We suffer when we ignore the truths all around us.

Sunshine is necessary for all life. Yet, in our human arrogance we've tried to make the sun into some kind of villian. We accuse it of causing disease when nothing could be further from the truth. We're warned by experts to stay out of the sun because it can cause skin cancer - but study after study says this isn't so. Some work has demonstrated that sunshine can actually prevent or cure skin cancer.

Still, we're bombarded with advertising and advice to cover and or slather sun blocking creams and lotions on our exposed areas. The higher the "spf" (sun protection factor) value the better the goop is supposed to be.

Consider just a few items:

• The "cradle of humankind" is identified as the regions of the earth where sunshine is dominant - South Africa. From there nature extracted the best examples of life and bestowed on them the human characteristics. Historically, the sun has always been our necessary friend.
• Inhabitants of far north areas (near the pole for example) routinely expose themselves to lights to compensate for th elong dark winters.
• One powerful treatment for psoriasis is UV radiation.
• "Cabin fever" is relieved when we get outside in the fresh air and sunshine.

I've written about this often. See http://www.thecompounder.com/othersunshine.php.

It is important to keep in mind that human skin has changed since the days when our kind "stepped from the ooze", and not every person is able to withstand direct sunlight at the same level. Burning is a problem that should be avoided. The burned skin may suffer more distress and disease. But this does NOT mean that people have to apply chemicals to protect themselves. Except in extremely rare situations common sense and light clothing is more than sufficient to protect us.

I NEVER recommend applying any kind of chemical sunscreen. I conclude that exposing those chemicals to direct UV radiation (sunshine) can convert them, to free radicals that will be absorbed THROUGH the skin into our body. That increases the potential for damage from circulating free radicals and requires that we consume more antioxidant supplements to combat them.

Does it make sense to take a supplement to counteract the effects of a chemical bath we apply so that we can avoid the benefits of sunshine? NO.

If you live in the north you'll need to make more of an effort to get enough sunshine, and you may also want to consider supplements that provide vitamin D3 (Cod Liver Oil is excellent).

Here's my synopsis of the story from UPI.

The UPI (6/6/2008) reports that , "[s]un exposure and vitamin D levels may play a strong role in risk of type 1 diabetes in children." Cedric F. Garland, Dr.P.H., of the University of California San Diego, and colleagues, found that children "living at or near the equator, where there is abundant sunshine, have low incidence rates of type 1 diabetes."

Children who live in countries at higher latitudes, such as Canada, where there is less sunlight for much of the year, are far more likely to develop juvenile diabetes. The authors said that their findings lend new support to the concept of a role of vitamin D in reducing risk of this disease.

The authors attempted to control for confounding factors such as the level of medical care. But, they confirmed that incidence rates were generally highest in high latitude regions, independent of per capita health expenditures. For instance, in Finland, which has high per capita health expenditures, the study showed that about 37 out of 100,000 boys under the age of 14 develop type 1 diabetes, where in Cuba, which has lower per capita health expenditures, the rate is closer to two in 100,000.

The researchers noted the possibility that UVB exposure prevents type 1 diabetes by mechanisms unrelated to vitamin D because other studies suggest that the disease is caused by viral pathogens which can be killed on surfaces by exposure to sunlight.