New Studies Show The Benefits Of Sunlight To Your Health

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An Australian study which was recently released suggests that we can reduce the risk of diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease by getting vitamin D from sun exposure.

Multiple Sclerosis or MS is an autoimmune disease that affects over 2.5 million people worldwide. It blocks the brain from communicating with the rest of the body by damaging the protective layer surrounding nerve cells. While very little is known about the devastating disease it is believed that environmental factors, heredity, a virus or a combination of these things can promote it’s onset.

At the University of Oxford scientist monitored vitamin D binder receptor sites and noticed a change in activity of 228 genes. Dr. Andreas Heger who led the research was quoted as saying “Our study shows quite dramatically the wide-ranging influence that vitamin D exerts over our health”.

In Scotland studies were done to correlate the nation’s dreary weather with the occurrence of disease and the populations overall vitamin D deficiency. They showed that the people of Scotland were twice as likely to be vitamin D deficient and had levels of vitamin D four times lower than people in England who receive about 400 more hours of sunlight each year. Scotland ranks as one of the countries with the highest known cases of MS. After these findings a number of campaigns where started to educate people on the importance that vitamin D has on their health.

With the evidence that is now available linking vitamin D with overall health, including the incidence of MS, many scientists believe that it is one of the most important nutrients for human beings.

Tanning salons may be a viable option for those who do not live in areas that receive a lot of sunlight but they do come with other health risks. Many scientists do not recommend using them on a regular basis because of the skin cancer risk associated with them.

While these studies do not prove that having sufficient levels of vitamin D will eliminate the risk of MS it is believed that many in the medical profession will be prescribing it as a preventative measure.

We only need about 15 minutes of sunlight each day for our body to produce the needed levels of vitamin D. If you do not get this amount of time in the sun each day you may want to consider supplementation.

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