During the Influenza pandemic of 1918, it was common practice for sick patients to be treated outside in tenets or open wards. This is known as the open-air method. The English physician John Coakley used the open-air method in 1791 to treat children suffering from tuberculous.

A combination of fresh air, sunlight, scrupulous standards of hygiene and reusable face masks appear to have substantially reduced deaths among some patients and infections among medical staff.

-20% of COVID Patients Caught Disease at Hospital

Sunlight increases vitamin D levels, which boosts the immune system. Additionally ultraviolet light renders viruses like COVID-19, and the flu, inactive. During the Influenza pandemic, in a typical hospital that had 76 cases, 20 patients would die in a three day period while 17 nurses would become sick. Adopting the “open air” method brought fatalities down from 40% to 13%.

Related: Data Shows How to Protect Against Coronavirus and We Address Conspiracy Theories

Related: Data Shows How to Protect Against Coronavirus and We Address Conspiracy Theories

Today, our modern hospitals are severely lacking in the “open-air” method. It’s been estimated by several different studies that a large portion of COVID-19 cases are being contracted within hospitals. Numbers from NHS England indicate that up to 20% of hospital patients with COVID-19 became infected at the hospital.

Nurses and other staff have inadvertently passed on the virus to patients because they did not have adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) or could not get tested for the virus.

-20% of COVID Patients Caught Disease at Hospital

In Wuhan, China it’s estimated that hospital-related transmission is associated with 41% of cases. In the U.S., it’s estimated that 1.7 million healthcare-associated infections occur in hospitals each year. In past outbreaks, SARS, which is similar to COVID-19 has been said to be a “super spreader” in Ontario in 2003, 77% of SARS cases were contracted in a hospital.

Related: How to Breathe

Dr. John Loannidis recommends not going to the hospital with COVID-19 if your symptoms are mild. Many people are able to spread COVID-19 to those who are immune-compromised. A study analyzed the mortality rates of 5,700 patients in New York City who were placed on ventilators. The mortality rate of these cases was anywhere from 76.4% to 97.2% depending on age.

If you’re worried about COVID-19, having a healthy gut is the best thing you can do to avoid getting sick, and of course sunlight and fresh air are great too.

Recommended: How To Heal Your Gut 

A recent study has shown how the sun can help improve gut health. A study was conducted with 21 women who spent the winter in Canada, and as a result, were vitamin D insufficient. At the beginning of the study, researchers took stool samples and blood samples, in order to test the gut microbiome diversity, and Vitamin D levels, respectively. Research has already shown that UVB exposure can trigger gut microbiome changes in rodents. Prior to the start of the study twelve out of the 21 women were taking vitamin D supplements before the study, according to their samples, had higher levels of Vitamin D and more Gut diversity than those who did not take Vitamin D supplements regularly. At the end of the study, the results showed that short exposure to NB-UVB light did increase vitamin D and added diversity to the gut microbiome. 

Related: How To Heal Your Gut 

“Prior to UVB exposure, these women had a less diverse and balanced gut microbiome than those taking regular vitamin D supplements. UVB exposure boosted the richness and evenness of their microbiome to levels indistinguishable from the supplemented group, whose microbiome was not significantly changed.”

Nearly 70% of Americans suffer from a vitamin D deficiency, and 80% of the body’s Vitamin D requirement is met through skin exposure to UVB light. Vitamin D is technically not a vitamin however it is crucial for important processes in the body. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble hormone your body makes when your skin is exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D is known as the Sunshine Vitamin because the skin produces Vitamin D when exposed to certain wavelengths found in phototherapy modulating cell It is not found in many whole foods but is added to some processed food and is available in supplement form. Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin because the skin produces vitamin D when exposed to certain wavelengths in phototherapy and is optimal for modulating cell growth, optimizing neuromuscular and immune functions and helping the gut absorb calcium. However, Chronic Vitamin D deficiency is associated with Bone diseases, and low levels of vitamin D, (but not necessarily chronically deficient) can cause Accelerating aging, high blood pressure, behavioral problems in adolescents, and elevated leptin levels. 

Related: How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut 

Sunlight – Letter from the Editor

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I don’t tend to wear sunglasses, and I never wear sunscreen. I do burn easily if I have not taken the time to acclimate myself to the sun, so I will either wear long sleeve shirts and a hat, limit my exposure until my skin builds tolerance, or, more often than not, I’ll just burn.

I’m not recommending you go out and get sunburned, but I don’t think people should be so afraid of it. Sunlight is so important. It’s better to get burned a few times a year than to not get enough sunlight.

I work at my computer a lot. Sometimes I realize that I have gone more than a week without any significant sun exposure. Other times, I notice I am feeling depressed or I’m having trouble sleeping, or I’m irritable. My prescription: light sunbathing. I feel so much better after I spend some time soaking in the rays.

Dr. Holick wants us to get some sunlight and then put on sunscreen. I respectfully disagree. I don’t want to put toxic creams on my skin only to cook the ingredients in the sun. This seems like a recipe for skin cancer to me.

Sunlight is natural. When in doubt, go with what’s natural. It’s what we humans are programmed for. Almost every time, the natural choice is the healthy choice.

Michael Edwards

Editor in Chief

For years we’ve been told to stop sunbathing, to stay out of the sun. We slather sunscreen on our children. We buy make-up, lip balm, and hair care products that contain SPF 15 protection. And what is the result of this anti UV ray vigilance? Skin cancer is on the rise.

SPF 15 works very well. It blocks 99% of the UV rays. The problem is that we need UV rays in order to make vitamin D. Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, strengthens and builds bones, wards off multiple sclerosis, diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, and periodontal disease. It regulates cell growth, and protects against lymphomas and cancers of the colon, prostate, lung, and skin.

Yes, Vitamin D, gained through exposure to the sun, helps prevent skin cancer!

“There are two types of skin cancer,” says Dr. Michael Holick, one of the world’s leading authorities on vitamin D and vitamin D deficiency. “There’s what’s called non-melanoma skin cancer and there is no question that excessive exposure to sunlight and sunburns will damage the DNA and induce skin cells to become cancerous. That is non-melanoma squamous and basal cell cancers. They are typically easy to detect, easy to treat. They’re not lethal, for the most part.

Melanoma is a different story. Most melanomas occur on the least sun exposed areas. Occupational sun exposure decreases your risk of malignant melanoma. We believe that if you have a large number of moles, a number of sun burning experiences, bad genetics, and red hair color—that is very light skin—they will markedly increase your risk of malignant melanoma, and that’s deadly. About 8,000 people die a year of malignant melanoma. But there is no evidence in my opinion that sensible sun exposure increases your risk of that deadly disease. In fact there is good evidence that it decreases your risk.”

Where you live and the color of your skin are significant factors in determining your risk for Vitamin D deficiency and correlating diseases. So is your weight. Though vitamin D is stored in fat cells, obesity inhibits its release. If you live at a latitude above 33 degrees (north of Atlanta, Georgia), you cannot get enough UV rays in the winter months to make vitamin D. And the darker your skin, the more sun exposure you require, no matter the season. Geographical and racial statistics do correlate to higher incidences of all diseases linked to Vitamin D deficiencies.

Unfortunately, not all medical doctors are aware of these links. Dr. Holick is finding many of his patients who come to him with a prior diagnosis of fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome with symptoms of muscle weakness and throbbing, aching bone pain are actually suffering from osteomalacia, a bone disease directly caused by vitamin D deficiency. The good news is treatment with vitamin D supplements and/or sunlight exposure quickly reverses this disease.

Vitamin D is not, in fact, a vitamin. It’s a hormone. “By definition a vitamin means that it has to come from an external source,” Dr. Holick explains, “but when you’re exposed to sunlight, you make it. So by definition, it’s not a vitamin. And more importantly, once vitamin D is made in your skin it goes to your liver and kidneys to get activated. And so again by definition, it’s being generated in one organ system and going to a different place to have a biologic effect and by definition, that’s a hormone.” Dr. Holick suggests using sunscreen in moderation. “People need to be aware that a sunscreen SPF of 15 reduces your ability to make vitamin D in your skin by 99%. So if you’re putting a sunscreen on all the time before going outside, you are definitely going to put yourself at risk forVitamin D deficiency.”

He suggests you start with 5 or 10 or 15 minutes of sun exposure depending upon time of day, season of the year and the latitude, 3 to 4 times a week. Remember, the darker your skin, the more exposure you need. The opposite is also true. The lighter your skin, and redheads know this from experience, the more likely you are to burn.

Sunburn can damage your skin, and does put you at higher risk of skin cancer. So Dr. Holick suggests that if you go to the beach for an hour or two, put on sunscreen after 15 or 20 minutes. “Take advantage of the beneficial effect,” he says. “Then prevent the damaging effects due to excessive exposure.”

Start off slow and don’t expose your skin for too long. Our bodies do have built in protection; we tan. Most of us do, anyway. When it’s time to get out of the sun, put on a hat, get under an umbrella, find some shade, or cover up if you want to avoid sunscreen all together. But don’t avoid the sun. It’s summertime. Go out and make some Vitamin D.