Sunlight and Health

I began growing plants as a little girl. I was amazed at my mom's ability to grow anything in any conditions, and I strived to do as she did. It was one of our bonds in fact. When I got older, my houseplant growing grew into gardening. I LOVE gardening. I love the planting, the watering, the weeding, everything about it. It's just peaceful to me to be outside, in the sunlight, working in my gardens. When I was injured and learned I had a spinal disease, I thought my gardening days were over, along with my hiking, search and rescue and pretty much everything else. One day I decided I would never know what I could actually still do if I didn't try it, so we plowed a garden (Okay, so my husband did the actual tilling, but I did the hoeing and planting). What I started noticing amazed me.

On the days I was physically able to get outside in the mornings, work in the garden and stay out for at least an hour, I felt great. My back didn't hurt nearly as much as it should, my skin got clearer, even my dirty fingernails got healthier. I couldn't place it, but I KNEW sunlight is the reason. In the beginning God created the Earth, sun, moon and everything in between. Then He created man. No where does it say that God created houses, and artificial light or sunscreen.....those are man's creations. We all know well most things man creates really work. In the long run, they don't usually work at all, but usually create more problems. Please remember this is my opinion, and while you're free to disagree with me (I actually hope others believe how they choose in ALL things), debating me won't change my opinions. I don't believe we were created to be inside a house all day, hiding from the sun and heat. We have become so disillusioned to believe the sun is evil, sweating is a dirty hassle and that we can get all the nutrients we need from little pills, that we negate all natural benefits of being outside. Sweat, while if not cleansed can stink, is really cleansing to our skin and the systems of our body. Sunlight, while if taken at the wrong time of day or for too long each day can injure our skin, it also provides us with the tools to build our bones and heal our bodies and our minds....for free! And those pills we take as vitamins may help us for a while, but for how long, and should we have to rely on them forever to live?

Back at the turn of the 20th century, many people stopped farming and moved into cities where they stayed inside buildings most of the day. Rickets, TB and other plagues began to overwhelm us, and doctors started looking for cures. One doctor, Dr Auguste Rollier started studying the effects of sunlight on disease, and in 1903 he opened his first sunlight (heliotherapy) clinic in Europe. From the images I have seen, they put beds on the balconies so patients could receive sunlight directly on their skin, even in winter! What he found was sunlight and a healthy diet were all that was needed to cure even TB. In about a year people were being cured of diseases, just by eating right and allowing the sun to touch their skin. So I have to wonder why the CDC or FDA or whoever controls this stuff, keeps saying sunlight is evil to us. Yes, over exposure to the sun can cause skin damage, but all the evidence saying sunlight alone causes skin cancer is really lacking. I am curious now, and I want to study this more thoroughly. I'll try to keep you updated on what I learn........
Until then: Have fun playing outside in the dirt!
Peace.