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Uncategorized / 11.22.2012 / No Comment

Lack of sunlight causing osteopaenia in sun-drenched areas

By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–

A physician from Japan, Dr. Sato, proved several years ago that osteoporosis is reversible and that fracture risk is profoundly reduced by sunbathing (Sato, Y. Amelioration of osteoporosis and hypovitaminosis D by sunlight exposure in stroke patients. Neurology 2003;61:338-42). Research from Spain has also shown that women who actively seek the sun have about 1/11 the risk of a fracture as those women who stay indoors (Larrosa, M. Vitamin D deficiency and related factors in patients with osteoporotic hip fracture. Med Clin (BARC) 2008;130:6-9).

Considering that sunlight exposure is established as a preventer and reverser of osteoporosis, it is good to see that others in the medical field have recognized that lack of sunlight is leading to terrible bone weakness, in this case, osteopenia (what I call “osteoporosis light”). Because of a tendency of women in Dubai to cover up and avoid the sun, the risk of osteopenia is seen at much younger ages than in the rest of the world. The take-away is that the human race needs to return to its sunlight roots or risk crumbling and falling apart. Please read the studies and help spread the word about how bone diseases can be prevented and reversed by regular sun exposure.

R ead the article.

Uncategorized / 11.20.2012 / No Comment

Redheads are more prone to melanoma regardless of sunlight exposure

By: Marc Sorenson, EdD Sunlight Institute–

I have often stated that melanoma is more common in people with type-1 (non-tanning, pale) skin, and that moles correlate to a higher risk of skin cancer regardless of sunlight exposure. Now, new research shows that the genetic makeup that accompanies red hair–not the amount of sun exposure–also correlates to an increased risk of melanoma. Read the article.

So what does this mean? Let’s stop attacking the sun and start addressing the real causes of skin cancers: 1. the presence of many moles on the skin[i], 2. Underexposure to sunlight[ii], 3. Lack of colorful fruits and vegetables in the diet[iii], 4. Drinking alcohol[iv], 5. Consumption of dairy products[v] and 6. Environmental pollutants such as PCBs.[vi] (see below for references). And of course, we have just established red hair as a risk factor for melanoma.

Exposure to sunlight has decreased dramatically in the last century, and sunscreen sales have exploded. During that same time there has been a concomitant exponential increase in melanoma. How then, can anyone in their right mind say that sunlight exposure causes melanoma? GET SERIOUS! The idea that sunlight causes melanoma, of course, is great way to sell sunscreens. Follow the money and you will discover the reasons for the promulgation of the sunlight/melanoma nonsense. Non-burning sunlight is our greatest friend and health enhancer. Check with your doctor before you make any changes in lifestyle.

[i] Green, A, et al. Risk factors for limb melanomas compared with trunk melanomas in Queensland. Melanoma Res 2012;22;86-91.

[ii] Godar DE, Landry RJ, Lucas AD. Increased UVA exposures and decreased cutaneous Vitamin D3 levels may be responsible for the increasing incidence of melanoma. Med Hypotheses 2009;72:434-43. Garland FC, White MR, Garland CF, Shaw E, Gorham ED. Occupational sunlight exposure and melanoma in the USA Navy. Arch Environ Health 1990; 45:261-67. Garsaud P, Boisseau-Garsaud AM, Ossondo M, Azaloux H, Escanmant P, Le Mab G. Epidemiology of cutaneous melanoma in the French West Indies (Martinique). Am J Epidemiol 1998;147:66-8.

Le Marchand l, Saltzman S, Hankin JH, Wilkens LR, Franke SJM, Kolonel N. Sun exposure, diet and melanoma in Hawaii Caucasians. Am J Epidemiol 2006;164:232-45.

Armstong K, Kricker A. The epidemiology of UV induced skin cancer. J Photochem Biol 2001;63:8-18

Crombie IK. Distribution of malignant melanoma on the body surface. Br J Cancer 1981;43:842-9.

Crombie IK. Variation of melanoma incidence with latitude in North America and Europe. Br J Cancer 1979;40:774-81.

Weinstock MA, Colditz,BA, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ. Bronstein, BR, Speizer FE. Nonfamilial cutaneous melanoma incidence in women associated with sun exposure before 20 years of age. Pediatrics 1989;84:199-204.

Tucker MA, Goldstein AM. Melanoma etiology: where are we? Oncogene 2003;22:3042-52.

Berwick M, Armstrong BK, Ben-Porat L, Fine J, Kricker A, Eberle C. Sun exposure and mortality from melanoma. J Nat Cancer Inst 2005;97:95-199.

Veierød MB, Weiderpass E, Thörn M, Hansson J, Lund E, Armstrong B. A prospective study of pigmentation, sun exposure, and risk of cutaneous malignant melanoma in women. J Natl Cancer Inst 2003;95:1530-8.

Oliveria SA, Saraiya M, Geller AC, Heneghan MK, Jorgensen C. Sun exposure and risk of melanoma. Arch Dis Child 2006;91:131-8.

Elwood JM, Gallagher RP, Hill GB, Pearson JCG. Cutaneous melanoma in relation to intermittent and constant sun exposure—the western Canada melanoma study. Int J Cancer 2006;35:427-33

[iii] Hughes, M. et al. Food intake and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin in a community: The Nambour skin cancer cohort study. Int J Cancer 2006; online publication ahead of print.

[iv] Millen et al,. Diet and Melanoma in a Case-Control Study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2004;13(6):1042-51

[v] Hughes, M. et al. Food intake and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin in a community: The Nambour skin cancer cohort study. Int J Cancer. 2006;15;119:1953-60.

[vi] Gallagher RP, Macarthur AC, Lee TK, et al. Plasma levels of polychlorinated biphenyls and risk of cutaneous malignant melanoma: a preliminary study. Int J Cancer 2011;15;128:1872-80.

Uncategorized / 10.29.2012 / No Comment

More research showing that sunlight is essential to Breast-cancer prevention

By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–

This is the latest of several studies indicating that women who receive less sunlight exposure are at greater risk for breast cancer. This time the research comes from Australia, and shows that women living in the southern part of the country, which is colder and has less sunlight, are more likely to contract the cancer. The research keeps coming, but is anyone in medical circles or government agencies paying any attention?

Read the article.

Uncategorized / 10.8.2012 / No Comment

Vitamin D gets an A.

By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–

This timely article reviews the evidence that vitamin D correlates to reduced risk of many cancers, and also presents the evidence that sunlight exposure not only builds vitamin D, but results in a decreased risk of melanoma. Particularly impressive is the inclusion of the research on which these statements are based.

Read the article.

Uncategorized / 10.7.2012 / No Comment

Could Sunlight Deficiency lead to erectile dysfunction (ED)? Could sunlight exposure or exposure to a tanning bed be as effective as Cialis?

By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–

Earlier this year I published, with the assistance of Dr. William B Grant, a paper entitled “Does Vitamin D Deficiency Contribute to Erectile Dysfunction (ED)?”[i] In that paper, we made the point that low levels of vitamin D correlated to increased risk of cardiovascular diseases including heart attacks, strokes and heart failure. For example, Giovannucci and colleagues showed that men with the lowest levels of serum vitamin D had a 2.4-times-increased risk of heart attack.[ii] ED is often an important indicator of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and a powerful early marker for asymptomatic CVD.Erection is a vascular event, and ED is often a vascular disease caused by endothelial damage and subsequent inhibition of vasodilation—the expansion of arterial width that is necessary for optimal blood flow throughout the body, including the penis.

One of the interesting findings of the literature search was the fact that sunlight stimulates vasodilation through a mechanism that has nothing to do with vitamin D. That mechanism is the production of nitric oxide (NO) by exposure to another spectrum of light, the non-vitamin-D-producing light called UVA. (NO is a well-known, potent vasodilator). Whole-body irradiation with UVA has been shown to lower blood pressure by stimulating NO production in the skin, which then significantly lowers blood pressure. These increased NO levels are accompanied by increased vasodilation and blood flow in the brachial artery.[iii] It is likely that such vasodilation may also enhance sexual function in men by increasing vasodilation and blood flow in the penile arteries, thereby reducing ED. If sunlight exposure causes vasodilation that lowers blood pressure, there is no reason to doubt that it would be a tremendous asset to men with ED. Both sunlight and tanning beds produce high quantities of UVA light. Perhaps research should be conducted to see whether Cialis or UVA exposure would cause the quickest relief of the ED condition. 🙂

One of our guests at our health resort (National Institute of Health and Fitness, http://www.nihf.com/ spent four weeks with us and sunbathed almost every day. His blood pressure decreased from 159/97 to 125/54 and leveled off at 115/70 when he returned home. I believe that the UVA light in the sunlight, and the subsequent production of NO, was greatly responsible for his blood pressure normalization. Now, I’m curious about his love life but probably won’t discuss it with him unless he volunteers!

At our health resort, we consider safe sun an integral part of our program. Call me at 888-798-6443 if you’d like to discuss this and other health benefits such as weight loss and reversal of diabetes.

[i] Sorenson M, Grant WB. Does vitamin D deficiency contribute to erectile dysfunction? Dermato-Endocrinology 4;2:128–136.

[ii] Giovannucci E, Liu Y, Hollis BW, Rimm EB. 25-hydroxy-vitamin D and risk of myocardial infarction in

men. Ann Intern Med 2008; 168: 1174-80.

[iii] Opländer C, Volkmar CM, Paunel-Görgülü A, van Faassen EE, et al. Whole body UVA irradiation lowers systemic blood pressure by release of nitric oxide from intracutaneous photolabile nitric oxide derivates. Circ Res. 2009;105:1031–40.

Uncategorized / 9.23.2012 / No Comment

More insanity; using sunscreen for all ages, even infants.

By: Dr. Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–

Should children over the age of six months use sunscreen year-round, even in sunless, cloudy weather? Of course not—but that idea may make $millions for the sunscreen manufacturers.

How convenient for the Skin Cancer Foundation to state, “for adequate protection against melanoma, non-melanoma skin cancers and photo-aging, everyone over the age of six months should use sunscreen daily year-round, in any weather.”[1] The Skin Cancer Foundation, of course, was founded by sunscreen manufacturers, which are forbidden by the FDA to claim that their products prevent melanoma. This statement by the FDA belies the claims of the Skin Cancer Foundation: “the available evidence fails to show that sunscreen use alone helps prevent skin cancer or premature skin aging. Thus, the anti-aging, skin cancer, and sun damage claims proposed by the comments [of the sunscreen industry] would be false or misleading due to lack of sufficient data in support of these claims.”[2] Dr. Bernard Ackerman, a celebrated dermatologist, has further stated, “…the American Academy of Dermatology, the Skin Cancer Foundation and the American Cancer Society sold their seals of recommendation to manufacturers of sunscreen, the price being substantial in terms of dollars but incalculable in regard to tarnish of honor.” He continued, “…sunscreen companies pay it [the Skin Cancer Foundation] many thousands of dollars annually in the hope of gaining many millions of dollars in return.”[3]

Sunscreens block UVB and are (supposedly) intended to decrease sun damage to the skin—damage that is said to increase the risk of melanoma. Sunscreen use has increased considerably in the past few decades. Therefore, if sunlight exposure is the cause of melanoma, there should be an accompanying decrease in melanoma. Exactly the opposite has happened. According to Kline & Company, a research group, sales of sunscreens in 1972 were $33 million; in 2008, sales were $650 million.[4] In addition, according to the Fredonia Market Research Group Company, the sale of sunscreens used in cosmetics in 2007 was $130 million.[5] Therefore, the total sales of sunscreens as of 2007 were $780 million. Considering that a dollar’s value is only about 20% of what it was in 1972, the adjusted 2008 sunscreen expenditures are approximately $156 million, or about 4.7 times the 1972 figure. In other words, sunscreen use has increased by about 4.7 times. Population has also grown from 210 million in 1972 to 305 million in 2008—a 50% increase. Adjusting for population growth, it can be concluded that per-capita sunscreen use has at least tripled in the time frame being considered—the figure may actually be much higher. It is counterintuitive then, to state that sunscreen use prevents melanoma.

Consider the following: Melanoma incidence, according to the Melanoma International Foundation (MIF) has increased steadily and exponentially since 1935.[6] Sunscreen use, as just explained, has also increased. Therefore, the data on increasing sunscreen use does not indicate that sunlight exposure increases the risk of melanoma; rather, it indicates that sunscreen use may contribute to the increase in melanoma. It has been shown that an SPF 15 sunscreen will decrease sun-stimulated vitamin D production by 99.5%,[7] and it has been suggested that by blocking only UVB light (which stimulates the production of vitamin D in skin) while leaving UVA unblocked, sunscreens ironically may lead to UVA damage of DNA, leading to melanoma.[8] [9] Increasing melanoma rates, coupled with increasing use of sunscreens, lends credence to that hypothesis. Vitamin D also provides photoprotection (protection against sun damage) by facilitating DNA repair.[10] We gain nothing by eliminating vitamin D production through sunscreen use.

So why should the Skin Cancer Foundation make such a ludicrous statement? The answer is this: follow the money.

[1] The Skin Cancer Foundation’s “Guide to Sunscreen” http://www.skincancer.org/prevention/sun-protection/sunscreen/the-skin-c…

[2] Proposed Rules, Federal Register # 165 2007;72: 49070.

[3] A Bernard Ackerman, The sun and the “epidemic” of Melanoma: Myth on Myth! 2008

[4] Kline & Company’s Cosmetics & Toiletries USA Annual Service (1972 and 2008 editions).

[5] Fredonia market research group report, 2009.

[6]Melanoma International Foundation, 2007 Facts about melanoma. Sources: : National Cancer Institute 2007 SEER Database, American Cancer Society’s 2007 Facts and Figures, The Skin Cancer Foundation, The American Academy of Dermatology.

[7] Matsuoka LY, Ide L, Wortsman J, MacLaughlin JA, Holick MF. Sunscreens suppress cutaneous vitamin D3 synthesis. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 1987; 64:1165-68.

[8] Garland CF, Garland FC, Gorham ED. Could sunscreens increase melanoma risk? Am J Public Health 1992;82(4):614-5.

[9] Garland CF, Garland FC, Gorham ED. Rising trends in melanoma. An hypothesis concerning sunscreen effectiveness. Ann Epidemiol 1993 Jan;3(1):103-10.

[10] Mason R, et al. Photoprotection by 1_,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and analogs: Further studies on mechanisms and implications for UV-damage. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry & Molecular Biology 121 (2010) 164–168.

Uncategorized / 9.23.2012 / No Comment

Tuberculosis is reduced by Vitamin D–this is news? It’s the sunlight!

By: Dr. Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–

Remember as you read this blog, that sunlight is the only natural way to increase vitamin D levels. Supplements are a substitute! New research points out that vitamin D supplementation has the ability to profoundly reduce inflammation in response to tuberculosis (TB), as measured by inflammatory markers.[i] Perhaps even more important, patients with TB who received vitamin D supplementation were able to clear TB bacterium from the sputum (coughed up phlegm) in 23 days compared to 36 days in those who did not receive supplementation. This means that recovery from TB was much more rapid in those who received vitamin D.

None of this should come as much of a surprise, since sun exposure, which is the natural way to produce vitamin D, was used to cure TB ninety years ago. Dr. Auguste Rollier was a pioneer in this therapy, which consisted in sunbathing. In one of his groups, there were 2,167 patients. Of these, 1,746 completely recovered their health.[ii] That is about an 80% cure rate in a disease that was widely considered incurable! Only those in the most advanced stages of the disease failed to recover. Due to the advent of antibiotics, sunlight therapy was relegated to the junk heap, to the detriment of the human race.

It is highly likely that had the patients in the vitamin D study regularly been out in the sunlight, that they would have never initially contracted TB. We must stop regarding sunlight as the enemy; it is mankind’s best friend, and a healer par excellence.

[i] Coussens, A, et al. Vitamin D accelerates resolution of inflammatory responses during tuberculosis treatment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the US, September 4, 2012. <?xml:namespace prefix = o />

[ii] Fielder, J. Heliotherapy: the principles & practice of sunbathing. Soil and Health Library (online) http://www.soilandhealth.org/index.html.

[i] Coussens, A, et al. Vitamin D accelerates resolution of inflammatory responses during tuberculosis treatment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the US, September 4, 2012.

[ii] Fielder, J. Heliotherapy: the principles & practice of sunbathing. Soil and Health Library (online) http://www.soilandhealth.org/index.html.

Uncategorized / 9.23.2012 / No Comment

Sunlight will help you prevent cancer.

By: Dr. Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–

In this article Lucy Johnson does a superb job of hammering home the fact that regular sunlight exposure prevents cancer. Although anyone with a brain knows that sunlight exposure is correlated to a reduced risk of nearly all major cancers and some minor cancers, this is a message that cannot be repeated often enough. A great read!

Read the article.

Uncategorized / 8.31.2012 / No Comment

Lack of Sunlight Exposure Leads to Greater Cancer Rates in China

By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Insitute–

A study by Dr. Wanquing Chen and colleagues in China demonstrates that lack of sunlight leads to increasing rates of several cancers, including those of the cervix, rectum, colon, stomach and esophagus. It is good to see that sunlight and vitamin D deficiencies are now being recognized throughout the world as detriments to optimal human health.

Read the article

Uncategorized / 7.29.2012 / No Comment

Lack of sunlight is causing myopia in children

By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–

Evidence continues to accumulate that sunlight is necessary to normal growth and development of children’s eyes; without sunlight, myopia (nearsightedness) develops. It should be a priority for each family to assure that children leave their computers and video games behind for a few hours daily and play like normal children should–in the sunlight.

Read the article.