By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–
Research from Belgium has shown that there is a high rate vitamin D deficiency in elderly nursing-home residents. In fact, almost every resident was deficient.[1] Also, the research showed that as vitamin D deficiency was compared with the likelihood of depression among those residents, there was a consistent tendency toward increasing depressive symptoms with increasing D deficiency. In other words, those who were most D deficient were most likely to be depressed.
This research simply confirms the results of other investigations, most notably a study showing that Those whose vitamin D levels were deficient—defined as less than 20 ng/ml—had 11.7 times the incidence of depression when compared to those whose vitamin D levels were higher.[2] Usually an association is considered impressive when a measured factor correlates to a 50% increase or decrease. In this case, the correlation between vitamin D deficiency and risk of depression was a staggering 1,169 percent! Still other related research showed that elderly persons 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.[3]
Interestingly, the first phrase of the title of the research from Belgium was “Walk on the sunny side of life.” Ninety percent of the vitamin D in the serum of Americans is produced by the skin in response to sunlight exposure, so research like that mentioned above is really a measure of sunlight exposure and depression. Obviously, what these depressed elderly persons really need is to get out of the care facility and into the sunlight!
[1] Verhoeven V, Vanpuyenbroeck K, Lopez-Hartmann M, Wens J, Remmen R. Walk on the sunny side of life–epidemiology of hypovitaminosis D and mental health in elderly nursing home residents. J Nutr Health Aging 2012 Apr;16(4):417-20
[2] Wilkins C. et al. Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated With Low Mood and Worse Cognitive Performance in Older Adults. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2006;14:1032–1040).
[3] 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.
By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–
According to the Centers for Disease Control in May 2011, “about one in 12 people in the United States now has asthma—a total of 24.6 million people and an increase of 4.3 million since 2001.”[1] This is another of those diseases like diabetes that is increasing out of control and shows no sign of abating.
The Scientific American, on April 14, 2011, published an article entitled Why are Asthma Rates soaring?[2] In that article, they lamented the fact that for the last three decades asthma rates have been surging, and that differing theories have arisen as to the reason for the increase, only to be disproven and discarded. Among those theories was the hypothesis that the world has become so “clean” or sterile, that youngsters are not subjected to infectious organisms and thereby do not develop strong immune systems capable of fighting off pollens, dust, etc. To me, that seemed like a rather lame hypothesis, and the article indicates that the idea is no longer in vogue. Another theory was that those who had allergic reactions to various environmental pollutants had weaknesses that predisposed them to asthma. Both of these ideas have failed the test of truth; neither allergy nor early-life “cleanliness” leads to an increase in asthma. The latest theory to surface is that the pandemic of obesity is to blame, because it causes inflammation throughout the body. However, there are many obese people who are not asthmatics.
Newer research has the answer. In Qatar, researchers measured serum vitamin D levels in asthmatic children and compared those levels to levels of healthy non-asthmatic controls.[3] Deficiency was defined as having levels below 20 ng/ml. Many other possible factors were also measured, such as nutritional practices, and various serum measurements such as calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, magnesium, creatinine and Parathyroid hormone.
The results were these: asthmatic children had less exposure to sunlight (67%) and less physical activity (71.3%). Vitamin D deficiency was by far the strongest predictor of asthma; those who had the lowest vitamin D levels were nearly five-times more likely to have asthma.
The Scientific American’s editors must not to know that many scientists other than the aforementioned have suggested that vitamin D deficiency, caused by lack sunlight, leads to asthma. Much of the research was done before they published their article.
Researchers in Boston have hypothesized that the decrease in sunlight exposure and resultant vitamin D deficiency is responsible for the asthma epidemic.[4] Others show the same facts: the increase in asthma has paralleled the decline in sunlight exposure, and asthma risk is 40% lower in children of women who have the highest vitamin D consumption during pregnancy.[5]
A scientific experiment from Australia also demonstrated that when asthmatic mice were exposed to ultraviolet light, before being exposed to an asthma-causing allergen, asthma symptoms were reduced.[6] Finally, another study from Spain showed that children exposed to the most sunlight have much lower risks of asthma.[7] To me, it is amazing that the article in Scientific American never even mentioned the possibility of asthma being caused by deficiency of vitamin D brought on by lack of sunlight. Now that this latest research is in, It is my hope that they will correct the mistake and use their considerable prestige to promulgate the vitamin D/sunlight/asthma connection. It is time to return to the sun.
[1] Vital Signs: Asthma Prevalence, Disease characteristics, and self-Management education—United States, 2001-2009. MMWR 2011;60(17):547-552
[2] http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-are-asthma-rates-so…
[3] Bener A, Ehlayel MS, Tulic MK, Hamid Q. Vitamin D deficiency as a strong predictor of asthma in children. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2012;157(2):168-75.
[4] Devereux, G. et al. Maternal vitamin D intake and early childhood wheezing. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85:853-59
[5] Camargo, C. et al. Maternal intake of vitamin D during pregnancy and risk of recurrent wheeze in children at 3 y. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85:788-95.
[6] Hart, P. et al. Sunlight may protect against asthma. Perth (Australia) Telethon institute for child health research. Quoted in Australian AP Oct 24, 2006.
[7] Arnedo-Pena, A et al. Sunny hours and variations in the prevalence of asthma in schoolchildren according to the International Study of Asthma and Allergies (ISAAC) Phase III in Spain. Int J Biometeorol 2011;55:423-434.
The article at the link discusses the fact that Manchester United, a very good soccer team from Britain, exposes its players to ultraviolet radiation from sun lamps in order to keep vitamin D levels high. The author of the article, surprisingly, does not mention increased athletic performance; nevertheless, sun-lamp expsoure has been known to enhance athletic performance since the 1940s. I co-authored a research paper on this subject with Dr. John Cannell. (Cannell JJ, Hollis BW, Sorenson MB, Taft TN, Anderson JJ. Atheltic performance and vitamin D Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009 May;41(5):1102-10.) In that publication, we noted that the Germans, who dominated the Olympic Games for many years, used sun-lamp treatments to decrease reaction time and to increase strength, endurance and speed.
The Manchester Club probably used the sun lamps to protect health, but the same treatment may have led to much of their success on the playing field!
A new study from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, has shown that vitamin D has the ability to inhibit both the production and function of a cancer-enhancing protein called cMYC. This protein drives cell division, thereby accelerating cancer growth, a process known as proliferation. It has been known for many years that vitamin D could inhibit the proliferation of cancer, but this particular mechanism was not known. According to Dr. White, the lead researcher, vitamin D strongly stimulates the production of a cMYC antagonist, MXD1, which essentially shuts down the function of cMYC.
This is important information, because scientists who oppose the idea that vitamin D can prevent cancer are more likely to be persuaded when the mechanisms of that process are understood.
Remember that the most natural way to obtain vitamin D is by sunlight exposure. Also remember that sunlight exposure produces many other metabolites that have nothing to do with vitamin D: serotonin, which elevates the mood, endorphins, which also increase a sense of well-being, and nitric oxide, which lowers blood pressure and may play a part in reducing or reversing erectile dysfunction. My opinion is that non-burning sunlight exposure reduces the risk of many maladies including, but not not limited to, those maladies correlated to vitamin D deficiency.
Dozens of observational studies have shown a correlation of sunlight and vitamin D deficiency to an increased risk of MS. It had been thought that babies and youngsters would be the hardest hit by these deficiencies, and many scientists encouraged pregnant mothers to keep their vitamin D levels high. This new research indicates that the real benefit may be a reduction in MS among the women who had the highest levels of D–in fact, a 61 percent reduction compared to those who had the lowest levels.
My opinion? The highest levels were probably not high enough; in other words, they were not optimized levels, which might have lowered risk much more. Although that is conjecture, the research on many diseases such as cancer and heart disease show that very high levels of vitamin D correlate to much lower rates of disease than the levels that are considered “normal” by the “experts.” How many diseases could be dramatically reduced by a return to the sunlight?
The article is a must read for those who want to know more about the influence of sunlight on one of the world’s fastest growing and most dangerous diseases.
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.
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.
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.
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.