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Sunburn causes a skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma. There can be very little doubt about this.
Additionally, all you sun worshipers out there should know that sunburn, even slight sunburn, causes premature aging of the skin, including wrinkles and pigmentation. So should you stay out of the sun? No, just avoid sunburn.
In fact, instead of fearing the sun, it is vitally important for you to understand just how valuable the sun is to your health.
So here's the bottom line: sunlight deficiency results in biological imbalances which can cause depression, anxiety, osteoporosis, hypothyroidism, insomnia, cancer, infectious disease, and immune suppression.
Sunlight has become a medical scapegoat, virtually synonymous with skin cancer. Dr. Shallenberger believes that we can attribute a good deal of the increase in skin cancer to the very same factors that have brought about an increase in every other type of cancer: decreased energy production, toxicity, stress, and poor food choices.
Sunlight Deficiency = Energy Deficiency
Many studies have shown a decrease in energy production in both animals and humans when they do not receive enough sunlight.
The decline in thyroid and immune system function so commonly seen during the winter is a direct result of decreased sunlight exposure.
The Healing Sun
In the early 1900s, a Danish medical researcher named Niels Finsen developed an ultraviolet light treatment for an infectious skin disease called lupus vulgaris for which there was no cure. Ultraviolet light is the radiation that come naturally from the sun.
During his research Finsen discovered that it was not the light itself but rather some internal physiological process that was stimulated by ultraviolet radiation. Today we know that ultraviolet light stimulates the Langerhorn cells in the skin which are vital to immune system function.
In the late 1800's and early 1900's there were several clinics located in the Alps, high above the cloud layer, where patients could go to receive medical treatment.
The “treatment” consisted of continuous sunbathing along with a balanced diet for anywhere from 6-18 months. These treatments were very effective therapies for chronic infections and immune function disturbances. Many successful cures of tuberculosis and other "incurable diseases" were documented at these sun clinics.
The Sunshine Vitamin
Deficiencies of vitamin D are quite common, especially in persons who avoid the sun, and result in osteoporosis, heart disease, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and decreased immune system function.
Sunlight is the rate limiting factor in the production of vitamin D. The term rate limiting means that if a necessary substance (in this case sunlight) is not available for a particular chemical reaction then the production of the end product suffers. Your body’s ability to make vitamin D is directly dependent on your exposure to sunlight.
Here are some good tips to help insure adequate sunlight exposure:
· Those of you in northern latitudes need to make sure that you go outside in the middle of the day for at least 20 minutes during the winter.
· Glass will interfere with the absorption of certain spectrums of UV light which are very important. That is also why exposure to sunlight through windows is of limited usefulness, and will not completely suffice for your needs.
· Sunlight exposure is particularly important for those who work under flourescent lights. If you can, try to use full spectrum flourescent lighting, but if you can't, this is all the more reason to get out in the sun.
· In the summer limit your exposure to sunlight between 10 AM and 3 PM, and always avoid sunburn.
For the record, not one case of basal cell carcinoma or melanoma was observed. This is undoubtedly because great attention was placed on being sure that the patients became gradually accustomed to the sun without getting sunburned. After reading the results of these clinics, I am convinced that correct sunlight exposure along with a healthy diet will prevent the very same skin cancers that some say are caused by the sun.
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