Sun Powered Vitality

By Brian Clement, PhD, LN

Since all life comes from the sun, we should consciously pursue sunlight daily. This is challenging in a time where science has twisted our minds to believe that the sun’s very energy creates cancer.

Factually, there is no higher incidence of cancer with the Africans and South American indigenous populations than there was a half-century ago, yet these people spend far more time in the sun than we indoor-dwellers do. This poses a question - why do so many people in the Western world contract cancer of the skin from sun exposure?

This is very easy to answer, since the major difference between the developing world and Western civilization are the diets and lives that we now lead.

The sun is a great booster of the immune system. When the needed ultraviolet rays penetrate our bodies, our T-cells are activated, and this sparks a chain reaction throughout the immune system. As you know, the immune system is the army within your body that prevents unwanted life forms from harming us.

Our Western diet consists of several times more meat and dairy food than a century ago, making it a definite foe of the immune system. This diet is laced with an insane cocktail of xenoestrogens, pesticides, PCP, fungicides, etc. The immune system aggressively pushes this lethal blend out of the system as rapidly as possible; unfortunately, this happens through our skin, one of the central organs of elimination.

Each day the average person eliminates one kilo, two pounds, of debris though the pores. When the sun’s rays interact with this concoction, it causes a mutagenic effect on the cells, often resulting in melanoma and other cancers of the skin. This is not limited to current sun exposure, but actually reaches back to sun damage you may have suffered as a young child.

Although not health-threatening, the greatest cause of skin dryness and wrinkles is sun exposure. Even if you are magnificently healthy, you should avoid sun exposure after 9AM until late in the day, depending upon the season. On the other hand, it is critical that all of us directly or indirectly expose our bodies to sunlight for approximately thirty minutes per day. Although nude exposure is preferable, clothing made from natural fiber allows UV rays to penetrate the skin.

When living in seasonal climates, make sure, no matter how cold it may become, that you go outside daily, for brisk walks, sports, or other activities. When doing so, select an organically pure sun block that does not contain the carcinogenic chemicals that many of the so-called “natural” crèmes still contain. There is a body of scientific evidence showing that many sun blocks literally increase our chance of cancer. Effective sunglasses should also be worn when exposed to the sun during the main daylight hours.

Our overall health, including brain function, requires UV exposure. Make sure that you are getting indirect sunlight in your eyes during the early and late part of the day. Dr. Jacob Lieberman, in his book Light, explains the significance of this need. You may never feel more energy than when you have been exposed to the sun.

There are hundreds of millions of people worldwide who are mildly or seriously depressed due to their sunless environments. When waking to the sun, our days seem to start that much better.  We need Vitamin D from the sun and have discovered that 40% of the population studied lacks this immune system, bone building nutrient.

Every drop of life on earth begins with the ultraviolet rays that pour down on this planet. Our food, water, and sun exposure will nourish us with these coveted rays. Our very existence depends upon a constant supply of these nourishing spectrums, and when we receive sunlight in its purest, unadulterated glory, our vitality is greatly enhanced.

From day to day our ambition should be wholeness and health. To maintain vitality, always include some time spent in nature. When we find ourselves confined to urban life, working long hours, we may not get the sunlight our bodies require. Under these conditions, I would strongly suggest the use of full-spectrum lighting. These are available at electrical stores worldwide. Studies have shown that even night workers who generally develop weakened immune systems can reverse this problem by working under full-spectrum lighting.

John Ott, Walt Disney’s lighting advisor on the spectacular film Fantasia, and later the pioneer of Western light therapy, also wrote a book called Light. Unlike Dr. Lieberman’s book, which focuses on the eye’s relationship to the sun, Ott's book looks at the multi-faceted way that sunlight enhances our existence.

As previously mentioned, most city dwellers are vitamin D deficient. The source of vitamin D is sunlight. When the sun interacts with your body’s chemicals, vitamin D and many other healing processes are created. This is a result of the phenomenal process that occurs when one’s body captures the sun’s energy.

Despite what the dairy industry would have you believe, the vitamin D in milk, as well as in most vitamin pills, is vitamin D2. Vitamin D2 is synthetic. It is not nearly as effective as the natural vitamin D obtained from sunlight, which is vitamin D3, or calciferol.

California researcher Dr. Gordon Ainsleigh estimates that 30,000 cancer deaths in the United States alone could be prevented each year if people would adopt a regimen of regular, moderate sun exposure. Although the medical establishment still strongly supports the use of sunscreens there is a growing consensus among progressive researchers that the use of sunscreens does not prevent skin cancer and, as a matter of fact, may actually promote skin cancer, as well as colon and breast cancer.

In addition to the strong evidence that vitamin D3 prevents cancer, it has also been associated with improvement in diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, infertility, PMS, fatigue, depression Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), autoimmune disorders, and even obesity and “Syndrome X.”

There are some, including myself, who believe that consistent, healthy, exposure to the sun reduces the need to consume as much food. Gaining energy directly from the source precludes the need to consume sunlight from the foods that we eat, so our need for food is diminished.

When I was in my early thirties, I took a two-month sabbatical just before embarking on a three-year tour of Europe. Although I intended to read and rest, boredom and a challenge from one of my students provoked me to conduct an interesting experiment. I wanted to see how significant sunlight was in the process of strengthening my overall health. Half-heartedly I set out on what I believed would be an impossible venture to the local employment agency.

My request was clear: I wanted to perform manual work, outdoors, starting at five or six in the morning and ending by mid-afternoon. I was shocked when the employment agent handed me a paper which directed me to be at Cape Kennedy Space Center the very next morning, where I would join a demolition crew involved in disassembling and salvaging the Apollo launch pads.

I was set to spend six weeks in this pursuit, but I didn’t expect the manual labor to be so overwhelming. For the first week, I felt parts of my body and muscles that I didn’t know existed. I truly wanted to quit. In spite of this, either my determination or stubbornness propelled me forward. Every morning, wearing shorts and no shirt to gain full access to the UV rays, I participated in a ruthless work schedule.

To my coworkers’ surprise, they discovered that I was a vegan, and the mocking began. One noticed that I didn’t eat at all on Wednesdays, and probably thought I had lost my mind. In spite of this, by my third week of employment I was promoted to foreman, since after the 11AM lunch break I was the only productive member of the crew.

With three weeks left on the job, I pushed the envelope and began juice fasting twice a week. As the days passed, it became apparent that I was becoming stronger and more vital. My mind and body now looked forward to the challenge of heavy work and the joy of accomplishment.

While teaching the Hippocrates program in the East and Middle East, I was often invited to address physicians at “natural” (nature-cure) hospitals. In Europe as well I had the opportunity to visit many health hospitals, and I helped to develop health centers around the world. In these places, I saw sunlight being used as an important therapy.

Later, while directing Humlegarten, the pioneer center of living food, founded by Dr. Christine Nolfi who healed herself of cancer with a raw food diet and exercise, I began to advocate sunlight exposure daily to all of the patients. Dr. Nolfi monitored the improvements made by the patients. She found that those who sunbathed daily, often behind wind-blocks, had noticeably more active leukocytes/ white blood cell activity.

Your ability to embark on a health-building program will be greatly enhanced if one of your first steps is to befriend the early- and late-day sun. You will surely begin to experience the power that is present in the Earth’s generator. Before you know it, you will become passionate about the possibilities of greater health and happiness and you will find yourself more active in outdoor pursuits.

Sun Powered Vitality

Listed below are five ways to gain the vital ultraviolet rays of the sun:

1. Homes and offices should contain full-spectrum lighting, Plexiglas windows (which allow certain types of healthy UV rays in), and skylights. Using fountains, ponds and pools will help to reflect and refract sunlight and make it more available in your living and working environment.
2. Storing your drinking water in glass containers and exposing it to direct or indirect sunlight will create molecular changes, which enhance the vitality of the water. This occurs when the sun’s rays add extra electrons, which interact with the hydrogen molecules, causing an arching effect in the water’s oxygen.
3. Wear colorful natural fiber clothing that will attract certain healthy ultraviolet rays. White and pastels attract more of these healthy rays; dark colors attract less. During outdoor activity, make sure that you are wearing the most beneficially colored garments.
4. Exercise in early morning and late-day light. Swimming is the most effective activity for those desiring the maximum sun-building energy.
5. Rest, relax and sleep outdoors, under natural shelters such as elevated cotton canvas, umbrellas, tents, tiki huts, etc. This health-giving rest time can be conducted in the mid-day sun, since the covering eliminates the vast majority of the sun’s rays.