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.