Excerpt from my new book, The Light Way: God's tools for a healthy, happy, long life
Each element that God created is important in supporting life on earth. Light, dark, air, water, land, plants and animals all work together to affect and support life. Let’s look at one of the most important elements, light.
Light Light is an essential element for life. Without light, plants cannot grow, the earth would not be warmed, and we cannot survive. Light separates the day from the night and drives our circadian rhythm. We need sunlight to synthesize vitamin D, an essential vitamin for our immunity, bone health, and overall well being. Light drives many of the cycles of the earth. Light warms the atmosphere and oceans and creates weather patterns. Light is energy coming into the earth. It is the only resource that comes from outside the planet. All other resources are available in a fixed amount on earth. Light is what makes this planet inhabitable. Light is essential for the growth of plants. Plants use sunlight to create sugars through photosynthesis. The sugar allows the plants to grow and produce food for us. We also need light for the health and wellbeing of our bodies. Sunlight enables us to make vitamin D. Vitamin D is an essential vitamin for the absorption of calcium. Without enough vitamin D you will not be able to absorb the calcium you consume. When your skin receives enough sunlight, it will make vitamin D and will work to keep your bones strong and healthy. How much sunlight is enough? Well, it depends upon the color of your skin. If your skin is darker, you need more sunlight to make your required amount of vitamin D. If your skin is lighter, you need less. A basic guideline is to get sun exposure for half the time it takes for your skin to begin to burn and expose as much skin as possible. This sun exposure time should be done without the application of sunscreen. Sunscreen blocks the ultraviolet rays which are the components of sunlight that we need for vitamin D production. In a world where we are afraid of skin cancer, this advice may seem crazy but let me assure you, these small amounts of sun exposure will not increase your risk of skin cancer; overexposure will do that. After you have done your sunlight exposure, please cover up or put sunscreen on so you don’t overexpose your skin. You also need to take into consideration the time of year, how far you live from the equator, the time of day, and how much of your skin is exposed. In the winter in the midwest, it takes much more sun exposure to create the vitamin D required versus living in the southwest. Because it is cold in the midwest during the winter, the amount of exposed skin is so little, it is nearly impossible to get enough sunlight exposure to make the required daily amount of vitamin D. For those of us that live in cold or cloudy places for part of the year, a vitamin D supplement is important. Vitamin D will help keep your immune system healthy and strong to combat any colds or flu you may come into contact with at this time. My recommended daily dose of vitamin D supplements during that cold or cloudy time of the year is 8,000-10,000 IU. Getting enough sunlight each day is a simple habit you can put into your life that will boost your health, happiness and longevity. If sunlight is unavailable, then a vitamin D supplement is a great and inexpensive substitution.
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AuthorJessica Mutunga is passionate about good simple living that focuses on relationships, food and creating a supportive healthy environment. She is The Light Way Coach. Archives
May 2022
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