We all know how good it feels to get fresh air and sunshine. If you live in the north, you long for summer or your tropical winter vacation. Yet we are torn between what feels great and what the experts have been pounding in our heads for years. “The sun will kill you” “The sun causes cancer” “Make sure to use at least a shotglass full of sunscreen”. The expert advice has led to fear, hiding and a huge market for products to protect us from the sun.

It seems that your instincts were right on target. Just like plants, we need the sun. Our bodies crave sunlight, our mood lifts, our circadian rhythms are regulated and we look better, feel better and sleep better. In addition, it turns out that not only does the sun prevent, rather than cause cancer, but commercial sunscreens are loaded with chemicals and toxins that sunscreens are actually a cause of cancer rather than the sunlight they are supposed to protect us from.

“For decades, researchers have puzzled over why rich northern countries have cancer rates many times higher than those in developing countries — and many have laid the blame on dangerous pollutants spewed out by industry….[researchers found] the critical factor is more likely a lack of vitamin D. What’s more, researchers are linking low vitamin D status to a host of other serious ailments, including multiple sclerosis, juvenile diabetes, influenza, osteoporosis and bone fractures among the elderly.” TheGlobeandMail.com

Virtually everyone is Vitamin D deficient, and severely so. You simply cannot get enough Vitamin D from your food unless you drink 40 glasses of milk a day or have fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Synthetic, pharmaceutical forms of Vitamin D are toxic and not nearly as effective as your body’s own creation in response to direct sunlight.

Many experts recommend 15 minutes a day in direct sunlight but others say that 15 or 20 minutes is simply not enough. Our bodies evolved to need much more exposure to sunlight than that. Throughout history, humans have spent the majority of their day outside and it is only in the last few centuries that we have been working and then driving protected from the sun and in the last few decades we have gone a step further with sunscreen.

If you are a fan of Dr. Mercola or Mike Adams, you are very familiar with their views on sunshine. We are bombarded with the message to stay out of the sun, therefore missing out on this incredible nutrient, but to make matters worse, many of the ingredients in sunscreen are proven to cause skincancer. Getting adequate sunlight also helps you sleep better by regulating your circadian rhythms. If you never see bright sunlight, your brain may know the time but how does your body know what time it is? Why do you think people get depressed in the winter?

There are a few options for northerners. Either move south, become a snowbird, use a light simulating device or tanning bed during the winter months, or take Cod Liver Oil as Dr. Mercola recommends. This is a perfect example of trusting your instincts. Does it make sense to spend some time in the sun every day? It feels wonderful! It doesn’tt feel good to stay locked up indoors, behind the curtains, with the TV or computer on. What a wonderful prescription for health, fresh air and sunshine the way nature intended!

Additional Resources:
Vitamin D Council
Vitamin D and Ovarian Cancer
Sunlight and Endometrial Cancer
Vitamin D and Breast Cancer
Kidney Cancer and Sunlight
Prostate Cancer and Vitamin D
Colon Cancer and Vitamin D
The Case for Tanning Beds
Vitamin D and flu prevention

Image Source: http://flickr.com/photos/jalalspages/711161806/