by Effie Moore Salem

Created on: November 06, 2008   Last Updated: November 22, 2008

Sunlight is essential to life; without it, there would be none. Photosynthesis, a process by which oxygen and chlorophyll makes plants grow, need sunshine in its nature factory. Without it, there would be no life as we now know it. The earth would be barren and made up of inert gases and dull lifeless soil. And even here, for this to have happened, there must have been, at some prior time, some form of sunshine or some other light giving property.

Without sunshine, nothing green will grow and what is there to feed the animals? Without sunshine, no trees will grow, no vegetables will grow and the earth will be void of animal and vegetative life. Certainly there will be no humans as they exist because of the interaction between plant and animal life.

Yet on a lighter note lets forget about the magical qualities of sunshine and dwell upon the sun shining on us today and how it is helping us heal or how, with too much exposure it can kill us; how it heats and cools our homes and how it can elevate our mood by its presence and depress us by its absence.

Sunarc is an online sunlight, nutrition and health center that gives us the lowdown on the latest thinking where health and sunshine is concerned. They dedicate themselves to research the pros and cons of the sunlight as it relates to health and disease. The organization is made up of medical scientists from around the country.

One paper they call "A Vitamin D Starter Kit" is eye opening to say the least. Far from being something to fear, sunshine, when used with caution and with health in mind, can improve health and even heal us of some of our illness that results from lack of sunshine. How much Vitamin D is needed? "Skin production of vitamin D3, stimulated by solar ultraviolet-B (UVB) provides most of the vitamin D for the majority of Americans."

This Sunarc.org report went on to say "For young, lightly-pigmented individuals, a few minutes of mid-day solar UVB in summer can produce about 1000 IU for each 10% of the body exposed. Wearing sunscreen blocks vitamin D production."

They mean of course not to do away sunscreen but do allow a few minutes of primetime sun each day. Some how we have been too cautious about one side of the story concerning cancer and UVB rays and have avoided it completely. The results are now being shown that we have, in protecting our selves and our children; we have gone obscured the sun and its wonderful natural means of good health.

Sunshine interacts with us in everything we do. Without it we not be. It gives us life, it feeds us, it gives us food for thought and when we are sad it cheers up. Not only that, now that we have received the bad news that our fossil fuels are nearly all used up and our environment is drastically in need of a cleaning-up campaign, what comes to our rescue? The beautiful rising sun greets us every morning. Is it any wonder then that it is seen as a beaming smiling face? Never is it so missed as when it is absent?

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