By Marc Sorenson, EdD
A new article on November 30, 2015, from the Daily Mail, discusses breaking research on the association between ED and vitamin D.[1] The research from Johns Hopkins University, by Dr. Erin Michos and her colleagues, was conducted on 3,400 men over age 20, 30% of whom were vitamin D deficient, and 16% of whom reported symptoms of ED. Men with Vitamin D deficiency were 32% more likely to suffer ED than those whose levels were sufficient.
Although I, along with Dr. Grant, were the first to hypothesize that vitamin D deficiency could lead to ED,[2] I have moderated my opinion somewhat. It is entirely possible that higher vitamin D levels are really a surrogate measurement for sunlight exposure. Although vitamin D probably has a positive affect on ED, the UVA portion of sunlight has a nearly immediate effect in dilating the blood vessels[3] through the production of nitric oxide (NO), which is absolutely necessary for producing an erection.[4] Viagra and other ED drugs work by inhibiting the breakdown of NO, which keeps NO in circulation for a longer period.[5] But, they don’t always work and can have many deleterious side effects.[6]
My hope is that research will be done to determine the effectiveness of sunlight exposure in alleviating the condition. Of course, the underlying cause of ED is consuming foods that occlude the arteries. Sunlight and/or vitamin D serve as palliatives to that occlusion, as do the ED drugs. A nutrition program filled with colorful fruits and vegetables,[i] along with ample sunlight exposure, would, in my opinion, produce the very best results in mitigating or perhaps reversing the disease.
[i] Esposito K, Giugliano F, Maiorino MI, Giugliano D. Dietary factors, Mediterranean diet and erectile dysfunction. J Sex Med. 2010 Jul;7(7):2338-45.
To read the Daily Mail article, please click this link. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3321000/Could-daily-dose-vitamin-D-cure-erectile-dysfunction-Deficiency-means-man-32-likely-impotent.html
[1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3321000/Could-daily-dose-vitamin-D-cure-erectile-dysfunction-Deficiency-means-man-32-likely-impotent.html
[2] Sorenson M, Grant WB. Does vitamin D deficiency contribute to erectile dysfunction? Dermato-Endocrinology 4;2:128–136.
[3] 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.
[4] Burnett AL. The role of nitric oxide in erectile dysfunction: implications for medical therapy. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2006 Dec;8(12 Suppl 4):53-62
[5] Nitric Oxide and Viagra (no authors listed) Concepts in Biochemistry (accessed on November 30, 2015) at http://www.wiley.com/college/boyer/0470003790/cutting_edge/viagra/viagra.htm.
[6] http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/erectile-dysfunction-medications-common-side-effects?stickyLb=true
By Marc Sorenson, EdD, Sunlight Institute
Drs. Robyn Lucas and Prue Hart are researchers from Australia whom I have followed for years. They speak the truth about the benefits of sunlight and present their research in a cogent and easily understandable manner. Their recent paper, written with other colleagues, is no exception.[i] They show evidence that beyond vitamin D, other photoproducts such as regulatory cells, dendritic cells, chemokines and cytokines,
released from the skin following exposure to ultraviolet radiation, may have protective and ameliorating affects against MS.
Here are the salient points in their report called Ultraviolet radiation, vitamin D and multiple sclerosis:
- There is strong evidence from observational studies that low past sun exposure is associated with an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS).
- Lower sun exposure or lower vitamin D status have been linked to more severe MS, that is, more frequent relapses and more rapid progression to disability.
- Vitamin D supplementation trials for people with MS have shown improvement in immunological and MRI parameters, but with little convincing evidence of clinical benefit.
- Higher levels of sun exposure may have benefits for MS-related immune parameters through both vitamin D and non-vitamin D pathways. (emphasis mine)
- Exposure to ultraviolet radiation may result in immune tolerance that is beneficial for MS through upregulation of T and B regulatory cells, enhanced levels of cis-urocanic acid, alterations in dendritic cell trafficking as well as release of a range of other cytokines and chemokines.
This research is important because it shows that sunlight exposure works on MS in several different ways, one of which may be the stimulation of vitamin D production.
As the authors state: Recognition of multiple pathways whereby exposure to UVR may affect the development of MS could mark the beginning of prevention activities through modulation of an environment risk factor and the development of new therapeutic compounds. The vitamin D star seems to be waning, despite considerable genetic evidence that vitamin D has a role in MS risk. Perhaps it is only one part of a more complex picture. New intervention trials, undertaken in parallel, of vitamin D supplementation and UV-B phototherapy, should provide more definitive evidence – at least for the risk of MS following CIS. A finding that sun exposure, through the entirety of its effects, does have clinical significance as an immunomodulator for the development of MS, offers one of the few opportunities to modify disease risk for MS.”
I have posted other blogs regarding sunlight and MS, indicative that sunlight has protective effects against that malady, beyond its ability to stimulate vitamin D production in the skin. This research by Lucas and her colleagues is important in that it defines some of the other mechanisms of sunlight exposure that could lead to the prevention and potential cure of the disease.
[i] Robyn M Lucas, Scott N Byrne, Jorge Correale, Susanne Ilschner & Prue H Hart. Ultraviolet radiation, vitamin D and multiple sclerosis. Neurodegener. Dis. Manag 2015 (epub ahead of print).
By Marc Sorenson, EdD, Sunlight Institute…
Asthma is a disorder characterized by inflammation of the air passages, which cause narrowing of the airways that transport air from the nose and mouth to the lungs.[i] The mechanism by which sunlight may reduce asthma and its symptoms could be the anti-inflammatory properties of the vitamin D production that it stimulates in the skin. Inflammation is often caused by proteins called cytokines that are either pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory elements of the immune system.[ii] Vitamin D has the ability to inhibit pro-inflammatory cytokine production while stimulating the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines.[iii] However, there are likely other attributes of sunlight, beyond stimulating vitamin D production in the skin, that have beneficial affects.
One of the most recent studies on factors that contribute to asthma showed that living in a room without windows was associated with an increased the risk of asthma of 930%, and living in an area without adequate sunlight was associated with an increased the risk of 220%.[iv] Considering that windows filter out the UVB light that stimulates the production of vitamin D, having windows could not have reduced asthma by vitamin D production—it had to be some other factor—something that entered the room through that window glass protected the people with windows from the remarkable increase in asthma they would have otherwise had. We know that UVA light, which does pass through windows, stimulates the production of nitric oxide, which is a potent vasodilator. Could it also be a bronchodilator? This explanation, of course, is theory.
Other research that indicates a direct influence of sunlight on asthma, is one by Hart and her colleagues, which showed that controlled exposure to ultraviolet light (UVR) in mice markedly limited the development, incidence and severity of asthma symptoms such as inflamed airways and lungs.[v] These researchers exposed mice to allergens that generally brought on asthma attacks and then exposed them to sun lamps for 30 minutes. After the exposure, the allergens caused no attacks. The researchers also stated that sunlamp exposure produced a cell type in mice, that when transferred into other mice, suppressed the immune reactions and halted symptoms. This is another indication that sunlight has a healthful effect on asthma beyond vitamin D production.
Dr. Litonjua and Dr. Weiss, noting that the prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases began to increase worldwide in 1960, hypothesized that since people have increasingly spent more time indoors, there has been less exposure to sunlight, which has led to decreased cutaneous vitamin D production.[vi] This could have further led to vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women, resulting in more asthma in their offspring. But was vitamin D deficiency the cause or was it simply sunlight deficiency? Or could it have been both?
At the health resort owned by the Sorensons, we often noticed that asthmatics ceased using their inhalers after a week or two of hiking in the sunshine. One of them decreased the dosage from 6 inhalers per day to zero in about a week. Could it have been sunlight? We believe that the combination of mostly plant-based nutrition, combined with sunlight, made the difference, and the aforementioned research provides reasonable support for that opinion.
[i] Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America: Asthma Facts and Figures. Accessed 3-6-2010 http://www.aafa.org/display.cfm?id=8&sub=42
[ii] Kurtzke J. On the fine structure of the distribution of multiple sclerosis 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 inhibits cytokine production by human blood monocytes at the post-transcriptional level. Cytokine 1992;4:506-12.
[iii] Canning MO, Grotenhuis K, de Wit H, Ruwhof C, Drexhage HA. I-alpha,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 (l,25(OH)(2)D(3)) hampers the maturation of fully active immature dendritic cells from monocytes. Eur J Endocrinol 2001;145:351-57.
[iv] Kamran A, Hanif S, Murtaza G. Risk factors of childhood asthma in children attending Lyari General Hospital. J Pak Med Assoc 2015 Jun;65(6):647-50.
[v] Hart, P. Exposure to sunlight could reduce asthma. Newsletter of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research 2006;3:2
[vi] Litonjua AA, Weiss ST. Is vitamin D deficiency to blame for the asthma epidemic? J Allergy Clin Immunol 2007;120:1031-35.
By Marc Sorenson, EdD, Sunlight Institute…..
Before proceeding with the discussion on sunlight addiction, it is important to review the truth about sunlight and melanoma, to understand why sunlight addiction may be a good thing.
A recent report on ultraviolet light and addiction[1] is obviously meant to be a hit piece regarding sunlight exposure and tanning, as seen in the opening statement: “Despite widespread awareness that UV exposure is a major risk factor for all common cutaneous malignancies, skin cancer incidence relentlessly increases by ~3% per year.”
The “all common cutaneous malignancies” portion of this statement, of course, is patently false. Whereas the relatively benign common skin cancers are increased by exposure to sunlight, melanoma is increased by avoiding the sun. If the dramatic increase in melanoma over the past century were due to sunlight exposure, then sunlight exposure must also have increased dramatically during that time. To determine whether that has happened, we analyzed data from the Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections, Bureau of Labor Statistics, (BLS) to determine if there was an increase or decrease in human sunlight exposure during the years from 1910 to 2,000.[2] The statistics showed that indoor occupations such as “professional, managerial, clerical, sales, and service workers grew from one-quarter to three-quarters of total employment between 1910 and 2000.” BLS also stated that during the same period, the outdoor occupation of farming declined from 33% to 1.2% of total employment, a 96% reduction. The data also showed an approximately 66% decline in the occupation of farmers and 50% of the decline in the occupation of farm laborers.
The Environmental Protection Agency also determined that as of 1986, about 5 percent of adult men worked mostly outside, and that about 10 percent worked outside part of the time. The proportion of women who worked outside was thought to be even lower.[3] These data demonstrate a dramatic shift from outdoor, sun-exposed activity to indoor, non-sun-exposed activity during the mid-to-late 20th Century.
Despite these facts, the Melanoma International Foundation (MIF) has stated that melanoma has increased by 30 times (3,000%) just since 1935! Here is the statement by the MIF: “Melanoma is epidemic: rising faster than any other cancer and projected to affect one person in 50 by 2010, currently it affects 1 in 75. In 1935, only one in 1,500 was struck by the disease.”[4] Indeed, the American Cancer Society in 2014 reported that one in 50 now contracts the disease.[5] That exponential increase in melanoma has been accompanied by a profound decrease in sunlight exposure, yet sunlight or other UV exposure is blamed for the melanoma increase—a totally counterintuitive argument! I submit that not only is sunlight not responsible for the exponential increase in melanoma, but that the decrease in sun exposure may be a major cause of that increase.
Here are other facts that belie the idea that melanoma is caused by sunlight exposure:
- Outdoor workers, while receiving 3-9 times the UVR exposure as indoor workers,[6] [7] have had no increase in melanoma since before 1940, whereas melanoma incidence in indoor workers has increased steadily and exponentially.
- Most melanomas occur on areas of the body that are seldom or never exposed to the sunlight.[8] [9] [10]
- The use of sunscreen, which has increased steadily, has not resulted in a decrease in melanoma.[11] In fact, melanoma has increased as sunscreen use has become more widespread. Since sunscreens block sunlight, it is evident that at best they are a waste of money and at worst may be contributing to the increase in melanoma.
Now, let’s discuss the research on the aforementioned addiction to sunlight. The researchers conducted various experiments on mice that showed behavior choices, such as desiring lighter rather than darker environments, were increased by regular exposure. These behavior choices were mediated by β-endorphins, peptide hormones which are similar to opiates. So is this all bad? This marvelous product, β-endorphin, is one of the feel-good hormones that decreases pain and increases a sense of well-being. The case the researchers make regarding addiction to sunlight is compelling, and why not? Sunlight exposure causes vitamin D production in the skin, which is essential to human health; it also stimulates the production of nitric oxide, which relaxes our vessels and lowers our blood pressure; it stimulates the production of serotonin in the brain, which is another feel-good hormone necessary for a happy mood and wellbeing. And considering the myriad additional effects of sunlight on health, including the prevention of cancer, the prevention and reversal of bone diseases and the reduction of heart disease, could it not be part of God’s (or Nature’s) master plan to develop a positive addiction to sunlight so than our health could be enhanced? I am a sunlight addict, and expose myself to it regularly for two reasons: (1) It marvelously improves my mood and (2) it protects me from disease and weakness. I am a light-skinned, blue-eyed Caucasian who has spent much of my seven decades on this earth seeking the sun. Yet, there have been no melanomas or even common skin cancer.
Nevertheless, the researchers summarize their paper on sun addiction with the following: “While primordial UV addiction, mediated by the hedonic [pertaining to pleasure] action of β-endorphin and anhedonic effects of withdrawal, may theoretically have enhanced evolutionary vitamin D biosynthesis, it now may contribute to the relentless rise in skin cancer incidence in man.”
That summary statement is claptrap, as can be seen by the research on melanoma and sunlight presented above. If sunlight is addictive and helps me to avoid melanoma, heart disease, bone loss and other maladies, I can only say, “hooray for the addiction!”
[1] Gillian L. Fell, Kathleen C. Robinson, Jianren Mao, Clifford J. Woolf, and David E.
Fisher. Skin β-endorphin mediates addiction to ultraviolet light. Cell. 2014 June 19; 157(7): 1527–1534.
[2] Ian D. Wyatt and Daniel E. Hecker. Occupational changes in the 20th century. Monthly Labor Review, March 2006 pp 35-57: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections, Bureau of Labor Statistics
[3] U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Catching Our Breath: Next Steps for Reducing Urban Ozone, OTA-O-412 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, July 1989).
[4] Melanoma International Foundation, 2007 Facts about melanoma. Sources: National Cancer Institute 2007 SEER Database, American Cancer Society’s 2007 Facts and Figures, The Skin Cancer Foundation, The American Academy of Dermatology.
[5] American Cancer Society. Melanoma Skin Cancer Overview 9/16/2014. Accessed on 9/23/2014 at http://www.cancer.org/cancer/skincancer-melanoma/overviewguide/melanoma-skin-cancer-overview-key-statistics
[6] Godar D. UV doses worldwide. Photochem Photobiol 2005;81:736–49.
[7] Thieden E, Philipsen PA, Sandby-Møller J, Wulf HC. UV radiation exposure related to age, sex, occupation, and sun behavior based on time-stamped personal dosimeter readings. Arch Dermatol 2004;140:197–203.
[8] Garland FC, White MR, Garland CF, Shaw E, Gorham ED. Occupational sunlight exposure and melanoma in the USA Navy. Arch Environ Health 1990; 45:261-67.
[9] Rivers, J. Is there more than one road to melanoma? Lancet 2004;363:728-30.
[10] Crombie, I. Racial differences in melanoma incidence. Br J Cancer 1979;40:185-93.
[11] Phillippe Autier. Do high factor Sunscreens offer protection from melanoma? West J Med. 2000 Jul; 173(1): 58.
By Marc Sorenson, EdD, Sunlight Institute
Although several of my posts on the Sunlight Institute have discussed sunlight and MS, this post will provide the results of the most recent paper that I am aware of, and it reviews some of the most important investigations showing that sunlight exposure is absolutely essential for preventing or mitigating the disease.
MS is a disease in which the myelin sheaths (nerve coverings and insulators) are destroyed, leaving nerves bare and susceptible to “short circuiting.” This process is known as demyelination. New research, which should surprise no one, demonstrates that teenagers who have the greatest exposure to sunlight have a delayed onset of MS as adults.[1] The study involved 1,161 Danish patients with MS who were given questionnaires regarding their sun-exposure habits and body-mass index (BMI) as teenagers. BMI is a measure of obesity (or the lack thereof). Besides sunlight, other vitamin-D predicting measures were also used to determine the probable cause of MS.
Interestingly, only sunlight exposure and lower BMI were associated with later age at the onset of the disease; other serum vitamin D predictors such as fish consumption did not show any association with MS. The authors still seemed to feel that vitamin D was the reason for the extended time before disease onset; however, that is unlikely, since other predictors of higher vitamin D levels showed no association. And, it has been shown that sunlight exposure has profoundly protective effects against MS, independently of vitamin D.[2] Researchers determined to find the mechanism by which sunlight exposure suppressed the disease and found that UV light selectively inhibits spinal cord inflammation and demyelination.[3] In that study, they performed an investigation in which ultraviolet radiation (UVR)—the same radiation that is found in sunlight and tanning beds—was administered to animals who suffered from experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). EAE is MS that has been deliberately induced in animals in a laboratory setting. The researchers found that the UVR treatments stopped inflammation and demyelination of the spinal cord by inhibiting a chemical known as a chemokine, also known as a cytokine. Chemokines are the cause of the inflammation and autoimmune attacks that result in MS. The MS-ameliorating effects in the study were directly initiated by UVR, independent of vitamin D.
Stunningly, another study by some of these same investigators determined that vitamin D was actually necessary for EAE to take place![4] Mice that lacked the vitamin D receptor, which causes vitamin D deficiency, had a markedly lower risk of developing EAE. In those mice that had receptors but were simply vitamin D deficient, the development of EAE was also partially suppressed. I do not look on this research as proving that vitamin D sufficiency leads to MS, but it certainly indicates that sunlight exposure, independent of vitamin D, is absolutely critical to prevent and ameliorate this frightening disease.
The bottom line? Be sure to get plenty of non-burning sun exposure!
[1] Julie Hejgaard Laursen, MD, PhD, Helle Bach Søndergaard, MSc, PhD, Per Soelberg Sørensen, MD, DMSc, Finn Sellebjerg, MD, PhD and Annette Bang Oturai, MD, PhD. Association between age at onset of multiple sclerosis and vitamin D level–related factors. Neurology 2015, Published online before print October 7, 2015.
[2] Becklund BR, Severson KS, Vang SV, DeLuca HF. UV radiation suppresses experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis independent of vitamin D production. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010;107:6418-23.
[3] Wang Y, Marling SJ, Beaver EF, Severson KS, Deluca HF. UV light selectively inhibits spinal cord inflammation and demyelination in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2015 Feb 1;567:75-82.
[4] Wang Y, Marling SJ, Zhu JG, Severson KS, DeLuca HF. Development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in mice requires vitamin D and the vitamin D receptor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 May 29;109(22):8501-4.
By Marc Sorenson, EdD, Sunlight Institute
In a new media release from Toronto, the Vitamin D Society asserts that “The importance of natural sunlight to human life cannot be understated.” It goes on to quote Dr. Reinhold Vieth, a scientist and professor at the University of Toronto. “There really is no substitute for natural sunlight in human health. Your skin is like a solar receptor and has the amazing capacity to manufacture all of the vitamin D your body needs. Everyone has the capability to generate vitamin D.”
There is a problem, however, as I posted recently. About a third of Canadians, about 12 million people, do not meet the minimum Health Canada guidelines for vitamin D levels. The reason? Sunlight deficiency.
Perry Holman, executive director of the Society, states that “This is not a call for people to ignore the warnings about over-exposure to sunlight but a call for people to exercise common sense and ensure they are not shutting themselves out from the vital health benefits of natural sunlight.”
Of course, in the winter, when no vitamin D production is available, it will be necessary to find another source of vitamin-D stimulating light. Sunlamps are ideal, provided they produce UVB light.
Also remember, that during winter, sunlight still raises serotonin levels and produces nitric oxide, both of which are necessary to human health. The value of sunlight goes far beyond its ability to promote vitamin D production in the skin.
For more information on the Vitamin D Society, visit www.vitamindsociety.org.
By Marc Sorenson, EdD, Sunlight Institute
Research now indicates that sunlight has very positive affects on colon cancer, whereas vitamin D has no affect, and in high doses may be counterproductive, at least in rats. Dr. AA Irving and colleagues performed a 140-day investigation involving rats that had colon adenomas (a precursor to full-blown colon cancer) induced in their colons.[1] The rats were given either vitamin D3, or the stored form, 25(OH)D3, in differing amounts. With low dose vitamin D in either form, no reduction in either existing adenomas or emerging tumors were seen. In higher doses, there was a dose-dependent increase in colon tumor numbers in both male and female rats.
The researchers said the following in their concluding statement: “Thus, the association between sunlight exposure and the incidence of colon cancer may involve factors other than vitamin D concentrations. Alternative hypotheses warrant investigation. Furthermore, this study provides preliminary evidence for the need for caution regarding vitamin D supplementation of humans at higher doses, especially in individuals with sufficient serum 25(OH)D3 concentrations.”
The takeaway from this research is that sunlight is protective against colon cancer in rats (and probably in humans), independent of vitamin D—another reason to embrace the sunlight (safely, of course).
[1] Irving AA, Plum LA, Blaser WJ, Ford MR, Weng C, Clipson L, DeLuca HF, Dove WF. Cholecalciferol or 25-hydroxycholecalciferol neither prevents nor treats adenomas in a rat model of familial colon cancer. J Nutr. 2015 Feb;145(2):291-8.
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.
By Marc Sorenson, EdD Sunlight Institute
Recent research, again involving Dr. Richard Weller, demonstrates that Sunlight exposure may prevent liver inflammation in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is the most prevalent liver disorder in western countries.[1] The authors of this research state then state the following possible mechanism: “Following exposure to sunlight-derived ultraviolet radiation (UVR), the skin releases anti-inflammatory mediators such as vitamin D and nitric oxide.”
Though there has been no proof that sunlight works for humans (no research yet), the authors indicate that animal studies suggest that exposure to sunlight (UVR), can prevent the development of NAFLD.
They also note that most of the credit for these positive results has focused on vitamin D, yet clinical trials have yet to demonstrate a clear, beneficial effect of supplementation; therefore, they suggest that other mediators such as nitric oxide may be important. This is another of those studies that demonstrates the possibility that sunlight has positive affects on a disease independently of vitamin D. Future research may clarify that idea.
Until then, regular sun exposure may be good insurance for a healthy liver.
[1] Gorman S, Black LJ, Feelisch M, Hart PH, Weller R. Can skin exposure to sunlight prevent liver inflammation? Nutrients 2015 May 5;7(5):3219-39.
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