Simply Natural

Get Naked in the Sun

September 23, 2007

We tire of our media, doctors, the FDA, and all the manufacturers of sun lotions warning us about the dangers of the sun. We don’t hear enough praise of the sun. The sun is a fundamental source of healing. It promotes strong tissue building and healing through the removal of toxins. Sunlight pulls toxins to the surface of the skin for elimination.

Sunlight makes us bright and cheery. I spent most of my life living in Northern Vermont. They don’t have much sunshine up there. There are many very nice, but quite “stoic�, people there (“yup, nope�). Now I live in New Mexico, where people chat and smile a lot.

We are solar powered. All life on earth depends on the sun. With the help of the sun, plants create all the nutrients we need to survive, and the oxygen we breathe. Plants lock this sun energy into their stems, leaves, seeds, roots, and fruits. We, and all mammals, subsist on a diet of these plants or on other animals that eat these plants. We are also nourished directly by sun energy. It enters our body via thousands of capillaries in our skin. It is converted directly into nourishment by hemoglobin in the blood just as plants use photosynthesis to create chlorophyll. Hemoglobin and chlorophyll are identical except for one mineral.

Some will say that the sun causes skin cancer. The sun doesn’t cause skin cancer; it causes all life on earth. Skin cancer is caused by too many toxins in the body. When the sun draws poisons from the body to the skin (our largest eliminative organ), they sometimes congeal with the skin causing a cancer condition. Blaming the sun for skin cancer is like blaming air for lung cancer.

One thing causes cancer: breaking the laws of nature. Those laws include a healthy diet. Protection from the sun’s rays begins with eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, and removing toxins from our bodies on a regular basis. One way to do that is by skipping breakfast and lunch one day a week, while drinking plenty of water. Our bodies cleanse naturally when not burdened with constant digestion and assimilation of food.

Substances in plants that protect them from ultra-violet radiation also protect you when you “eat your greens�, as mom told us to do. Make a large, raw green salad the centerpiece of your dinner on your “skip two meals� day. Add chunks of avocado and a few raw pieces of broccoli or asparagus. Be sure to add raw greens to your diet every day. Beta-carotene (yes, there is plenty in greens) is just one of those elements that literally shield the nucleus of each cell.

When the body is clean and internally protected with beta-carotene, you will be amazed how much better you will tan, and how much longer you can stay in the sun. When people eat correctly and eliminate toxins from their body, exposure to the sun cannot lead to skin cancer.

Smearing goop on our skin, as in commercial sunscreens, is an abomination. Those are “snake oils�, and keep the body’s own oil-secreting glands from working properly. They clog the pores, compounding the problem, and they nearly all contain toxic ingredients. For severely dry or sensitive skin a light rubbing of raw coconut oil or cold pressed aloe vera will do fine. Better, for those issues, would be to cover up or stay out of the sun when it is uncomfortable. Keep in mind, anything you rub on your body goes into your body, the same as when you drink it. Coconut oil and aloe-vera are both healthy foods.

Do your best to exercise in the fresh air and sunshine. Be barefoot and as naked as you dare. The ancients from Babylonia, Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and Rome were all aware of the hygienic use of the sun. Roman Olympians were required to sun bathe. Herodotus, Hippocrates, and Zoroaster all wrote about the goodness of the sun on the body for health.

Jacob Lieberman, O.D., Ph.D., in his book “Light: Medicine of The Future�, calls light “a nutrient for our bodies that profoundly affects us�. Candidiasis is a fungal infection that affects more than 60% of our population, and 80% of those are women. It is one of those conditions that has you feeling tired and slow, some days, but not on others. Fungus is destroyed by direct sunlight. I have counseled numerous people with candida, and one of the important steps is to get sunlight on the body.

Sunlight improves our overall health and vitality. It is a fine cosmetic, smoothing away wrinkles and strengthening skin tone. Pigmented skin in general is stronger and contributes to optimum health, which means fewer diseases. It also means feeling more comfortable in hot and cold weather.

Sunbaths for the pregnant mom before and after childbirth will increase the mother’s ability to nurse her child, and adds an improvement in the quality of the milk. Sunlight is so good for general health that the delivery will be more pain free and safer. Another benefit will be less tiredness, backache, and loss of appetite.

The condition of your blood dramatically impacts health. Full-spectrum natural light affects your blood, which courses through your eyes in its entirety, every 2 hours. We are able to absorb much sunlight through our eyes. Don’t wear sunglasses unless absolutely necessary—you look fine without them.

Natural sunlight is of value at all ages and in virtually all states of physical wellness. Unnatural light, which is rarely “full� spectrum, does not get the job done. However, don’t think of sunlight as a therapeutic agent. It is, along with fresh air and pure water, among other things, simply an essential of good health and nutrition. The fact that we don’t have thick hair on our bodies makes it obvious that we were designed for a naked life in the sunshine.

Facts about sunshine
• Chickens raised in the sun produce eggs with harder, thicker shells
• It enhances bodily nutritive processes overall
• It facilitates phosphorus and calcium absorption
• It’s a catalyst for vitamin D production in the skin
• Excessive sun injures our skin just as if it was scalding water, ugh
• Sufficient sunlight is related to the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin in the blood
• A lack of sun may result in anemia
• It has an antiviral and antibacterial effect
• It helps solve acne and psoriasis

There are definite negative health effects from most artificial lighting. The coolwhite fluorescent bulb is legally banned in German hospitals and medical facilities.

Sunlamps are harmful; they do not have a perfect balance of ultra-violet and infrared radiation. Sunlight accelerates the growth of hair. During WWII it was discovered that exposing abrasions, open wounds, and broken bones to direct sunlight led to quicker healing.

Studies clearly show that reproduction of both plants and animals is adversely affected by various kinds of artificial light vs. natural light.

Trent Smith is a health educator and coach, certified by Teacher’s College, Columbia University, and The Institute For Integrative Nutrition in New York City. He lives in Taos and his favorite hangout is the organic produce aisle at Cid’s Market. His website is www.TrentSmithCoaching.com