As the dark days of the season close in, most people miss the feeling of sunlight on their skin.

This need is part of an evolutionary heritage since humans are not well-adapted to live in northern climates. We’re essentially an equatorial, tropical species who have migrated slowly to places with long, dark winters and little sun.

One major problem people face living far from their natural region “the equator”, is that it’s hard to get enough Vitamin D, a hormone that is essential for keeping our bones strong and also for running our immune systems.

No one wants to get skin cancer, but instead of worshiping the sun as our ancestors did, most fear it. Statistics show that 40% of the U.S. population is vitamin D deficient. Humans have evolved with the ability to make Vitamin D in our skins, but the process requires an intensity of ultraviolet light that doesn’t exist in many winter regions.

Some Truths About Sun Exposure:

• The healing rays of natural sunlight cannot penetrate glass. So you don’t generate vitamin D when sitting in your car or home.
• The further you live from the equator, the longer exposure you need to the sun in order to generate vitamin D.
• People with dark skin pigmentation may need 20 to 30 times more exposure to sunlight than fair-skinned people to generate the same amount of vitamin D.
• Even weak sunscreens (SPF=8) block your body’s ability to generate vitamin D by 95%, so the only way to actually increase vitamin D production in your body is by smart exposure to the sun. Scientists say anywhere from 15 minutes 2 to 3 times a week to one hour per day depending on your skin color, but always avoiding the sun’s peak hours (10 am to 3 pm). Adequate amounts of unfiltered sunlight are critical to good health.
• It is impossible to generate too much vitamin D in your body from sunlight exposure: your body will self- regulate and only generate what it needs. That’s because we have a natural check-and-balance mechanism that shuts off the synthesis when we get enough.
• If it hurts to press firmly on your sternum, you may be suffering from chronic vitamin D deficiency right now.
• Obesity weakens vitamin D utilization in the body, therefore obese people need two times more vitamin D.
• Your risk of developing serious diseases like diabetes and cancer is reduced by 50% – 80% through simple, sensible exposure to natural sunlight 2-3 times each week.

Sunlight exposure is still one of the most powerful healing therapies in the world, far surpassing the best science efforts. We’ve benefited from it for hundreds of years, without even knowing about it, before the sunscreen fever.

There is no drug or therapy that comes even close to the amazing healing power of natural sunlight.

Article Source: Sunlight Exposure Pros and Cons