Get to Know the Marvelous Things Sunlight Can Do to You.

There are millions of red corpuscles constantly flowing through very small blood vessels throughout every part of the 3,000 square inches of your skin.

And there are also tiny oil glands just beneath the skin which biochemists call sterols.

As sunshine strikes them, substances within them, called ergosterols, are irradiated and transformed into vitamin D.

Carried to all parts of your body, it enables you to have strong bones, teeth, and nails.

Every living thing in our world is dependent upon the sun.

Without sunshine, nothing could live.

Sunlight is composed of energy wavelengths of various types.

We will here focus our attention on the visible rays, along with the infrared and ultraviolet rays.

Two researchers in 1877 (Downes and Blunt), discovered that sunlight can destroy harmful bacteria.

Today, it is used to treat bacterial infections.
Sunlight on the body dramatically lowers high blood pressure, decreases blood cholesterol, lowers excessively high blood sugars, and increases white blood cells.
Adequate sunlight on your body will lower your respiratory rate and will cause your breathing to be slower, deeper, and even easier.
Your resting heart rate will decrease, and after exercise, it will return to normal much more quickly.
Sunlight increases the capacity of the blood to carry more oxygen and take it to your body tissues.
Even a single exposure to ultraviolet light in sunlight will greatly increase the oxygen content of your blood.
And this effect will continue for several days.
Bronchial asthma patients who could hardly breathe, were able to inhale freely after a sunbath.
It is of interest that many of these beneficial effects of sunlight are heightened if a person combines sunbathing with a regular program of physical exercise.
For example, fatigue and exhaustion tend to be lessened and the work capacity is increased.
It is now known that part of this is due to an increase in glycogen content of the blood and muscles following sunlight and exercise.

The strength of the heart is steadied and deepened.

The pulse rate is lowered because the heart muscle is pumping more blood at each beat.
This enables your heart to rest more between beats.
And yet the blood output is increased by an average of 39% for several days after a sunbath.
Many people worry about their blood pressure, yet regularly taking sunlight on the body lowers it.
Sunbaths alone will lower blood pressure by an average of 8%; combined with exercise, it is lowered 15%.

And some worry about their blood sugar because they are diabetic.

It has been discovered that exposure to sunshine has an insulin-like effect on the body it lowers the blood sugar.
And it does it in exactly the right proportion.
Those who have no diabetic problem experience almost no change in blood sugar, while diabetics have a striking lowering of it.
It is now known that this lowering is caused by the fact that sunlight on the body causes glycogen (stored sugar) to be increased throughout the body, enabling the blood sugar to be lowered.
Higher storage levels of glycogen result in more body energy for longer stretches of physical activity, with more endurance and less fatigue.
A diabetic taking sunbaths should try reducing his insulin intake, lest he inject too much.

And then there is stress.

We all encounter tensions and problems throughout the day.
Sunlight can help you more easily glide through the day.
A deepened sense of well-being results and better sleep comes at night.
You feel better and live better.
Because you are more relaxed, the crises of life are met with less difficulty.
Sunlight on the body both calms the nerves and increases adrenalin.
This relaxation is not merely mental; it is physical also.
Both gastric and duodenal ulcer patients have been found to improve under the beneficial effects of sunshine.

The wealth of new scientific insights on the restorative power of sunlight continues to unfold.

Sunlight lowers blood cholesterol, and an excess of blood cholesterol is one of the problems leading to heart and artery disease.
The basic fact underlying this truth goes back to the year 1904 when it was discovered that sunlight changes the cholesterol just under the skin into vitamin D.
Because there is so much cholesterol just under the skin, when it is changed by sunlight into vitamin D, cholesterol from the blood is sent to take its place, thus lowering the cholesterol in the blood.
Researchers now know that when cholesterol is removed from the blood cholesterol stored within the plaques deposited on the artery walls takes its place.
The result is a beneficial reduction of the dangerous deposits that accompany the hardening of the arteries and lead to strokes.
Two hours after a sunbath, an average of 13% reduction in human blood cholesterol occurs.

Research carried out in 1970 in Russia disclosed that sunbaths help people with the hardening of the arteries of the brain.

Their improved mental performance and memory indicate that those harmful blood vessel deposits were lessened by exposure to sunlight.
Incidentally, one insight that came out of this and other Russian research was the fact that patients were helped more by frequent short exposures to sunlight than by infrequent longer sunbaths.
Proof of this was shown in the electrocardiograms: almost twice as good in those receiving shorter, more frequent sunshine on their bodies.
Dramatic evidence of the importance of sunlight on the body is to be found in the fact that dark-skinned races suffer more from certain diseases than light-skinned races.
Of all the races, the Negro race is the most susceptible to rickets.
The solution is vitamin D, but to manufacture it in the body, blacks must have their bodies in the sunlight more than the light-skinned races.
Because blacks require more sunlight on their bodies for good health than whites, blacks tend to have more jaundice, higher blood pressure, tuberculosis, and diabetes.

Do you also know;

Streptococcal infections are reduced when sunlight regularly reaches the skin.
Fungus infections of the feet and toes are especially helped by sunlight.
So many different bacteria and viruses exist that it is neither wise nor safe to attempt vaccination against them all.
But sunlight on the body is part of the best solution to many of these problems.
Infectious diseases include many physical problems ranging from the common cold to flu, and even the dangerous spinal meningitis.

How very important it is that we make sure that we frequently obtain the vital sunlight that our bodies so much need to maintain good health.

Some people believe that all of the problems of mankind are due to germs, and others think that germs are no problem at all as long as one lives properly and eats healthfully.
We well agree that right living is the most important of all, but germs in the water and air around us are not always harmless.
According to Daryl Hart in 1935, the frequency with which infections developed in people who had just had operations.
He wondered whether air-borne germs might have contaminated them while the operation was in progress.
He placed Petri dishes in an operating room for an hour during an operation and found 78 colonies of staphylococcus in one place alone.
Was there a way that those germs in the air could have been killed?
Hart then placed ultraviolet lights overhead and discovered that all the germs including very dangerous ones were killed within ten minutes, if they were within eight feet of those lamps.
And this happened even when the lights were so low in intensity that it required eighty minutes for blond skin to be reddened.
A similar experiment was done in a naval training center, in which very low-intensity ultraviolet lights were installed in the barracks.
The result was a 25% reduction in respiratory infections among the recruits using those sleeping quarters.
But do not set up sunlamps in your bedroom
They are far too high in intensity, and your eyes will be damaged.
Instead, draw back the curtains and let the sunlight in.
For it has been scientifically established that sunlight reduces the danger of open-air transmission of disease.
Sunlamps must be used with greatest care and for only a few seconds at a time.

Water purification is now being taken to the sunlight.

Chlorination kills many water-borne diseases, but chlorine has certain carcinogenic (cancer-causing) effects.
Researchers are now turning to irradiation with ultraviolet light.
The four most dangerous water-borne bacterial infections are cholera, typhoid, bacillary dysentery, and hepatitis.
It has been demonstrated that sunlight can kill such bacteria to some depth if the flow of water is slow enough so that the ultraviolet radiation can effectively reach them.

What about germs on the skin?

Exposure to sunlight increases the skin’s resistance to disease.
It does this by directly killing the bacteria on the skin.
The shorter ultraviolet wavelengths are the most bactericidal and do not particularly penetrate beneath the skin.
But the longer wavelengths also kill germs, though to a lesser extent, and they penetrate more deeply.
Sunlight not only directly kills bacteria on the skin, but it changes natural body oils on the skin into bactericidal agents
Even the vapours rising from these irradiated natural skin oils can kill bacteria.
Psoriasis and acne are two common skin diseases.
Both are being treated with sunlight.
Sunlight keeps psoriasis under control, and the purifying power of these rays helps to sterilize acne, and bring to it more rapid healing.

Sunlight also strengthens the body’s immune system.

This is partly because sunlight striking the body increases the number of white blood cells in the body.
These are the fighter cells that resist infection by gobbling it up wherever found in the body.
There is one particular white blood cell that is the most powerful germ killer of them all: the lymphocyte.
Science has now come to the startling conclusion that sunlight increases the number of lymphocytes more than any other kind of white blood cell.
Antibody production, so important to a successful resistance to infection, is also greatly increased after sunbathing.
This is because it is primarily the lymphocytes that produce the antibodies, such as the very important gamma globulins.
In laboratory animals, this antibody increase can last for two or three weeks.
Neutrophils, fairly common white blood cells, are very important.
They spend their life within your body eating up bacteria, fungi, and other harmful invaders.
After being exposed to the sun, the neutrophils are, in some unknown way, stimulated to chew up harmful bacteria even more rapidly.
Research experiments have disclosed that this increase in gobbling action is doubled after a sunbath.

Did you ever notice that people are more likely during the winter months to contract colds, during spells of lessened sunlight?

An interesting study related to this fact is that of the early polar explorers.
After spending months in those icy areas with so little sunlight, they would always develop upper respiratory infections upon returning home.
The lack of sunlight for eight months had weakened their immune systems, and their antibodies and white blood cells were markedly decreased.

And, of course, sunlight also affects your bones.

In children without adequate sunlight, the vitamin D needed to calcify the bones is not present in proper amounts for the body to lay down calcium in the bones and they bend more easily.
In adults, when there is not enough vitamin D in the body, the calcium leaves the bones and they become softer.
Newborn and young children in areas of the world with less sunlight tend to develop jaundice.
It was a nurse in England who first discovered that sunlight could eliminate the problem.
Two blood samples taken of the same infant, one shortly after the other brought the whole matter to the attention of medical science.
The sunlight bath given by the nurse, Mrs. Ward, to that infant dramatically changed its condition.
Further study into this revealed that sunlight through glass could partially but not as effectively help infants with jaundice.
Jaundice in adults can be caused by several different factors; sunlight seems to help in every case.
But of all light available, there is none as healthful to the human body as full-spectrum sunlight taken out-of-doors.
It was centuries ago that the beneficial value of sunlight in the treatment of arthritis was first observed.
Many examples of this could be cited, but the moral of the story is this: If you have arthritis, take sunbaths.

Gout is also helped by sunlight.

It is thought that the ultraviolet rays increase uric acid excretion.
Sunlight helps heal wounds.
Under its influence, they heal better and more rapidly.
Part of the reason for this is the greater blood supply to the wounded body area when sunlight has fallen on it.
Another reason is the purifying effects of the sun’s rays.
But there are other factors involved of which we are not yet certain.
Sunlight, which can help heal wounds, can also aid in the treatment of sores and surface ulcers.
Older folk can develop such problems due to inadequate blood circulation.
But sunlight increases the circulation.

An unusual new development in sunlight research involves that of poisonous chemicals.

Sunbathing helps destroy many of them, such as lead, mercury, cobalt, manganese, cadmium, fluoride, benzene, and pesticides and even aids in the elimination of quartz and coal dust.
For example, lead was removed twice as fast from the bodies of animals receiving adequate doses of sunlight.
The principle here is that the ultraviolet light in sunlight increases the number of enzymes that eliminate toxic chemicals by metabolizing them.
Russians give sunlight therapy daily to miners to help remove coal, quartz, and other rock dust from their lungs.
Yet, oddly enough, while toxic levels of heavy metal and rock particles are removed by sunlight the amount of valuable trace minerals in the blood is increased.
One unusual fact that turned up in the course of sunlight research was the insight that experimental animals receiving sunlight treatments undergo some weight loss.
It is thought that this is related to increased thyroid production, which sunlight is known to do.
Basal body metabolism is thus increased and more calories are burned.

Sunlight striking the skin also increases muscle tone, and this in turn uses up more calories.

Sunlight even helps childbirth.
Robert Bradley, an obstetrician with many years of experience, has discovered that women who obtained extra sun over their bodies in the months before delivery were less likely to tear at childbirth.
He found their skin to be more flexible and less brittle at the time of delivery.
Try sunbathing yourself and notice how you will gain a feeling of general well-being and a more cheerful outlook on life.

For the healthiest home, let the light in.

Push the curtains back so the sunshine can pour in.
Yes, it may fade the rug, but the benefits are far greater than the losses.
Sunlight purifies the air in the room.
Normal air exchange will carry that air to the north rooms of the house and help purify them.
Did you know that patients in hospitals tend to recover more quickly when they are in southern exposure rooms, and less quickly when they are in rooms located on the north side?
Let the sunlight into your home, as much as possible, and open the doors between the different rooms, so that its quiet, healing influence may permeate your home.
Rooms can be partially purified by skylight (sunlight reflected from the sky) coming in through the windows.

The Needed Sunlight

If too much sunlight is received, it can have a drying effect, and one may occasionally have flaked, dry skin.

Exposure to the sun should be progressive, beginning with only a few minutes a day.

If the tissues of the skin are saturated with the necessary vitamins, the sun will not age the skin, but enhance its beauty.

Nutrition and sunlight are intimately related.

By striking the skin, sunlight can produce certain hormones and nutrients like vitamin D.
Unless one has a proper diet, sunlight has an ill effect on the skin.
This must be emphasized: Sunbathing is dangerous for those who are on the standard high-fat diet or do not get an abundance of vegetables, whole grains, and fresh fruits.
Those on the standard high-fat diet should stay out of the sun and protect themselves from it; but, at the same time, they will suffer the consequences of both the high-fat diet and the deficiency of sunlight.
The problem here is skin cancer.
If you are not eating a healthful diet, and if you are getting too much sunlight on your skin, your chances of developing skin cancer are greater.
Fortunately, of all the malignancies that plague mankind, skin cancer is the easiest to detect and the easiest to remove.
Concerning its frequency of occurrence, there are fewer deaths from skin cancer than from any other type of carcinoma.

But, given the advantages and dangers of sunbathing, what is the best way to obtain it?

How long should we sunbathe, and how often?

Some people are more sensitive to sunlight than others.
They burn more quickly.
Such individuals should take less sunlight to start with and never obtain very much at a time.
Others can take more.
Dark-skinned people will need to spend more time in the sun to obtain enough.
The higher in the sky the sun is, the stronger its rays.
In the winter months, you will want to sunbathe near noontime, since the sun is lower in the winter skies.
In the summer, there is a wider range of hours to select from.
Keep in mind that the higher the sun is in the sky, the more ultraviolet rays it sends to your body.
And those are the rays that purify; they are also the rays that can bring sunburn.
Also keep in mind your latitude.
The farther north you live, the lower in the sky the sun will be at noon.
People sunburn more quickly at the beach than at home.
This is because light rays reflect from the sun.
Snow reflects 85% of the ultraviolet; dry sand 17%, water 3-5%, and grass 2.5%.
Wet skin burns more rapidly than dry skin.
Many of the drugs, cosmetics, and soaps that people use tend to sensitize the skin so that burning can occur more easily.
Another problem is the suntan lotions.
These frequently tend to block out the sun’s rays, and this you do not want.

Sunbathe under the sun without any glass or plastic between.

According to a researcher, be in the sun regularly; best at about the same time of the day you were last in it.
Carefully time yourself.
This writer uses a stopwatch and begins at two minutes to a side, and finds that he does best not to later go beyond eight minutes per side.
Have it settled in your mind that you want a balanced and regular program of sunbathing, not just a suntan.
As said earlier: You want frequent sunlight on your body, but not too much at a time.
This is an ideal that you may not always be able to achieve.
But such a program, combined with a good diet, will give you the healing sunlight you need, with little likelihood of skin cancer.
On the first day, start with no more than two minutes to a side, and later lengthen it.
Do it every day, every other day, or as often as you are able.
Beware: Sunlight is relaxing; do not fall asleep during a sunbath.
If you can do so, build an inexpensive solarium where you can sunbathe in privacy.
In this way, each sunbath will bring the healing, purifying, and strengthening rays to a larger part of your body than would otherwise be possible.
Carotene and vitamin A in the diet, along with fresh fruits and vegetables, while carefully avoiding free fats (grease, oil, etc.) will help protect you from the negative effects of sunlight.

Should you use artificial sunlamps?

Only if there is no way you can get out into the sunlight itself.
Never buy or use a sunlamp that produces ultraviolet rays with frequencies below 290 nm.
Only a few firms manufacture sunlamps with safe radiation frequencies—above 290 nm.
If you use sunlamps, always wear protective glasses to shield your eyes, and work quickly, rotating before the bulb.
Sunlamps are dangerous be careful!
It is possible to purchase ultraviolet window panes that will let in the ultraviolet from the sun.
Apparently, this new development is useful.
Overcast skies only filter out about 20% of the ultraviolet rays, so such windows could enable you to take a sunbath in a blizzard.
Sunlight is one of the great blessings given by God to you.
Let it help you and your loved ones every day, and thank Him daily for such a wonderful gift.

What Else You Need to Know

Shade trees and shrubbery too close and dense around a house are unhealthy; for they prevent a free circulation of air, and prevent the rays of the sun from shining through sufficiently.

As a consequence of this, dampness gathers in the house.

Especially in wet seasons, the sleeping rooms become damp, and those who sleep in the beds are troubled with rheumatism, neuralgia, and lung complaints, which generally end in consumption.

Numerous shade trees cast off many leaves, which, if not immediately removed, decay, and poison the atmosphere.

A yard, beautiful with scattering trees and some shrubbery at a proper distance from the house, has a happy, cheerful influence upon the family, and if well taken care of, will prove no injury to health.

Rooms that are not exposed to light and air become damp.

Beds and bedding gather dampness, and the atmosphere in these rooms is poisonous because it has not been purified by light and air.

Various diseases have been brought on by sleeping in these fashionable, health-destroying apartments.

Sleeping rooms, especially, should be well-ventilated, and the atmosphere made healthful by light and air.

Blinds should be left open several hours each day, the curtains put aside, and the room thoroughly aired.

Nothing should remain, even for a short time, which would destroy the purity of the atmosphere.

Life in the open air is good for body and mind.

It is God’s medicine for the restoration of health.

Pure air, good water, sunshine, and the beautiful surroundings of nature these are His means for restoring the sick to health in natural ways.

To the sick, it is worth more than silver or gold to lie in the sunshine or the shade of the trees.

The guest chamber should have equal care with the rooms intended for constant use.

Like the other bedrooms, it should have air and sunshine and should be provided with some means of heating to dry out the dampness that always accumulates in a room not in constant use.

Whoever sleeps in a sunless room, or occupies a bed that has not been thoroughly dried and aired, does so at the risk of health, and often life.

If you would have your homes sweet and inviting, make them bright with air and sunshine.

Remove your heavy curtains, open the windows, throw back the blinds, and enjoy the rich sunlight, even if it be at the expense of the colours of your carpets.

If the windows were freed from blinds and heavy curtains, and the air and sun permitted to enter freely the darkened rooms, there would be a change for the better in the mental and physical health of the children.

The pure air would have an invigorating influence upon them, and the sun that carries healing in its beams would soothe and cheer, and make them happy, joyous, and healthy.

Exercise, and free use of the air and sunlight, would give life and strength to many an emaciated invalid

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