Vitamin D And The Sun: A Deeper Look

The sun has gotten a bad rap in recent years. We’ve been told repeatedly that too much sun can lead to skin cancer. Due to this, many people are finding ways to avoid sun exposure as much as possible by slathering on sun screen, covering up with sunglasses, long sleeves, and hats, or just staying inside. But what if the sun isn’t such a bad guy, after all? Sunbathers, take heart, because scientific research is now telling us that Vitamin D actually plays a role in the prevention of various diseases and symptoms. In this intriguing new video from IPEtv, Marc David, Founder of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, flips the script on the old belief that the sun is bad for you, and unpacks the healing benefits that accompany a healthy dosage of sunshine!

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Here is a transcript of this week’s video:

Greetings, friends. I’m Marc David, founder of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating. Let’s talk about some of the secrets of vitamin D and the sun. And I will share with you an important secret about vitamin D and the sun that I think can make a big difference in your health. But I want to give you some background about vitamin D first. We’re going to build up to this.

So you might know this. You might not. But let me tell you. Vitamin D is creating a ton of excitement in the research community these days. So behind the scenes, the popularity of this substance is exploding. And it’s got a lot of power. It’s starting to hit the mainstream. And the findings are pretty vast in terms of vitamin D playing a role in the treatment and prevention of so many different diseases and symptoms. It’s wild.

So check this out. Vitamin D has been proven to play a role in the prevention and treatment of heart disease, cancer, depression, mood, anemia, eye diseases, all kinds of diseases of the skin, fatigue, fibromyalgia, arthritis. Vitamin D will impact the growth of children. It impacts your digestive health.

It will play a profound role in pregnancy and immune health, certainly bone health. Believe it or not, in weight, in stress resiliency, prostate health, breast health, lung health, athletic performance. And we’re just scratching the surface. The list goes on. I don’t think you can find another substance that has such far-reaching effects as vitamin D. That’s what we’re starting to find out. What a powerful substance!

So it seems that we should all be taking vitamin D so we can get these amazing benefits. And indeed the research seems to bear this out as an estimated—check this out; it’s wild—an estimated 75% of people studied are vitamin D deficient. So just think of that long list that I just read for you. And 75% of human beings are walking around vitamin D deficient. That’s crazy.

So here’s the secret I wanted to share with you. It’s less about vitamin D, and it’s about the sun. Vitamin D, we call it the sunshine vitamin because your body produces vitamin D when you are exposed to sunlight. It’s the byproduct of these invisible ultraviolet rays coming from the sun, interacting with the chemistry of the skin. And then you produce vitamin D. And it’s going to circulate in your body. So you aren’t really deficient in vitamin D. You’re deficient in the sun. I want you to note that.

So, yes, you need more vitamin D. But what you really need is more of the big fireball in the sky. And what kind of boggles my mind is somehow we have reduced the sun to a supplement. So instead of saying, “Oh, my God. You need to get outside. You need to breathe. You need to get the sun on your skin,” it’s like, “No, you need to supplement.”

No you don’t! And, yes, I understand some people are going to get prescribed a supplement. It’s okay. But what I’m really saying is we have to change our deeper understanding because so many people now are taught to believe that, “The sun is your enemy. And the sun is going to cause skin cancer. And, oh, my God, you have to stay away from the sun.” And that’s a bunch of nonsense.

So, yes, the sun can be a contributing factor for certain people under extreme conditions. But the bottom line is you need the sun to survive and thrive. It’s as simple as that. So essentially the plants are factories for catching the sun’s energy. We eat the plants. Or we eat the animals that eat the plants. So we’re basically eating the sun. And we have to get back to basics.

If you want to have the best chance for long-term health, get sunlight. Drink it in. Obviously be responsible. Don’t fry yourself. You’ll produce more vitamin D. Your body is going to love you for it. Just think about it. We owe our life to a big fireball in the sky. And somehow we have to respect that.

And when we respect it and when you learn how to dance more with the sun, your metabolism, the science of how your body is created just explodes into its greatest potential.

And that, my friends, is the magic of the world.