UVB exposure benefits by Marc Sorenson, EdD. Sunlight Institute…
UVB is a spectrum of sunlight that is responsible for stimulation of vitamin D production in the skin. It also has many other effects, including the suppression of inflammation in the skin, and thus has been used to very successfully treat skin diseases such as psoriasis and eczema.[1] [2] [3] [4]
Since inflammation is also necessary to produce the condition of atherosclerosis (arterial plugging or occlusion) in arteries, it would be interesting to know whether UVB light might also have the same anti-inflammatory effects in those arteries. If so, the UVB effect could inhibit or eliminate atherosclerosis, and by so doing provide an entirely new treatment for heart disease and other vascular events such as stroke and intermittent claudication.
The idea that UVB could prevent atherosclerosis by reducing inflammation in arteries was recently studied by Japanese researchers.[5] [6] Using a mouse model, they demonstrated that UVB light irradiation, once weekly for 14 weeks, leads to an increase in the action of T-regulatory cells that inhibit inflammation. In addition, UVB exposure also reduced the production of another type of T-cell that is pro-inflammatory, and thereby proatherogenic (leading to the production of atherosclerosis). These two effects of UVB light reduce the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Or stated differently, the research shows that sun exposure is critically-important therapy to reduce and prevent heart and other vascular diseases.
Protect your heart by being sure to obtain sufficient non-burning UVB light from sun exposure or other sources such as the UVB lamps used by the researchers. It is important to note that neither skin cancer nor skin inflammation were observed following UVB exposure.
This is another breakthrough study that emphasizes the necessity of sun exposure for human health.
[1] National Psoriasis Foundation web site Oct. 2005.
[2] Yelverton CB, Kulkarni AS, Balkrishnan R, Feldman SR. Home ultraviolet B phototherapy: a cost-effective option for severe psoriasis. Manag Care Interface 2006;19:33-36, 39.
[3] Situm M, Bulat V, Majcen K, Dzapo A, Jezovita J. Benefits of controlled ultraviolet radiation in the treatment of dermatological diseases. Coll Antropol. 2014 Dec;38(4):1249-53.
[4] Gupta A, Arora TC, Jindal A, Bhadoria AS. Efficacy of narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy and levels of serum vitamin D3 in psoriasis: A prospective study. Indian Dermatol Online J. 2016 Mar-Apr;7(2):87-92.
[5] Naoto Sasaki, Tomoya Yamashita, Kazuyuki Kasahara, Atsushi Fukunaga, Tomoyuki Yamaguchi, et al. UVB Exposure Prevents Atherosclerosis by Regulating Immunoinflammatory Responses. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2016;36:00-00.
DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.116.308063.)
[6] Hafid Ait-Oufella, Andrew P. Sage. Editorial. The Sunlight. A New Immunomodulatory Approach of Atherosclerosis. (Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2017;37:7-9. DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.116.308637.)
By Marc Sorenson, EdD, Sunlight Institute..
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) include diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Like multiple sclerosis, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, they are autoimmune diseases that cause the immune system to attack its own tissue, in this case the tissues of the digestive system. This may cause extreme distress and damage.
Recent research shows that the IBD is associated with both sun exposure and vitamin D deficiency.[1] In experimental IBD, vitamin D positively influences gut epithelial cells, innate immune cells, T cells, and the microscopic organisms that live in the gut. Separately from vitamin D, there is some scientific work that demonstrates that ultraviolet radiation (UVR), a component of sun exposure, can independently reduce IBD cells.
The authors of this research sum up their research with the following statement: “Together the data suggest that UVR suppression of T cells and potentially IBD are both vitamin D dependent and independent.”
Of course, we know that the natural way to obtain vitamin D is through sun exposure, so to me it appears that sun exposure, or sunlamp exposure, when available is the best method of suppressing the disease. Of course, proper nutrition is also imperative.
Many previous investigations have shown the remarkable positive influence of sun exposure on IBD. In a 12-year year investigation of hundreds of thousands of IBD patients, hospitalizations and prolonged hospitalizations were higher among those who had low sun exposure compared to those with very high sun exposure.[2] The same relationship was shown between sun, bowel surgeries and deaths; more surgeries were needed for those patients who experienced the lowest sun exposure compared to those who had the highest sun exposure, and more deaths occurred among those with low exposure.
An interesting side note to this investigation was that a large number of non-IBD patients were also analyzed for sun exposure amounts. The same relationship existed as with the IBD patients; low sun exposure was associated with prolonged hospitalizations and more deaths when compared with high exposure. There is other research involving the association of Crohn’s disease to sun exposure, which, as above, found that surgery for the disease was significantly reduced among those patients who received more sun exposure.[3]
It has also been shown that in the US, there is a north-south gradient for IBD,[4] [5] [6] [7] meaning that the risk of developing IBD is significantly lower for the southern latitudes (where sun exposure is greater). So for a healthy gut, sun exposure plays a vital role. Be sure to get some sun exposure daily when available. That way, you will obtain your vitamin D, along with other photoproducts that may protect you from IBD as well as myriad other diseases.
[1] Bora S, Cantorna MT. The role of UVR and vitamin D on T cells and inflammatory bowel disease. Photochem Photobiol Sci. 2016 Sep 8. [Epub ahead of print].
[2]Limketkai BN, Bayless TM, Brant SR, Hutfless SM. Lower regional and temporal ultraviolet exposure is associated with increased rates and severity of inflammatory bowel disease hospitalization. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2014 Sep;40(5):508-17.
[3]Govani SM, Higgins PD, StidhamRW,Montain SJ, Waljee AK.Increased ultraviolet light exposure is associated with reduced risk of inpatient surgery among patients with Crohn’s disease.J Crohns Colitis. 2015 Jan;9(1):77-81
[4] Schultz M1, Butt AG. Is the north to south gradient in inflammatory bowel disease a global phenomenon? Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2012 Aug;6(4):445-7.
[5]Kappelman MD, Rifas-Shiman SL, Kleinman K, Ollendorf D, Bousvaros A, Grand RJ, Finkelstein JA. The prevalence and geographic distribution of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis in the United States. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2007 Dec;5(12):1424-9.
[6]Sonnenberg A. Similar geographic variations of mortality and hospitalization associated with IBD and Clostridium difficile colitis. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2010 Mar;16(3):487-93.
[7]Holmes EA, Xiang F, Lucas RM. Variation in incidence of pediatric Crohn’s disease in relation to latitude and ambient ultraviolet radiation: a systematic review and analysis.Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2015 Apr;21(4):809-17