Before Antibiotics Ever Existed, Sunlight Was Used To Treat Diseases With Great Success

Published on September 5, 2012 by admin · No Comments

Sunlight: Without it there would be almost no life. It’s key factor involved in photosynthesis, a process vital for many living beings on Earth. Considering the lengths we go to protect ourselves from the sun, it’s a wonder that the incidence of disease is not higher than it already is. Before the advent of toxic drugs and antibiotics, sunlight was being used to treat everything from tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, acne, cancer, sleep disorders and overcoming worldwide sanitation problems including the purification of water.

More than 200 million Americans lack essential vitamin D and as a result suffer from a host of daily annoyances, chronic conditions, and even life-threatening illnesses.

Vitamin D is called the “Sunshine Vitamin” for a reason, but surprisingly to many, it is not actually a vitamin but a hormone â€“ unique because it is made in the skin as a result of exposure to sunlight.

Vitamin D may reduce the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), says Hector DeLuca, Steenbock Research Professor of Biochemistry at University of Wisconsin-Madison, but in a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, he and first author Bryan Becklund suggest that the ultraviolet portion of sunlight may play a bigger role than vitamin D in controlling MS.

Sunlight has been shown to effectively treat psoriasis. A feature of psoriasis is localized inflammation mediated by the immune system. Ultraviolet radiation is known to suppress the immune system and reduce inflammatory responses.

Sunlight was long known to improve acne, and this was thought to be due to antibacterial and other effects of the ultraviolet spectrum which cannot be used as a long-term treatment due to the likelihood of skin damage.

The use of sunlight has also been proven to be effective in treating cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, a class of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.