By Marc Sorenson, EdD. Sunlight Institute…
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is the most common form of many types of eczema, an inflammatory condition of the skin characterized by redness, itching, and oozing vesicular lesions which become scaly, crusted, or hardened.[1] UV radiation from sun exposure or sun lamps has been used successfully for decades for its treatment.[2] [3]
In the latest study on AD, researchers studied 72 youth with AD who were given sun exposure of varying intensities at the Dead Sea in Israel.[4] The subjects were divided into three groups and were exposed to increasing sunlight amounts during 28-day periods in March 2014, October 2014 and March 2015.
Eighty-seven percent of the subjects showed good clinical results immediately, and after three months, 71% still showed good results. One very important result, as stated by the researchers, was this: “Higher cumulative exposure times correlated with better results and enhanced remission.”
Also noteworthy was the finding that no adverse effects occurred.
Chalk up one more victory for the sun in its battle against disease!
[1] Palmer DJ. Vitamin D and the Development of Atopic Eczema. J Clin Med. 2015 May 20;4(5):1036-50.
[2] Palmer DJ. Vitamin D and the Development of Atopic Eczema. J Clin Med. 2015 May 20;4(5):1036-50.
[3] Falk ES. UV-light therapies in atopic dermatitis. Photodermatol. 1985 Aug;2(4):241-6.
[4] Kudish A, Marsakova A, Jahn I, Gkalpakiotis S, Arenberger P, Harari M. Dead Sea ultraviolet Climatotherapy for children with Atopic Dermatitis. Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed. 2016 Jul 5. doi: 10.1111/phpp.12250. [Epub ahead of print]
By Marc Sorenson, EdD. Sunlight Institute…
Lack of Sun Exposure: Does it cause mental decline? My wife and I conduct church meetings at an assisted-care center, also known as a rest home. In our almost two years at the facility, we note that many of the residents there have lost or are losing their cognitive abilities (abilities to think). It worries us that many of them do not get outdoors often, which probably contributes to both their physical and mental deterioration. It is likely that lack of sun exposure is a key factor, and research from Japan corroborates this view.[1] The researchers had previously reported that elderly individuals with cognitive impairment showed a low frequency of activity. This research assessed whether the type of activity (indoor of outdoor) had different effects on cognition.
The subjects were measured by a mental test known as the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), before being starting the study period. Then, for one year, their activities were measured by an infra-red sensor. At that time they were reevaluated and placed in one of two groups: (1) a cognitive decline group and (2) a normal group. Those whose cognition declined had very few outings away from the facility, compared to the normal group. Those who had 20 or more outings had no decline whatsoever.
The researchers summed up their findings thusly: “This study objectively evaluated the behavior of elderly individuals with infrared sensors and revealed that elderly people who have few occasions to go out tend to show a decrease in cognitive function.” The researchers should have mentioned that those who do not go out have no sun exposure.
It is also known that the risk of being admitted to a nursing home can be predicted by vitamin D levels. In one investigation, those whose serum vitamin D levels were in the deficient category had three-and-one-half times the risk of being admitted to a nursing home as those whose levels were in the highest category.[2] Of course, people with low vitamin D levels are suffering from sun-exposure deficiency. Let’s take care of our elderly by being sure that they enjoy plenty of safe sun exposure.
Safely embracing the sun has so many positive benefits! Be sure your elderly parents and friends have sufficient sun exposure without burning.
[1] Suzuki T, Murase S. Influence of outdoor activity and indoor activity on cognition decline: use of an infrared sensor to measure activity. Telemed J E Health. 2010 Jul-Aug;16(6):686-90
[2] Visser, M. et al. Low serum vitamin concentrations of 25 hydroxyvitamin D in older persons and the risk of nursing home admission. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;84:616-22.
Does sun exposure help fight depression? Of course!
By Marc Sorenson, EdD. Sunlight Exposure
Although this blog has discussed sun exposure and its affects on depression, there is some information that I may have neglected to mention. It has been shown that depressed psychiatric patients who resided in sunny rooms stayed in the hospital 2.6 fewer days than those who had “dull” rooms.[1] The sunny rooms had windows, so it is likely that endorphins and serotonin, created by the sun entering the windows, were the natural “uppers” by which the patients felt better. Nitric oxide, produced by UVA light exposure, could also have played a part.
Another of those dull rooms is the one that houses the TV. An interesting study from the University of Pittsburgh found that the more TV teenagers watched, the more likely they were to be depressed as adults.[2] The study author theorized that because there is so much depressing news and programming on TV, the more exposure, the more the internalizing or the depressing programming. For each hour of TV watched, the rate of depression increased significantly.
The researchers may be correct, or it could be that hours of sedentary life in front of the TV, watching commercials for junk food, leads to obesity and poor health as the teenager ages. We have another theory that may supplant, or at least add to those theories. It is possible that years of unnatural indoor habits create deficiency of the aforementioned vitamin D, nitric oxide, endorphins and serotonin, which may have long-term effects. Combined with the deleterious influences of excessive TV watching, that could be a recipe for depression and health disasters. Sun exposure and vitamin D are absolutely necessary for human health and happiness. An indoor lifestyle is unnatural and damaging to the human body and psyche.
Safely embrace the sun and obtain its “feel-good” effects.
[1] Beauchemin KM, Hays P. Sunny hospital rooms expedite recovery from severe and refractory depressions. J Affect Disord. 1996 Sep 9;40(1-2):49-51.
[2]Primack, B. Association between media use in adolescence and depression in young adulthood: a longitudinal study. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009 Feb;66(2):181-8
Sun Exposure, artificial light and weight control. Marc Sorenson, EdD… Sunlight Institute
Sun exposure gives life and has so many positive effects, including anticancer, anti-heart disease, and anti-osteoporosis. Unnatural light, however can do exactly the opposite. In the case of obesity, artificial light at night (ALAN) can lead to weight gain, according to a study in the International Journal of Obesity.[1]
The hormone melatonin works in conjunction with serotonin during each daily physiological cycle, known as the circadian rhythm. Serotonin is a natural “upper” that awakens our senses and prepares us for our workday. Then, when the rhythms are properly synchronized, as evening comes, serotonin decreases and melatonin, a sleep inducer, takes over so that we can sleep soundly and awake refreshed as daylight and serotonin once more take over. However, a monkey wrench is often thrown into the works. It is called artificial light at night (ALAN), and it may be one of many factors that lead to obesity. ALAN inhibits melatonin production, a factor in both obesity and cancer.
The researchers looked at satellite images of 80 countries, assessed the amount of ALAN emitted from each country and then compared the rates of obesity in each. The data was adjusted to take into consideration the differing dietary patterns in each country, as well as the urban vs rural population and other factors that would influence obesity.
The results showed, that after all adjustments, ALAN emerged as a prominent predictor for obesity.
So how does this relate to sun exposure? One of my recent posts noted the results of research on early morning sun exposure and obesity, noting that early sun exposure inhibited obesity dramatically.[2] So not all light is good. Light at night is harmful; early morning sun exposure is wonderful. And if one wants to remain slim, it is imperative to eschew junk food, exercise and get plenty of non-burning sun exposure.
[1] Rybnikova NA, Haim A, Portnov BA. Does artificial light-at-night exposure contribute to the worldwide obesity pandemic? International Journal of Obesity. Int J Obes (Lond). 2016 May;40(5):815-23.
[2] Reid KJ, Santostasi G, Baron KG, Wilson J, Kang J, et al. Timing and Intensity of Light Correlate with Body Weight in Adults. PLoS ONE 2014 9(4): e92251. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0092251
By Marc Sorenson, EdD Sunlight Institute…. Sun exposure and more
One of the more interesting research studies on sun exposure is one from the Philippines, It assessed the quantity of sun exposure as compared to the risk of childhood pneumonia.[1] Each one-hour increase in sun per day lowered the risk of contracting pneumonia by about 33%. Why would people keep their children out of the sun and increase the risk of this killer disease?
Research such as this is very impressive in that it provides a formula against this potentially fatal disorder. People who spend their lives working outdoors in the sun have protection against pneumonia. It is interesting to surmise that those who receive three hours of sun per day might have 100% protection. Is the same true for adults? No one knows, but I would bet that the results would be identical.
Pneumonia is often a result of influenza and is also highly seasonal, with the lowest rates in summer, an increase in fall and a peak in winter,[2] [3] [4] indicative of an influence of sunlight as a prophylactic against the malady. Research has also established that low UVB exposures correlate directly to periods of low UV radiation, and indicate that such a correlation may be responsible for the seasonal variation in pneumonia and for the spike in winter cases.[5] The researchers state that, “The mechanism of action of diminished light exposure on disease occurrence may be due to direct effects on pathogen survival or host immune function via altered 1,25-(OH)2-vitamin-D metabolism.”
Whatever the mechanism, we can be sure of one thing: sun exposure reduces the risk of innumerable diseases, and those who advise us to reject sun exposure are approaching criminality by setting us up for poor health and early death. Safe sun exposure (non-burning) is one of the master keys to success in health and in life. Don’t miss your share!
[1] Paynter S, Weinstein P, Ware RS, Lucero MG, Tallo V, Nohynek H, Barnett AG, Skelly C, Simões EA, Sly PD, Williams G; ARIVAC Consortium. Sunshine, rainfall, humidity and child pneumonia in the tropics: time-series analyses. Epidemiol Infect. 2013 Jun;141(6):1328-36.
[2] Dowell SF, Whitney CG, Wright C, Rose CE Jr, Schuchat A. Seasonal patterns of invasive pneumococcal disease. Emerg Infect Dis 2003;9:573-9.
[3] Talbot TR, Poehling KA, Hartert TV, Arbogast PG, Halasa NB, Edwards KM, Schaffner W, Craig AS, Griffin MR. Seasonality of invasive pneumococcal disease: temporal relation to documented influenza and respiratory syncytial viral circulation. Am J Med 2005;118:285-91.
[4] Dowell SF, Whitney CG, Wright C, Rose CE Jr, Schuchat A. Seasonal patterns of invasive pneumococcal disease. Emerg Infect Dis 2003;9:573-9.
[5] Alexander NJ White, Victoria Ng, C Victor Spain, Caroline C Johnson, Laura M Kinlin, and David N Fisman. Let the sun shine in: effects of ultraviolet radiation on invasive pneumococcal disease risk in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. BMC Infect Dis 2009;9:196
By Marc Sorenson, EdD. Sunlight Institute….
COPD is defined as a heterogeneous collection of conditions that can affect various structures within the lung in a number of ways,[1] and usually cause difficulty in breathing. In 2005 there were 126,005 deaths in the US from COPD.[2] Though there are multiple contributors to COPD such as tobacco smoke, occupational dusts, chemicals and air pollution, vitamin D and sun deficiencies may also play a role. Research has demonstrated that the severity of the disease is correlated directly to serum levels of vitamin D,[3] and other research demonstrates that severe disturbed lung and peripheral muscle functions are more pronounced in COPD patients with vitamin D deficiency.[4] In addition, recent research shows that cardiopulmonary exercise capacity is increased remarkably in people with high vitamin D levels compared to those with low levels.[5] Of course, 90% of vitamin D blood levels are produced by sun exposure.
In other blogs, I have established that sun can prevent and even reverse osteoporosis, and it is also well-established that osteoporosis associates closely with COPD.[6] There is a high prevalence of COPD in patients with osteoporosis, and the disease is also more severe in patients with osteoporosis compared with patients with normal bone mass. [7] One may intelligently conclude, based on this information, that a part of the cause for both diseases is a lack of sun-derived vitamin D (and perhaps other sun-stimulated photoproducts). It is surprising that little or no research has been done on the effects of sun exposure per se. I would think that in very sunny areas, the risk of the disease would be reduced profoundly.
Now doesn’t that make you breathe easier?
[1] Rennard, S. COPD: Overview of Definitions, Epidemiology, and Factors Influencing Its Development. Chest 1998;113(4)(Suppl 4):235s-241s.
[2] Deaths from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease—United States, 2000-2005. JAMA 2009; 301(13):1331-1333.
[3] Janssens W, Bouillon R, Claes B, Carremans C, Lehouck A, Buysschaert I, Coolen J, Mathieu C, Decramer M, Lambrechts D. Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in COPD and correlates with variants in the vitamin D-binding gene. Thorax 2010;65(3):215-20.
[4] Yumrutepe T, Aytemur ZA, Baysal O, Taskapan H, Taskapan CM, Hacievliyagil SS. Relationship between vitamin D and lung function, physical performance and balance on patients with stage I-III chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Rev Assoc Med Bras. 2015 Mar-Apr;61(2):132-8.
[5] Kaul A, Gläser S, Hannemann A, Schäper C, Nauck M, Felix SB, Bollmann T, Ewert R, Friedrich N. Vitamin D is associated with cardiopulmonary exercise capacity: results of two independent cohorts of healthy adults. Br J Nutr. 2016 Feb 14;115(3):500-8
[6] Romme EA, Smeenk FW, Rutten EP, Wouters EF. Osteoporosis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Expert Rev Respir Med. 2013 Aug;7(4):397-410.
[7] Silva DR, Coelho AC, Dumke A, Valentini JD, de Nunes JN, Stefani CL, da Silva Mendes LF, Knorst MM. Osteoporosis prevalence and associated factors in patients with COPD: a cross-sectional study. Respir Care. 2011 Jul;56(7):961-8.
By Marc Sorenson, EdD. Sunlight Institute….
While reading one of Dr. Michael Holick’s latest publications,[1] I was intrigued that he quoted from a book published in 1915 called The Mortality from Cancer throughout the World.[2] That book stated that indoor workers had 8 times the risk of dying of cancer compared to outdoor workers. Would this old study make you want to avoid sun exposure? Not unless you have a death wish!
Then, in 1937 Dr. Sigismund Peller determined that deadly internal cancers were 40% less common among people who spent long hours in the sun.[3] A few years later Dr. Frank Apperley did research that demonstrated the following: North American death rates for major cancers among the inhabitants of cities between 30˚ and 40˚ north latitude were 85% higher than death rates among inhabitants of cities between 10˚ and 30˚; inhabitants of cities between 40˚ and 50˚ north latitude had cancer death rates 118% higher than those between 10˚ and 30˚; inhabitants between 50˚ and 60˚ had death rates from internal cancers 150% higher than those between 10˚ and 30˚.[4]
There have been myriad studies in modern times, and one of the most compelling demonstrated that among women who totally covered themselves and thereby had no sun exposure, there was a more than a 10-times increase in the risk of the breast cancer.[5] Stated in another way, that is a 1,000% increase in risk due to sun deficiency.
Do you think it is about time that we decided that sunlight is good for us? Just be sure not to burn.
[1] Holick, M. Biological Effects of Sunlight, Ultraviolet Radiation, Visible Light, Infrared Radiation and Vitamin D for Health. Anticancer Research 36: 1345-1356 (2016).
[2] Hoffman F The mortality from cancer throughout the world, Newark, N.J., The Prudential Press, 1915.
[3] Peller S. Carcinogenesis as a means of reducing cancer mortality. Lancet 1936; 2:552-56.
[4] Apperley, F. The relation of solar radiation to cancer mortality in North America. Cancer Res 1941;1:191-95.
[5] Bidgoli SA, Azarshab H. Role of vitamin D deficiency and lack of sun exposure in the incidence of premenopausal breast cancer: a case control study in Sabzevar, Iran. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2014;15(8):3391-6.
By Marc Sorenson, EdD. Sunlight Institute…
Sun exposure determines vitamin D levels. A recent study used pregnant Arab women as subjects and compared vitamin D deficiency to adverse outcomes. In the women studied, 48.4% were vitamin D deficient. The outcomes measured were gestational diabetes, anemia, iron deficiency, and preeclampsia.[1]
In D-deficient women, sun exposure and daily physical activity were considerably lower that those who were not deficient, and D deficiency predicted a higher risk of gestational diabetes, anemia, iron deficiency and preeclampsia when compared to women who did not experience the these disorders. The authors of the research stated, “The study findings revealed that maternal vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy is significantly associated with elevated risk for GDM, anemia, and preeclampsia.”
Despite a predominately sunny environment, Mideast women are often covered with clothing that impedes contact with the sun’s rays, and they and their newborns consequently suffer from various maladies related to vitamin D deficiency,[2] and in Saudi Arabia, recommendations to increase sunlight exposure are being considered.[3]
This research is not the first to implicate lack of sun exposure to preeclampsia, a disorder in pregnant women that is characterized by edema (fluid accumulation), high blood pressure and excessive urine protein. Preeclampsia can progress to eclampsia, which can cause convulsions, coma and death. The prevalence of preeclampsia is highest in winter and early spring,[4] indicating a sun deficiency. Another investigation found a dose-response relationship—the lower the D levels, the higher the risk of pre-eclampsia.[5] Vitamin D levels are a proxy for sun exposure, and with a decline of 20 ng/ml, there was a doubling of the risk. Additionally, newborn children of women at risk for pre-eclampsia were twice as likely as other children to be vitamin D-deficient. This is important, because vitamin D-deficient newborns are likely to develop rickets and suffer from convulsions.[6] Pregnant women, obviously, should be sun-seekers.
Women should safely seek the sun for their own health and that of their infants. Who would have thought?
[1] Bener A, Al-Hamaq AO, Saleh NM. Association between vitamin D insufficiency and adverse pregnancy outcome: global comparisons. Int J Women’s Health. 2013 Sep 4;5:523-31.
[2] Abbasian M, Chaman R, Amiri M, Ajami ME, Jafari-Koshki T, Rohani H, Taghavi-Shahri SM, Sadeghi E, Raei M. Vitamin D Deficiency in Pregnant Women and Their Neonates. Glob J Health Sci. 2016 Jan 4;8(9):54008.
[3] Al-Faris NA. High Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency among Pregnant Saudi Women. Nutrients. 2016 Feb 4;8(2):77.
[4] Morikawa M, Yamada T, Yamada T, Cho K, Sato S, Minakami H. Seasonal variation in the prevalence of pregnancy-induced hypertension in Japanese women. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2014 Apr;40(4):926-31.
[5] Bodnar LM, Catov JM, Simhan HN, Holick MF, Powers RW, Roberts JM. Maternal vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of preeclampsia. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2007;92:3517-22.
[6] Camadoo L, Tibbott R, Isaza F. Maternal vitamin D deficiency associated with neonatal hypocalcaemic convulsions. Nutr J 2007;6:23
By Marc Sorenson, EdD. Sunlight Institute…
One of the fears of aging is that memory will fade and full-fledged Alzheimer’s disease will develop. Amyloid plaques, consisting of tangles of amyloid protein (a complex protein resembling starch) in nervous tissue, are pathological markers of Alzheimer’s disease that are found in the spaces between the brain’s nerve cells.
Studies from both Europe and the US have established a link between low vitamin D and Alzheimer’s.[1] [2] [3]
As impressive as the correlation of low vitamin D and Alzheimer’s, it pales in comparison to the potential of sunlight to reduce the risk of non-Alzheimer’s dementia. A seven-year study showed that the risk of non-Alzheimer’s dementia was 19.7 times higher in people who had vitamin D levels less than 10 ng/ml (severely deficient) than those who had higher levels.[4]When people do not get enough sun, low levels of vitamin D are a result. The message here is that to keep your “marbles,” plenty of sun is a necessity.
Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), a marker for sun exposure, associates with reduced Alzheimer’s risk.
Whereas melanoma, the deadly skin cancer, is inversely associated with sun exposure (more sun exposure, less melanoma) the same is not true for NMSC, which is directly associated with sun exposure. It is a rarely fatal disease unless the immune system is compromised due to other diseases or anti-rejection drugs. It has been shown that NMSC associates to a lower risk of melanoma and many other cancers.
I am not suggesting that we contract NMSC in order to prevent melanoma. Correct nutritional habits can also reduce the risk of both NMSC and melanoma,[5] and it should be remembered that in the case that someone contracts an NMSC, it can be easily removed. Melanoma, however, can be deadly. The best bet is to eat wisely and obtain plenty of regular sun exposure so that risk of melanoma is dramatically decreased.
NMSC is often used as a marker for sun exposure and is compared with various diseases beyond cancer to determine if sun exposure associates to those diseases. Dr. Grant informed me of a paper showing that among people with NMSC, the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is profoundly decreased;[6]in fact those with NMSC had a 79% reduced risk of AD. Or stated another way, those without MNSC had about five times the risk of AD. Of course, this demonstrates the value of sun in reducing AD.
All tissues in the body have vitamin D receptors, and the brain and central nervous system must have vitamin D to function properly. A little non-burning sun exposure at midday can produce vast quantities of vitamin D. If the memory is fading fast, it may be time to spend more time in the sun. Remember that sun exposure is the only natural way to obtain that vitally important hormone, vitamin D. After all, sun exposure can produce as much as 20,000 IU of vitamin D with whole-body exposure, and one has the added benefits of serotonin, endorphin and nitric oxide production.
[1]Soni M, Kos K, Lang IA, Jones K, Melzer D, Llewellyn DJ. Vitamin D and cognitive function. Scand J Clin Lab Invest Suppl. 2012;243:79-82.
[2] Grant WB. Does vitamin D reduce the risk of dementia? J Alzheimer’s Dis 2009;17(1):151-9.
[3]Pogge E, Vitamin D and Alzheimer’s disease: is there a link? Consult Pharm. 2010;25(7):440-50.
[4]Annweiler C, Rolland Y, Schott AM, Blain H, Vellas B, BeauchetO.Serum vitamin D deficiency as a predictor of incident non-Alzheimer dementias: a 7-year longitudinal study. Dement Geriatr CognDisord 2011;32(4):273-8.
[5] http://suninstitute.org/lets-revisit-the-need-for-appropriate-nutrition-in-preventing-melanoma-death/
[6] White RS, Lipton RB, Hall CB, Steinerman JR. Nonmelanoma skin cancer is associated with reduced Alzheimer disease risk. Neurology. 2013 May 21;80(21):1966-72.
By Marc Sorenson, EdD. Sunlight Institute
Although I occasionally try to balance the messages about tanning beds, this blog is meant neither to discourage nor promote their use. The readers should make up their minds after weighing the evidence. In a recent blog, I mentioned some positive messages about tanning-bed use, which included the following:[1] Note: all references for the following list are found in the blog under footnote 1.
- Tanning-bed use is associated with a reduced risk of clots.
- Tanning-bed use is associated with increased vitamin D levels.
- Tanning-bed use is associated with stronger bones
- Tanning-bed use can cure psoriasis and eczema and tanning beds are often recommended by dermatologists.
- Tanning-bed use more than three times yearly is associated with a 40-50% reduced risk of endometrial cancer.
- Tanning-bed use is associated to lower breast-cancer risk.
After I posted the above information, a friend from Canada reminded me of research by Dr. Pelle Lindqvist and his colleagues, which demonstrated that both sun exposure and tanning-bed exposure reduced the risk of death during a 20-year study.[2] Women who used tanning beds were 23% less likely to die of any cause than women who did not use them.
In addition, I remembered an older study that showed that tanning beds were able to take winter vitamin D levels up to summer levels in a period of five weeks.[3]
So, along with the bad rap tanning beds are receiving, there is some good news. Who wouldn’t want to live longer in better health? Still, as with all decisions, weigh the evidence and then decide.
[1] http://sunlightinstitute.org/defending-the-sun-from-the-lies-damn-lies-duplicity-deception-death-and-disease-of-the-anti-sun-business-part-3/
[2] Lindqvist P. Epstein E, Landin-Olsson M, Ingvar C, Nielsen K, Stenbeck M, Olsson H. Avoidance of sun exposure is a risk factor for all-cause mortality: Results from the Melanoma in Southern Sweden cohort
[3] Moan J, Lagunova Z, Cicarma E, Aksnes L, Dahlback A, Grant WB, Porojnicu AC. Sunbeds as vitamin D sources. Photochem Photobiol. 2009 Nov-Dec;85(6):1474-9.