Sunlight – Nature’s Most Healing Agent

Sunlight is one of nature’s most healing agents.    (Testimonies for the Church., V. II, p. 527)

What is vitamin D?

Vitamin D is actually a hormone.  Unlike other essential vitamins, which must be obtained from food, vitamin D is synthesized in the skin through sunlight exposure.  Every cell in the body has a receptor site for two hormones; they are vitamin D and the Thyroid hormone; every cell means from your brain cell to your toe cell.

“Vitamin D deficiency is a global pandemic that has serious health consequences for children and adults. Improvement in the world’s vitamin D status could significantly reduce risk of many chronic illnesses including cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes and eighteen deadly cancers as well as infectious diseases including upper respiratory tract infections, influenza and tuberculosis.”    -Michael Holick, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine Physiology and Biophysics at Boston University School of Medicine

What does vitamin D do in the body?

The body produces certain compounds that acts like antibiotics and antiviral agents when it is exposed to the sun.

It enhances muscle mass and muscle strength, even the Heart muscle.

Sunlight exposure produces nitric oxide naturally which aids in lowering blood pressure. – Edinburgh University Researchers  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-22433359

It enhances the immune system i.e. unless we have adequate stores of vitamin D the immune system will be hypofunctioning allowing individuals to get infections easily (virus, bacteria).

The body produces certain compounds that act like antibiotics and antiviral agents when it is exposed to the sun.

Men are at risk for:

• Prostate enlargement and cancer by 95%
• Women who are vitamin D deficient is at risk for:
• Getting Breast Cancer by 600%
• Hormonal imbalance by 95%  (Fibroids)
• Polycystic Ovaries (PCOS) by 85%
• Colorectal Cancer by 253%

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, reporting that women in Saudi Arabia who have low vitamin D levels have 600% risk of having breast cancer than women with higher levels. The case-control study analyzed data from 120 breast cancer cases and an equal amount of controls.

The study found that Saudi Arabian women in the lowest vitamin D category, less than 25 nmol/L (10 ng/ml), had six times the risk for evasive breast cancer as people in the highest category of vitamin D status, greater than 50 nmol/L (20 ng/ml).    – Vitamin D status and breast cancer in Saudi Arabian women: case-control study. Am J Clin Nutr July 2013;98:105-110

Sunlight and Cancer

Vitamin D has a protective effect against cancer in several ways, including:

• Increasing the self-destruction of mutated cells (which, if allowed to replicate, could lead to cancer)
• Reducing the spread and reproduction of cancer cells
• Causing cells to become differentiated (cancer cells often lack differentiation)
• Reducing the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, which is a step in the transition of dormant tumors turning cancerous

You may be sun sensitive because:

• You are not used to the sun
• Medication you may be using
• Particular illness  or  Vitamin D deficiency

Therefore we recommend:

• Be exposed to sunlight gradually
• Supplement initially to build up vitamin D level so you can tolerate the sunlight
• Avoid getting sunburned

How to avoid getting sunburned?

• When out in the sun, it is best to protect the body by wearing long sleeves.
• Wear a hat to protect the head.
• Drink lots of water to be hydrated.
• Dressing against the heat.

Protect the skin from the direct rays of the sun with loose, cotton clothing that fully covers the arms and the legs.

Note that in countries where the weather is very hot, clothing is loose fitting and covers the body well.

Use breathable material such as:

• Cotton
• Wool
• Silk
• Linen
• Bamboo

Do not use:

• Polyesters
• Nylons

Choose light colors that reflect the heat and thus keep the body cool.

Who are at risk for getting insufficient Vitamin D?

1. Young children who do not go outdoors.  They suffer from poor bone formation.
2. The elderly are at high risk for vitamin D deficiency by as much as 75% by the age of 70 years.
3. As one gets older, the skin does not produce much vitamin D as a young person does.
4. Go on a low-fat, plant-based diet.
5. The more antioxidants eaten from fruits and vegetables, the lower your risk of sunburn.

How does sunlight exposure create vitamin D in our body?

When the sun hits the skin it converts cholesterol under the skin into a pre-vitamin D.   That initial photosynthesis produces vitamin D3, most of which undergoes additional transformations, starting with the production of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D), the major form of vitamin D circulating in the bloodstream and the form that is routinely measured to determine a person’s vitamin D status. Although various cell types within the skin can carry out this transformation locally, the conversion takes place primarily in the liver. Another set of transformations occurs in the kidneys and other tissues, converting 25[OH]D  into 1,25(OH)D. This form of the vitamin D is actually a hormone, chemically akin to steroid hormones.

How much vitamin D do you need?

Adequate Levels of vitamin D are 40 ng/mL to 100 ng/mL.  Levels of 30 ng/mL to 40 ng/mL are low normal and for levels less than 30 ng/mL there is need to be concerned about deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency can have a huge impact on one’s health.  Calcium will not be absorbed in the body if the level of vitamin D is less than 30 ng/mL. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that women have a 600% risk of getting breast cancer when they are vitamin D deficient.

Lighter skinned individuals require 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight daily, while darker skinned individuals, because of the melanin in their skin, require six times more exposure to sunlight daily in order for their body to make vitamin D; therefore they require 45 minutes – 1 1/2 hours between the hours of 9:00am to 3:00pm or 10:00am to 2:00pm depending on the time of the year and where you are located in relation to the equator, when the UVB rays are at the highest to enable the liver and the kidneys to produce vitamin D3 in right quantities.   If you are not sure about a great time to get good UVB rays to make your vitamin D, simply stand in the sun and the closer your shadow is to you the better.

Who are at risk for vitamin D deficiency?

The elderly, infants, those who have excessive fat or those who spend lots of time indoors or avoid get sunlight exposure can be deficient.  In such case a vitamin D3 supplement will be needed. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, so it requires fat in order for it to be absorbed. Liquid vitamin D3 with fat is best and easily absorbed.  Vitamin D absorption works well with the intake of vitamins A, E and K.

The benefits of vitamin D in the body are tremendous.

Vitamin D helps to facilitate healthy bones thus preventing rickets or osteoporosis, jaundice, prevent all autoimmune diseases such as lupus, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, reduce inflammation and reset the circadian rhythm in the body, lower blood pressure by 8%, decrease blood cholesterol, lower blood sugar level, increase white blood cells thus building the immune system, heal tuberculosis, improve deep breathing, eliminate insomnia, improve blood circulation, reduce stress, relieve asthma and lots more.

In treating disease, it is important that your vitamin D level is sufficient.  Correct Levels of vitamin D are 70 ng/mL to 100 ng/mL (once the levels get above 150 ng/mL with supplement it can become toxic to the body however if the levels get above 150 ng/mL with Natural Sunlight then you are fine.) The 25-hydroxy vitamin D test is the most accurate way to measure how much vitamin D is in your body.  Once you know your level, if you need to increase it, you may consider taking 5000iu daily of vitamin D3 supplement until your levels are back in line.  For the colder climate, as a regular maintenance from June – September use the Natural Sunlight, May and October take 1000iu daily, April and November take 2000iu daily, March and December take 3000iu daily, January and February take 5000iu daily. Do Not exceed the recommended vitamin D level. Remember that the liquid vitamin D3 with fat is best and easily absorbed (vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, so it requires fat in order for it to be absorbed).

If you live in a warmer climate please use the natural sunlight for the recommended times above.

PS: If you are deficient in vitamin D, then you will need to take the prescription dosage of supplemental vitamin D or the equivalent of 20,000iu daily for 7 days, then you can resort to the 10000iu daily for three to four months then maintain with 6000iu daily until your level is adequate.