
I do know the sun has an even spectrum, whereas most bulbs have spikes at blue, yellow, and red. I'll have to see if those spikes are near 418 and 633.



What bohers me is that mercola does not show the graphical spectrum of the light. Also, mercola does not state how many watts ieach bulb is, nor does he compare this to the intensity of commercial tanning beds. Most tanning beds are 3x as strong as the sun. The fact that mercola said "more power means shorter times which means longer bulb life" further worries me. Because of the orientation and shape of the bulbs, their distance from your skin does not matter much.




All I know about the sun is that its total energy from UV all the way to radiowaves adds up to 1000 W/m2 on a sunny summer day. Not sure if arizona lattitude or equater. I also know that about 5% of the UV is UVB, but I don't know how much of the total energy is UVB and how much is visible light.

 

[CCS]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Solar_Spectrum.png


Integrating the area of the UV on that map from 300 to 400, x 0.5 W/m2, x 1/2 since it is a trangle, I get 25 watts per square metter for the strength of the sun's UV rays.


Suppose you have a 1.5 meter long blub suspended a foot above your body, running lenthwise with it. 6.3 feet. Say your body is 1.5 feet wide. To provide 25 W/m2 over your body, the bulb needs to be 1.5 x 6.3/1.5 x 25 = 160 watts.

If the total wattage for the bed is over 400, it is too strong. If they have mirrors, they should probably be able to use only 100 watts and still have enough, plus more for the visible light. Count the bulbs and found our how many watts each is.

Oh, and very important: the rated watts is how much electricity is used, not how much is outputted. A 100 watt incandecent bulb probably emits 5 or at most 15 watts of actual energy. So for that reason, give these people another 400% of leeway. The beds do get hot.


http://www.google.com/imgres?q=fluoresc ... 0,s:8,i:93
As you can see, fluorescent bulbs do not have the 418nm peaks, and they also are a bit lacking at 633. I'm going to research this more before I believe the value of those peaks.

 

[Thom]

I bought a "Happy Light" from Brookstone that is supposed to help me increase my vitamin D levels. I started suspecting I have minor Seasonal Affective Disorder in the Winter season. Seems to work for me.

I don't get terribly depressed, just melancholy.

 

[CCS]

Not only are there those benefits, UV light causes your body to release endorphins, the same feel good molecule from exercise.