vitamin D through sunlight may decrease a person's risk of developing breast cancer by 50 percent and of
developing colorectal cancer by more than 65 percent.
To increase the precision and accuracy of the study, researchers used meta-analysis to pool data from
multiple previous studies. They divided subjects into groups based on their blood levels of vitamin D and
compared the incidence of cancer between groups. The collected data showed that individuals in the
group with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D had the highest rates of breast cancer, and the breast
cancer rates dropped as the blood levels increased. The most astounding finding in this study is that the
blood level associated with a 50 percent lower risk of breast cancer could be reached by spending as little
as 25 minutes in the sun for darker skinned people, and no more than 10 to 15 minutes for lighter skinned
individuals. This practically makes the sun an instant healer, far more effective than even the most
aggressively hyped cancer drugs, such as Herceptin.
The second study showed that the same amount of sunlight corresponded with a two-thirds lower risk
of contracting colorectal cancer. For any doctor or friend who asks for proof for the “outrageous” claim
that sunlight can prevent or cure cancer, you may want to refer him or her to the Journal of Steroid
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2006.12.007;‘ Vitamin D and prevention of
breast cancer: Pooled analysis’) and to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (Volume 32,
Number 3, Pages 210-216 ‘Optimal vitamin D status for colorectal cancer prevention—A quantitative
meta-analysis’).
Unlike drugs, surgery, or radiation, sunlight costs nothing, has no harmful side effects, and can
prevent numerous other diseases at the same time.
Not dissimilar to the study on cancers, researchers found a strong correlation between geography and
multiple sclerosis (MS). As it turns out, the incidence of MS decreases the closer to the equator (where the
most UV sunlight is) one resides. Another study (2007) shows that exposing children to healthful levels of
sunlight can significantly reduce their risk of falling victim to MS as adults. The University of Southern
California team claim UV rays offer protection by altering the cell immune responses or by boosting
vitamin D levels. MS is among the most common neurological diseases affecting around two million
people worldwide. The research team noted that MS is more common at higher latitudes, which generally
have lower levels of ultraviolet radiation—the type produced by the sun. Sunlight triggers a chemical
reaction in the body leading to vitamin D production.
The American National Institute of Health (NIH) has linked deficiencies of the sun-made vitamin D to
rising rates of many diseases, including osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, and diabetes, just
to name a few. Today, up to 60 percent of all hospital patients and up to 80 percent of all nursing home
patients are vitamin D deficient. What’s worse, 76 percent of pregnant mothers are severely vitamin D
deficient. To get the disease-curbing benefits of sunlight, you need to get outside at least three times a
week, for a minimum of 15-20 minutes each time.
Pharmaceutical companies have also recognized the importance of vitamin D in the cure of cancer
and other illnesses and now produce expensive drugs that contain synthetic Vitamin D. However,
synthetic vitamin D has little or no effect when compared with vitamin D produced by sunlight. In
addition, vitamin D added to foods such as milk, can cause serious side effects that include death (see
details in “Vitamin Euphoria”, Chapter 14).
The Amazing Sunlight/Exercise Combination
Sunlight and exercise each seem to have excellent health and fitness benefits, but when used together,
the effects are multiplied. Tuberculosis patients who are being treated with sunlight therapy alone (regular
exposure to sunlight) experience a significant increase in muscle tone with very little fat, even if they