GrassrootsHealth Nutrient Research Institute declares the month of May to be “Sunshine Month”

Encinitas, CA (April 30, 2020) We are living in an age of ‘sun deficiency,’ and this has had a negative health impact through increased risk of a number of serious diseases, such as those caused by coronaviruses. These ‘diseases of darkness’ largely started in the 1800’s with industrialization, indoor work, and the rapid movement of populations around the world to places their skins were not accustomed to.

During the month of May, GrassrootsHealth Nutrient Research Institute will be providing information to enable everyone to see how the lack of sunlight is associated with ‘darkness diseases’ such as heart disease, insomnia, diabetes, many serious cancers, and autoimmune diseases.

Sunshine provides more beneficial effects than what can be gained from supplements alone. Education will be provided on how to make vitamin D from sunshine. The latest studies, which are being published daily showing that sunshine and vitamin D can help strengthen your immune system and lower risk of coronavirus, will be reviewed. Finally, information will be given on how to reduce the chance of sunburns – the primary risk of sun exposure.

Vitamin D production in our body is a key necessity from the sun

Many research studies have been published, even just within the last year, further noting that avoidance of the sun contributes to very low vitamin D levels, and with the restoration of vitamin D levels from 20 ng/ml (50 nmol/L) to at least 40-60 ng/ml (100-150 nmol/L), increased prevention of health conditions such as preterm births, cancers, and respiratory infections can be seen. Important especially now is the potential of reducing the impact and severity of the symptoms caused by multiple types of coronavirus.

Further, a very noticeable trend is that many people of darker skin are more greatly impacted by these diseases. In many cases, the investigation into socio-economic discrimination does not find a way forward. However, when looking at the complexity of the skin itself and attending to the skin’s processing of the sun’s rays to vitamin D for human health, a strong relationship can be observed. This goes with the fact that the majority of the population doesn’t yet know to determine how much sun might be needed for darker skinned individuals.

Data from the 2013-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) shows that within the United States population, approximately one-quarter (23%) have levels below 20 ng/ml (50 nmol/L) and a vast majority (89%) have levels below 40 ng/ml (100 nmol/L), the bottom level of the range recommended by the GrassrootsHealth panel of expert scientists. Contributing to this deficiency is the decreased amount of time spent outdoors compared to any other time in human history.

About GrassrootsHealth Nutrient Research Institute

GrassrootsHealth Nutrient Research Institute is a nonprofit public health research organization dedicated to moving public health messages regarding vitamin D and many other nutrients from science into practice. It has a panel of 48 senior vitamin D researchers from around the world contributing to its operations as well as many new researchers with the expanded focus on other nutrient actions, omega-3’s, magnesium, and, looking at the interactions of all nutrients.