Page 28 - Spring2020

PROTECTIVE SUNLIGHT sunlight exposure is about a whole lot more than vitamin D synthesis
People who live in places with little sun in the skin. In a paper published in 2016, Richard Weller wrote: “A
have statistically higher risk for many chronic substantial body of evidence shows that sunlight has health benefits and
conditions, including multiple sclerosis, diabe- that these are independent of vitamin D and thus cannot be reproduced
tes, cardiovascular disease, autism, Alzheimer’s by oral supplementation.”
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disease and age-related macular degeneration.
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On the other hand, a great deal of epidemio- THE ROLE OF SULFATE
logical evidence suggests that sunlight exposure Those who are familiar with my research know that I believe that
protects from many different types of cancer. keratinocyte cells in the skin, endothelial cells lining the walls of surface
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is recommended in veins and red blood cells are able to exploit the energy in sunlight by
treating different skin conditions, including pso- oxidizing hydrogen sulfide to make sulfate. In the skin, the sulfate is
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riasis, eczema, jaundice and acne. Sunlight may conjugated with both vitamin D and cholesterol, and this makes these
also be beneficial in healing various autoim- otherwise water-insoluble sulfate molecules water-soluble. This greatly
mune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, facilitates their transport in the blood, because they no longer have to
systemic lupus erythematosus, inflammatory be enclosed inside lipid particles like high-density lipoprotein (HDL)
bowel disease and thyroiditis. and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Sunlight exposure thus produces
Yet chances are that your dermatologist cholesterol sulfate as well as vitamin D sulfate, and it is the cholesterol
has told you to “stay out of the sun and take a sulfate that offers many of the benefits that are seen epidemiologically
vitamin D supplement every day.” For some, in sunny places. In fact, I believe that systemic sulfate deficiency is a
this has seemed like good advice because we key driver behind many chronic diseases that are on the rise in indus-
have been taught to believe that the sun causes trialized nations.
skin cancer and that the only reason to get out The sulfate that is produced in response to sunlight also supplies
in the sunlight at all is to boost vitamin D levels sulfate to the glycocalyx, the mesh of extracellular matrix glycoproteins
through its UV-stimulated synthesis in the skin. that line the walls of all blood vessels. Red blood cells hand off cholesterol
Driven by the belief that the benefits of sunlight sulfate to the endothelial cells as they traverse the capillaries, and both
exposure are mainly due to vitamin D synthesis, the cholesterol and the sulfate are of vital importance to the endothelial
the natural conclusion is that vitamin D supple- cell’s health. The endothelial cells also can incorporate the sulfate they
ments would achieve the same goal. synthesize themselves directly into the glycocalyx.
The story is not that simple, however. When Sulfate in the glycocalyx helps to maintain the structured water in
placebo-controlled studies are conducted on vi- the exclusion zone, a layer of gelled water that coats the surface of all the
tamin D supplementation, they usually produce blood vessels. Not only does the gel protect the blood vessel wall from
disappointing results. I believe the reason is that oxidative and glycation damage, but it also provides a slick surface for

ARTICLE SUMMARY

• Sulfate synthesis in the skin captures the sun’s energy. Adequate sunlight exposure to both the skin and the eyes
is vital to our long-term health.

• Among other functions, sulfate supports blood vessel health, the body’s electrical supply and the delivery system
for important molecules such as cholesterol, vitamin D, dopamine and melatonin.
• Evidence indicates that sunlight protects against cancer, heart disease, hypertension and bone fractures.

• The benefits of sunlight exposure are about much more than vitamin D.
• Many studies show that vitamin D supplementation cannot reproduce sunlight’s health benefits. Moreover, exces-
sive vitamin D supplementation can aggravate systemic sulfate deficiency, which will drive calcium buildup in the
arteries.

• Both sunscreen and glyphosate interfere with synthesis and production of melanin—the body’s natural mechanism
of sun protection. Aluminum in sunscreen disrupts sulfate synthesis. These disruptions may explain why melanoma
prevalence has steadily risen in tandem with the increased use of higher sun-protection-factor sunscreens over the
past two decades.

28 Wise Traditions SPRING 2020