Sunshine is Medicine

Everything in nature seeks the sun:

  • Flowers turn to face it

  • Fruit ripens with it

  • Animals come out to graze it in

  • Plants grow as they catch it

  • Water reflects it

  • Only humans slather toxins on their skin to block it.

Sunshine is medicine and vital to our wellbeing.

As we come into summer, it is important to take care not to burn and be sun smart, especially in midday sun; however daily sun exposure on our skin is the most efficient way for the body to synthesise vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin.

Vitamin D is vital for:

- immune system function: activating T cells which fight infection.

- mental wellbeing: helps decrease depression.

- regulating calcium in the blood: supporting health of bones and teeth.

- reducing inflammation

Sunshine is nature's hug

Why are the rates of skin cancer 5 times higher today than they were in the 1970s despite prevention strategies??

Research highlights vitamin D helps support the immune system to fight cancer. People with melanoma fare less well if they are vitamin D deficient. Recent studies reveal that approximately 45% of people are now vitamin D deficient.

Studies also show the average person now spends 7% of their waking time outside in the sunshine. In the 1800s it was 50%.

Is it possible that "the baby has been thrown out with the bathwater" i.e. something essential - sunshine - has been vilified, when trying to reduce skin cancer rates???

The factors that increase risk for skin cancer are:

  • sunburn,

  • high ultraviolet light, and

  • tanning beds,

    However there are other risk factors which seem to get less press:

  • smoking,

  • alcohol, and

  • a low antioxidant diet.

Daily sunshine is a powerful way to care for your health and wellbeing. Try a few of these ideas to incorporate sunshine into your day:

- go for a walk each morning.

- spend 15 minutes in your garden each day.

- eat your lunch outside to take a break from work.

- lay on the ground and watch the clouds float by.

- take your book outside to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.

God said "let there be light" and declared it good.

Do you want to know how good light is??

The infrared rays of sunlight are absorbed through your skin (and light clothing) to illuminate and enhance your mitochondrial function. (The powerhouse of the cell.)

Infrared sunlight stimulates intra mitochondrial melatonin - a super antioxidant which does powerful clean up work in the cell. No wonder we feel good in the sunshine!

Infrared rays are strongest in the early morning and late afternoon.

Near infrared rays can even penetrate the skull and it diffuses light all around the brain, stimulating the grey matter. It is documented that students perform better in natural light and are less aggressive.

Sanitoriums used to take beds outside because they knew the healing benefits of sunshine. Optimising sun exposure may be a public health intervention and its a pretty old therapy.

Sunshine is medicine!

Sunshine can improve mood by increasing production of serotonin in the brain. This explains why in winter when there is less sunshine hours and intensity, some people get SAD (seasonal affective disorder) as serotonin levels in the brain are lower.

Sunlight can improve sleep quality. Morning light exposure in the eyes is an important cue to wake and helps regulate your circadian rhythm.

Sunlight kills bacteria. A study shows that 12% of bacteria survived in a darkened room, but after exposure to sunlight, bacteria were reduced by half.

Sunshine provides a myriad of health benefits.

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Pure Water is Medicine