Sunlight, glorious sunlight! It lifts our spirits, and charges our biological batteries, and mental attitudes. But aside from those real benefits, sunlight plays a major role in general human health, the most important of which is the production of vitamin D. Technically, vitamin D, or D3 to be more precise, is not really a vitamin, but what is known as a prohormone, and it has a beneficial effect on the whole body. In fact receptors for vitamin D have been found in almost every kind of cells in the body, from liver to brain.
If you expose the skin regularly to ultraviolet light, you reduce the risk of many diseases, including cancer. Darker skinned people need more UVB exposure than light-skinned people. The only real risk for UVB is overexposure, where the skin burns. To minimize that danger, just avoid polyunsaturated free fats, and make sure your skin does not burn. Eat an abundance of fruits and vegetables, which are high in antioxidants. The higher your antioxidant intake from fresh fruit and vegetables, the lower your risk of free radical damage from sunburn. This discourse reminds me of what the prophet Malachi wrote: “But to you who fear My name, The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings” Enjoy the healing sunlight, in moderation, whenever you can!
The higher your intake of polyunsaturated fats like corn and canola, the higher your risk for skin cancer. That’s because these oils form prostaglandins in the skin, and make the skin more subject to burning, due to free radical damage. Furthermore, if you are deficient in omega 3 fats in your diet, you are at far more risk for skin cancers than exposure to the sun. If you have moderate sun exposure, your risk for melanoma, the most deadly skin cancer, is actually less!
Today, in our western society, it is more likely that you will die from cancer, than from a heart attack. The large increases in the cancer rates are certainly related to vitamin D deficiency in many people. Breast, colon, lung and prostate cancers are all related to vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D seems to protect us by increasing the destruction of damaged or mutated cells, reducing the reproduction and spread of cancer cells. In addition, vitamin D reduces the growth of new blood vessels that feed cancer cells.
Another effect of vitamin D produced by moderate sunlight exposure is that it causes T-lymphocytes to change shape and migrate to the upper layers of the skin. This may help to explain why vitamin D has a protective effect against skin cancers. Exposure to the sun also increases antimicrobial peptides that attack viruses and bacteria, and increases the production of lymphocytes. This explains why in the 19th century, sunlight was used extensively for the cure of TB. Auguste Rollier was famous for curing a large number of TB cases using his sunlight exposure techniques. One Indonesian study found that by administering 10,000 units of vitamin D each day, it resulted in a 100% cure rate for TB!
Sunlight has also been shown to be effective against several other diseases including anthrax, cholera, dysentery, influenza, staph germs, strep and others. According to the British Journal of Nutrition, sunlight exposure is also effective in fighting heart disease. It does so by increasing the suppression of calcification of the arteries, due to its ability to increase several anti-inflammatory agents. The vitamin D from sunlight is also effective against preeclampsia, a serious disease that can be deadly to both mother and baby. It is in fact caused by vitamin D deficiency.
In addition, adequate levels of vitamin D are necessary to effectively combat autoimmune diseases, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, and Crohn’s disease. It’s very important to optimize the levels of vitamin D for people who have these conditions. The best test for vitamin D levels in humans is the 25-hydroxy vitamin D test. Your levels should never be below 32 ng/ml. A level below 20 ng/ml is considered to be a serious deficiency of vitamin D. Optimally, you should be at 50-55 ng/ml. This level corresponds to a supplemental intake of 4,000 IU of vitamin D per day.
In late winter in the US, the average per person is only at 15-18 ng/ml, which is a serious deficiency state. As many as 90% of seniors are deficient, and 70% of the general American public. Vitamin D deficiency is epidemic in people with darker skin. As mentioned before, more sun exposure is required for those populations. Among diabetics, 60% are also vitamin D deficient.
Here’s the bottom line… you need sunlight, which is the ideal way to make vitamin D. In the winter, a supplement can be helpful, but you must avoid overdosing on Vitamin D, since that can be toxic. Vitamin A serves as a protector against toxic vitamin D exposure in the body. Get outside and get some sun! Stay away from polyunsaturated oils, which make it easier for you to burn. The sun is a healer, and we should get some natural light every day, if possible!
