By Marc Sorenson, EdD, Sunlight Institute
An August 15, 2015 review of research on sunlight, vitamin D and food allergy makes some interesting statements.[1] First, the researchers state that since 2007, most epidemiologic studies have supported low sunlight, as measured by season of birth and latitude, as a risk factor for food allergy. They then note that studies that looked directly at vitamin D status as measured by serum vitamin D levels are not nearly as consistent as the sunlight studies. They state: “Although conflicting, the vitamin D studies suggest a more complicated association than a linear dose response in all individuals, with some studies indicating different associations based on host characteristics (e.g. concomitant eczema, genetic polymorphisms, country of birth).”
Their summary is telling: “Many studies have linked sunlight with the development of food allergy but whether this is directly related to vitamin D status or a myriad of other sunlight-derived, seasonal and/or geographic factors remains uncertain. More studies are needed to investigate the role of sunlight and vitamin D status in food allergy because of their potential for primary prevention and disease modification.”
This is another of those scientific papers that illustrates that whereas sunlight exposure is nearly always protective against the studied disease, there is much more room for argument when vitamin D serum levels are used.
My takeaway? Get sufficient exposure to sunlight on a regular basis. That provides plenty of vitamin D when it is needed, but also provides nitric oxide, endorphins, serotonin, dopamine and other photoproducts that may yet be named. We must cease to equate sunlight exposure only with vitamin D production or we do a disservice to other healthful effects of sunlight.
[1] Rudders SA, Camargo CA Jr. Sunlight, vitamin D and food allergy. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2015 Aug;15(4):350-7.
Marc Sorenson EdD, Sunlight Institute
Our purposes for the Sunlight Institute are to tell the truth about the marvelous benefits of sunlight and to help people to understand that they are being lied to by those who would frighten us out of the sun, aka the Sunscare Movement. A recent press release by the Vitamin D Society of Canada may go a long way toward those goals. The release summarizes information from a new study by Carole Baggerly and several of her academic colleagues, and “examines how entities such as World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and the U.S. Surgeon General call for sun avoidance, but ignore the fact that cutting out sunshine will reduce vitamin D, an essential vitamin for bone health, and create probable harm for the general population.” That statement is particularly true, I believe, for those living in Canada.
The release is excellent, but I only wish that they had mentioned the production of serotonin, endorphins and nitric oxide by sunlight—all of which have remarkable health influences on the human body and brain.
Nevertheless, this release is a must read and my hope is that it will be widely distributed. Truth marches on. Here is the link to the news release: http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1570075/overly-restrictive-sun-exposure-warnings-pose-health-risk-says-new-study
By Marc Sorenson, EdD. Sunlight Institute
In the medical journal Pediatrics, an interesting report discussed the plight of two young girls who suffered from severe tooth decay related to Rickets,[i] a horrific disease caused by vitamin D deficiency. This illness is characterized by defective bone growth and horribly deformed bodies, and, as we will see, it may also be characterized by teeth without enamel.