10.21.06
Some Sun Wonders
There was a time when people weren’t afraid of the sun. It was likely before the invention of sunglasses and sunscreen that Solomon, the wisest man, said, “Truly the light is sweet, And it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun.” Hundreds of years later, Matthew the apostle wrote, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
Today we know that the sun imparts many healthful benefits to us. Exposure of our skin to the sun provides us with vitamin D. This process uses cholesterol, thus not only do we obtain vitamin D, but in the process the sun lowers our cholesterol. In his book, Sunlight, Zane R. Kime, M.D. writes of the many benefits of the sun some of which included evidence that sunlight produces a metabolic effect in the body that is very similar to physical training. Tuberculosis patients being treated by sunbathing have been observed to have well-developed muscles with very little fat, even though they have not exercised for months. At a lecture given by Dr. Bressky regarding mental health, he stated that the more muscle mass a person had, the less risk they had of dementia.
As we can see, the sun works its good not only on the outside of our bodies, but also penetrates past the skin to the deeper layers, where we would ordinarily think the sun doesn’t shine. John Ott stumbled across the effects of the sun through the eyes from observing animals. He wrote in his book, My Ivory Cellar, that, “It is now known the lengthening night period causes certain glandular changes in birds that are responsible for their seasonal migration. People in the poultry business turn lights on in the hen houses at night to lenthen the daylight period so the hens lay more eggs. Originally it was thought this merely kept the hens awake longer, but more recent research has proven that increased egg production is attained as a result of the light reacting through the chicken’s eye on its pituitary gland. Farmers for a long time have used red celluloid spectacles over the eyes of chickens to reduce cannibalistic tendencies.” Zane Kime also wrote how the sun affects our hormones. He wrote, “Hormones are regulated by delicate balances in the body. The hormone cortisone provides a good example. The level of cortisone in the blood is regulated by several glands that work in concert. If the level of cortison gets too low, the pituitary gland (a gland found near the brain) is stimulated to produce a substance called ACTH. ACTH flows into the blood stream and upon reaching the adrenal glad, stimulates the gland to produce more cortisone.” We know that the pituitary gland is a major player in our body’s ablity to produce and regulate hormones. I find the “location” of the pituitary gland interesting. According to the online Merck Manual, “the optic nerve connects the retina to the brain in a split pathway. Half the fibers of this nerve cross over to the other side at the optic chiasm, an area immediately in front of the pituitary gland just below the front portion of the brain.” I think God placed the pituitary gland right behind the eyes where it could receive light because that gland is designed to use light. As with the example of the chickens explained by John Ott, we humans are also affected by the light the enters our eyes. In Anil Minocha’s book, Natural Stomach Care, he writes a portion on insomina. And this is what he says, “Studies show that exposure to sunlight or, if sunlight is not available, to bright artificial light after rising helps the body set its internal biological clock. Many health-care professionals recommend that persons suffering from sleep disorders receive at least one-hour exposure to sunlight every morning.” Hmm. Is this another case of the pituitary gland regulating hormones again using the sun as some sort of time keeper or connection to the outside world?
The above are only a few examples of how the sun is more friend to us, than foe. With a little care to watch that we don’t burn ourselves to a crisp in the sun, I hope that we can enjoy the sun more than fear it.
Marlakins 
