“If I had to choose a religion,
the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god.”
(Napoleon Bonaparte)

The sun. A holistic healer. A nutrient at first hand. The ultimate source of creation. If there is no sun, there will be no life. I personally describe it as a divine gift which is one of the most potent enhancer to tap into my Highest Self. However, we’ve been told to hide from sun radiation as it is given its ties to skin cancer and accelerates aging. We are supposed to hide from the sun by putting on massive amounts of chemically produced sunscreen which – by the way – inhibits the essential Vitamin D synthesis within our skin.

Ancient folks have been worshipping the sun by different practices, like the Egyptians. They already knew how to use the sun for radiant health and well-being. The most important yoga practice is “Surya Namaskar” (sun salutations) which is a devotional practice to the sun. It awakens your bodies intelligence to create energy directly from the sun. According to the Vedic tradition, the sun depicts consciousness which is why the Indian culture worships it on a regular basis. The human species evolved and thrived under the warmth of the sun for millions of years. Science also proves tremendous health benefits from sunlight. It is even regarded as a therapeutic agent to treat certain kinds of diseases, known as “heliotherapy”. Removing sunlight as a major energy and life source for the human race will lead to health issues and compromised well-being.

It is some kind of a controversial, but for myself a very important topic I want to touch upon today. This article covers the following questions:

• Why is sunlight essential for all life on earth?
• What health benefits can you expect from regular sun exposure?
• Does the sun cause skin cancer?
• How does sunshine relate to nutrition?

Without further ado, let’s get started with an insight into the meaning of the sun… Enjoy reading! 🙂

 

 

 

 

~ Sun: Life creator, nutrient and healer ~

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Sunlight is the source of all life on planet earth. We would not even exist if there was no sun. It nourishes the planet and all creatures. Do you remember the process of photosynthesis, which you learned back in school? Plants do have the capability to absorb sunlight and transform it into their own food. If you perceive it from this perspective, we can say that more complex creatures, like humans or animals, wouldn’t even exist if there were no plants. They provide us with nutrients our bodies need to function and therefore are the base of growth and development.

Sun does not only provide us life force energy, but it also enables us to synthesize one of the most important nutrients for our bodies: Vitamin D. Actually, it is rather a hormone, not a vitamin. By exposing our bare skin (no clothes, no sunscreen) to the sun, the UV-B ray will activate a biochemical process in the skin which forms vitamin D out of its premature form. You can also call this process “photosynthesis” as the body synthesizes a nutrient with the aid from light energy (“photo”). It is a precursor for growth hormones in the body which therefore allows us to heal, repair, recover, and grow. Moreover, it is responsible for absorbing and metabolizing calcium into the bones and it promotes stronger skeletal structure. Vitamin D has a lot more biochemical functions which are not even properly discovered yet. However, it is clear that this hormone is essential for our health and that the human body is encoded with Vitamin D receptors. So obviously, they need to be there for a reason. Nature doesn’t make any mistakes.

“If you’re wiped out go lay in the sun for an hour.
Your adrenal glands, mental faculties,
and spirit will begin to recharge from the nourishment the sun provides.”
(Landis, 2016)

Beyond Vitamin D, the sun also stimulates your serotonin production which enhances mood levels and thus, leads to mental health and overall well-being. As you can imagine, sunlight can be regarded as a natural healer and is already used for therapeutic purposes: Heliotherapy makes use of the sun’s healing properties. A vast range of health benefits from the sun is listed in the next paragraph.

 

 

 

 

 

 

~Health Benefits from sunlight ~

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Isn’t it intuitively logical that sunlight promotes your overall health and well-being? Right, and also science proves that insufficient sun exposure is an emerging public health problem (Hoel et al., 2016). A holistically healthy lifestyle essentially includes being out in nature which also means to expose yourself to sunlight.

Here’s a list of how the sun does benefit our health:

• Sunlight can support the strengthening of the immune system. Sun exposure may increase the white blood cells which are responsible for immune function (Phan et al., 2016). This immune enhancing effect can also be linked to healthy Vitamin D levels. Although UV-radiation does generally induce some kind of DNA damage, the body has many defence mechanisms which are partly related to Vitamin D, produced by UVB-exposure (Hoel et al., 2016).
• Sunlight promotes bone health by enabling us to produce Vitamin D. The nutrient (hormone) allows the calcium from foods to be absorbed into the bloodstream and supports proper metabolisation.
• Moderate exposure to sunlight is associated with a reduced risk for certain types of cancers. This fact was already identified in the 1960’s. In the 80’s, it was said that this protective mechanism traces back to Vitamin D. Afterwards, science rather focused on the risks of sun exposure. The types of cancers that seemed to have a reduced risk include breast and colon cancer. Non-burning sun exposure can even reduce the risk for melanoma (Hoel et al., 2016).
• Sunlight is benevolent for certain skin issues, like psoriasis.
• Sunlight helps to lower blood pressure, in case it is too high. UV-radiation induces nitric oxide which dilates the arteries and results in a decreased blood pressure. In correlation, the risk for cardiovascular disease is also reduced (Weller, 2016).
• Sunlight is a mood-booster by increasing serotonin levels in the body. This effect is so potent that it cannot only decrease the risk for depression, but it may even cure the mental disorder. It is shown that serotonin turnover in the brain changes seasonally and it is lowest in winters (Lambert et al., 2002).
• The sun-induced serotonin levels during the day also result in balanced melatonin production during the night. This means improved sleep (Mead, 2008).
• Sunlight exposure seems to be inversely associated with the occurrence of multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis (Hoel et al., 2016).

There are even more benefits that research is getting into. After all, I guess everybody can somehow confirm that sunlight supports our well-being without the proven knowledge from science.

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ Does the sun cause cancer? ~

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It has literally become some kind of neurosis in western society that sun exposure is absolutely dangerous. This perception has always felt strange to me. Isn’t is suspect that the source that gives all living beings the possibility to live could harm us at the same time? That the sun causes all life to flourish and cause us to decay and die from cancer as well? Do we really live healthier when we hide from this powerful source of creation?

If you have a look out into nature, you’ll notice that plants thrive under the sun all day long. Nothing in nature grows in a dark, cold, snowy environment. Some plants do even grow exclusively in tropical climates as they need the bio-photonic emissions from the sun to absorb carbon dioxide, generate nutrients, and turn it into oxygen for all surrounding life to breathe. I agree with the fact that “the dose makes the poison” which means we should not be directly under the sun at noon for hours, especially those who are light-skinned. However, I feel like this fear has prevailed society and that people rather confide in the cosmetic or pharmaceutical industry than they do in nature. I don’t believe that nature would work against living beings on planet earth. We’ve been living with the sun for millions of years and the rates of cancer have just arisen in the last couple decades…

There are different UV-rays from the whole spectrum of sunlight (photons) that create biochemical reactions in the body. Some of them are a little more harmful than others, but only in isolation. If you sit behind a window where the sun shines through or if you put on sunscreen, you will be exposed to an isolated spectrum from UV rays. This has probably rather detrimental effects than being exposed directly to the full bandwidth of UV-radiation. Plus, the UV-B spectrum which is needed for Vitamin D synthesis does not penetrate the window and is also inhibited to penetrate your skin by sunscreen. The synthetic chemicals from sunscreen are absorbed by the skin and will probably also lead to biochemical reactions in the body by sun exposure. Research shows that people who have the lowest sun exposure on this planet do have the highest cancer rates. Moreover, vitamin D which we primarily get from sun exposure is one of the most potent factors for cancer prevention.

Simply put, this topic remains a controversy.I also believe that it’s necessary to get the “right amount.” The pigment melanin which is responsible for dark skin colour by sun exposure protects us from potentially harmful effects of the sun. The more exposed you are, the darker your skin becomes. I definitely won’t recommend a light-skinned person from the northern hemisphere to sit in the tropical sun all day long. I would more likely recommend to see the sun in the morning and late afternoon and wearing light clothes rather than covering the entire body with massive amounts of sunscreen. If you are not used to the sun, exposure should happen VERY slowly. I believe that the sun is a natural remedy for overall health and well-being.

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ How to “eat the sun” ~

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According to our western based approach to food, nutritional value is measured by energy as calories, macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, trace elements). Little is known (or nothing is said) about the bio-energetic aspects of foods, meaning how much light do they store in form of electromagnetic frequency.

My latest article on the power of living foods already addresses the importance of sunlight in terms of nutrition. The German bio-physicist F.A. Popp showed that plants, as well as all biological organisms, store biophotons, the smallest physical unit of light, in their DNA. So does the human body. These biophotons contain information that enables vital processes in the body’s cells to function properly (Chang et al., 2013). You can, therefore, say that sun energy (biophotons) enters our cells by the food we put into our mouth. In terms of the bio-energetics, you can say that the higher amount of photons a food contains, the greater nutritional value it contains. The higher the emission of bio-photons by a cell (any organism), the greater its vitality (Switzer, 2008). This emission can be measured with certain technological tools; in plants as well as in humans. Healthy people emit much more bio-photons than sick people.

If we list some food groups according to their amount of biophotons, it would look like this:

• wild plant foods
• fresh fruits
• leafy greens and raw vegetables
• grains
• animal products: dairy (products), meat, fish

In essence, “eating sunlight” refers to the consumptions of foods which store a high amount of biophotons in their cells. A highly nutritious source of information that allows the human cells to flourish. Eating raw, fresh, wild, organic fruits and vegetables are the richest food in biophotons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ Conclusion: Sunlight for life ~

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The sun: The source of creation, an essential nutrient for the human’s body, a divine healer, and simply the most potent tool for vibrancy in our life. No imitated light and no Vitamin D supplement can provide us with a multitude of benefits the direct sunlight has to our health and overall well-being. If you want to bring more life force, more vitality, vibrancy, and enthusiasm into your life, bring more sunshine into your life: directly by being out in nature as well as by eating more fresh, raw (living) fruits and vegetables.

 “Be like a flower: Turn your face to the sun.”
(Khalil Gibran)

Sending you a big hug & sunshine from my heart!

Namasté,

yours Isabel!

 

 

 

Literature

Chang J.-J., Fisch J., Popp F.A. Biophotons. Springer-Science + Business-Media (2013).

Hoel D.G., Berwick M., De Gruijl F.R., Holick M.F. REVIEW. The risks and benefits of sun exposure 2016. Dermato-Endocrinology (2016). Vol 0 (No. 0): 17 pages.

Lambert G.W., Reid C., Kaye D.M., Jennings G.L., Esler M.D. Effect of sunlight and season on serotonin turnover in the brain. Lancet (2002): Vol. 360(9348): 1840-1842.

Landis R. The Holistic Health Mastery Program. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (2016).

Mead M.N. Benefits of Sunlight. Environmental Health Perspectives (2008). Vol. 116(4): A161-167.

Phan T.X., Jaruga B., Pingle S.C., Bandyopadhyay B.C., Ahern G.P. Intrinsic Photosensitivity Enhances Motility of T Lymphocytes. Scientific Reports (2016). Vol. 6 (no. 39479): 1-11.

Switzer J. Bio-photon Nutrition and Cyclical Eating (2008).

Weller R.B. Sunlight Has Cardiovascular Benefits Independently of Vitamin D. Blood Purification (2016). Vol. 41: 130-134.

 

Pictures
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