The #1 priority for anyone with any health problem, and especially if an autoimmune disease, is to optimize their body’s VITAMIN D levels to control inflammation

Wounds / infections.  Open wounds and broken bones heal better when exposed to the sun.    Dr. Carl Hoffminster, a surgeon during WWII, wrote that soldiers healed and survived much better when their open wounds and broken bones were exposed to sunlight.

Pain relief. Researchers randomly assigned 90 post operative  spinal surgery patients (particularly recognized for post-surgical pain) to rooms with varying amounts of sunlight. Patients in rooms averaging 46% more sunlight required an average 21% reduction in painkillers. The “bright room” patients reported lower pain and stress scores when they left the hospital.  Walch JM et al, The Effect of Sunlight on Postoperative Analgesic Medication Use: A Prospective Study of Patients Undergoing Spinal Surgery, Psychosomatic Medicine Jan/Feb 2005, 67:156-163

Cancer.  vitamin D deficiency is very strongly associated with various cancers.

VITAMIN D against Cancer

Diabetes. Vitamin D increases INSULIN release. Vitamin D deficiency decreases biosynthesis and release of INSULIN. Glucose intolerance has been inversely associated with the concentration of VITAMIN D in the blood. Thus, vitamin D may protect against both Type I and Type II diabetes. Dietary vitamin D or UV-B treatment has been shown to restore insulin sensitivity

Asthma.  vitamin D reduces development of asthmatic symptoms.  Australian researchers (funded by Asthma Foundation of WA) found that measured doses of UV light for 15 to 30 minutes BEFORE allergen exposure significantly reduces the development of asthma-like symptoms (E.g. inflamed airways and lungs) in mice. UV exposure seems to suppress specific immune reactions, producing a cell type that, when transferred into other mice before they’re sensitized to an allergen, can prevent the development of some of the asthma-like symptoms. Telethon Institute for Child Health Research. “Exposure To Sunlight Could Reduce Asthma.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 October 2006

Strengthens muscles.  Tuberculosis patients being treated by sunbathing have been observed to have well-developed muscles with very little fat, even though they have not exercised for months.  Book: “Sunlight can save your life”, Dr. Zane Kime, M.D. The Romans made use of the sun in training their gladiators, since they knew that sunlight strengthened and enlarged the muscles.

Heart Disease / Hypertension / High Blood Pressure.  A 2007 study discovered that the further from the equator, the higher risk of high blood pressure.   The researcher theorized that UV exposure leads to the release of endorphins (brain chemicals linked to pain relief and euphoria) that lower blood pressure by reducing stressful feelings. Rostand also considered that decreased vitamin D production results in increased parathyroid hormone production, serving to increase blood pressure. Rostand SG, Ultraviolet Light May Contribute to Geographic and Racial Blood Pressure Differences, Univ. of Alabama, Hypertension. 1997; 30:150-156. PubMed      Another study found that vitamin D is a negative inhibitor of the renin-angiotensin system, and this serves to lower blood pressure.

• Several physiological mechanisms that fight heart disease are triggered by vitamin D production through sunlight exposure:
  • An increase in the body’s natural anti-inflammatory cytokines
  •  The suppression of vascular calcification
  •  The inhibition of vascular smooth muscle growth (British Journal of Nutrition October 2005; 94(4): 483-492)
• D sufficiency produces optimal blood pressure levels. Especially in those with previously low levels and the elderly obese.  
• Vitamin D supplementation lowers calcium deposition in arteries / lowers blood pressure.   Scottish researchers found that calcium levels in the hair inversely correlated with arterial calcium – the more calcium or plaque in the arteries, the less calcium in the hair. 90% of men experiencing myocardial infarction had low hair calcium. When VITAMIN D was administered, the amount of calcium in the beard went up and this rise continued as long as VITAMIN D was consumed. Almost immediately after stopping supplementation, however, beard calcium fell to pre-supplement levels.

Vision problems

• More than half of the US population over 75 years old have cataracts, glaucoma, or macular degeneration.   The risk of senile cataract is reduced in persons with optimal levels of D and carotenoids.
• Sunglasses block healing UV light.  Contributing to the increased incidence of blindness and eye disease in this country, according to Dr. Jacob Liberman.
• Eyeglasses and contact lenses reduce a significant energy source.   By blocking some of the UV light rays that travel through the eyes to the pineal gland;
• Eyeglasses and sunglasses cause poor vision.  After discontinuing wearing his eyeglasses, Dr. John Ott wrote that he exposed his eyes to sunlight without lenses and his vision was much improved. He recommended similar therapy to his friends and they gained similar improvement in their vision. Ott wrote that nothing should block out the full spectrum of sunlight, no glasses of any kind should block the UV rays, and especially no dark glasses.
• Myopia (and Crooked Teeth).    Low levels of D, and perhaps calcium, in a pregnant mother and later in the child may be the contributing cause of “crooked teeth” and myopia.

Infertility / PMS / Menstrual Migraine

• Infertility is associated with low VITAMIN D which supports estrogen production.
• PMS has been reversed with calcium, magnesium and vitamin D supplementation
• Menstrual migraine is associated with low vitamin D and calcium levels

Depression / CFS / Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).  Vitamin D upregulates mood-related adrenal hormones.   In the adrenal gland, activated vitamin D regulates tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate limiting enzyme necessary for the production of dopamine, epinephrine and Norepinephrine. VITAMIN D supplementation has successfully treated SAD, which affects ~100,000 people, developing into severe depression in the winter.  Penckofer S, Kouba J, Byrn M, Estwing Ferrans C. Vitamin D and depression: where is all the sunshine? Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2010 Jun;31(6):385-93. doi: 10.3109/01612840903437657. PMID: 20450340; PMCID: PMC2908269.  PubMed

Stress.  High stress may increase the need for VITAMIN D and calcium

PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome).  Has been corrected by D supplementation and calcium.

Parkinson’s.  Patients have been found to have lower levels of vitamin D.

Multiple Sclerosis.  A Harvard study concluded that vitamin D had a protective effect against the development of MS.  Munger KL et al, VITAMIN D intake and incidence of multiple sclerosis. Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health

• BBC News: – “. . . researchers found that by just analyzing sunlight, they could explain 61% of the variation in the number of MS cases across England. However when they combined the effect of sunlight and glandular fever, 72% of the variation in MS cases could be explained.” BBC News April 19, 2011; Neurology April 19, 2011;76(16):1410-4 
• U. of Wisconsin Study.   Demonstrated that exogenous VITAMIN D3 can completely prevent experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a widely accepted mouse model of human MS; Hayes CE, Cantorna MT, DeLuca HF, VITAMIN D and multiple sclerosis. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1997 Oct;216(1):21-7.
• In an exploratory study, mortality from MS was found to be reduced by exposure to sunlight by up to 76% – depending on degree of exposure.  Freedman DM, Dosemeci M, Alavanja MC. Mortality from multiple sclerosis and exposure to residential and occupational solar radiation: a case-control study based on death certificates. Occup Environ Med. 2000 Jun;57(6):418-21. doi: 10.1136/oem.57.6.418. PMID: 10810132;

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Weight Loss / Obesity / Energy production

• UVB stimulates the production of Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (MSH).  An important hormone in weight loss and energy production.
• Weight normalization is associated with higher levels of vitamin D and adequate calcium.   UVB / vitamin D normalize food intake and normalize blood sugar. When the diet lacks calcium, there is up to a 5-fold increase in the enzyme fatty acid synthase, which converts calories into fat. Higher levels of calcium with adequate vitamin D inhibit fatty acid synthase. In one study, genetically obese rats lost 60% of their body fat in six weeks on a diet that had moderate calorie reduction but was high in calcium. All rats supplemented with calcium showed increased body temperature indicating a shift from calorie storage to calorie burning (thermogenesis);
• Obesity is associated with D deficiency.  Obese persons have impaired production of UVB-stimulated D and impaired absorption of food source and supplemental D.
  Supports healthy kidney function

Crooked teeth.   Low levels of D, and perhaps calcium, in a pregnant mother and later in the child may be the contributing cause of  “crooked teeth”. When these conditions are found in succeeding generations it means the genetics require higher levels of one or both nutrients to optimize health.

Preeclampsia.  Leading cause of premature delivery and maternal / fetal illness and death worldwide (~46 000 maternal deaths and around 500 000 fetal or newborn deaths each year. WHO); Some 7% of first pregnancies can progress to eclampsia, marked by very high B.P. and swelling of the hands and feet, and culminating in seizures and often-fatal complications of the liver, kidneys, lungs, blood and nervous system. In 2007, Univ. of Pittsburgh School of Health Sciences found vitamin D deficiency to be one of the most common reasons for this condition. J Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism September 2007; 92(9) 3517-22

Tuberculosis. Sunlight therapy has been used successfully worldwide to treat TB for more than a century.   Studies have also shown that metabolizing VITAMIN D can restrict the growth of tuberculosis within cells. In one study, Indonesian scientists found that treating tuberculosis patients with 10,000 units of VITAMIN D daily (instead of the much smaller amount usually advocated by conventional medicine) led to a cure rate of 100% – everyone in the study! Wilkinson R, 2000;  Nursyam EW et al, 2006
Sunlight helps baby sleep better at night.  According to a study, babies exposed to twice as much light during the day (between noon and 4 pm) became better sleepers at night.   The study consisted of 55 babies who were monitored for three successive days at the age intervals of: 6, 9 and 12 weeks old; light monitors were attached to each of the babies’ cribs. Parents were advised to go about their usual routines, as well as keep a diary of their baby’s sleep and crying patterns. One theory explained the connection between light exposure and sleeping by stating that higher light levels encourage early development of the biological clock. This natural body clock regulates a wide range of bodily functions, such as the secretion of MELATONIN, which not only promotes sleep, but also plays an important role in well-balanced sleeping patterns. Researchers concluded that healthy doses of daylight encourage babies to sleep at night.  BBC News November 22, 2004