Are we medicating conditions that adequate sun exposure can prevent and heal? Is avoiding the sun a gateway to reliance on Pharma medications?

Before the development of vaccines, drugs used to treat autoimmunity and breast and colon cancer were among the most lucrative for the pharmaceutical industry. These conditions are all inversely associated with UV exposure. This means the less sun you get (and the lower your vitamin D3 levels are), the greater your risk of autoimmune conditions and cancer [1, 2, 3].

Here is the list of the best-selling pharmaceutical drugs in 2017/2018:

Now let’s take a look at the most commonly prescribed drugs in the US (2019):

What has sunlight to do with blood pressure, cholesterol, pain/inflammation, breathing, thyroid, antidepressants, and diabetes? Let’s find out!

1. High blood pressure medications

Every 40 seconds, someone in the US has a heart attack. One of the biggest risk factors for cardiac events is high blood pressure, so it’s no wonder these medications are so commonly prescribed.

Has your doctor mentioned that sun exposure has been shown to lower blood pressure through vitamin D production and nitric oxide synthesis in the skin?

Mechanisms by which sunlight exposure reduces blood pressure:

• Nitric oxide release: UV light penetrates the skin converting nitrates into nitric oxide. release of nitric oxide in the bloodstream leads to relaxation and dilation of blood vessels, reducing blood pressure.
• Vitamin D production: UVB converts 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin to vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Vitamin D enhances calcium absorption in the gut, indirectly influencing blood calcium levels and lowering blood pressure. Vitamin D also has an anti-inflammatory effect on the cardiovascular system. Those with the highest vitamin D3 levels have the least risk of cardiovascular disease, supplementing vitamin D however does not reduce risk.
• Circadian rhythm regulation: Exposure to natural light helps regulate circadian rhythms, which control various bodily functions, including blood pressure, inflammation, and immune function. It also ensures the optimal release of hormones that influence blood pressure, such as cortisol and melatonin, which play an important role in cardiovascular health.
• Endothelial function improvement: Sunlight exposure improves the function of endothelial cells lining blood vessels, contributing to better vascular health and reduced blood pressure.

These mechanisms collectively demonstrate how sunlight exposure can play a crucial role in maintaining and reducing blood pressure through multiple biological pathways.

Researchers from the University of Southampton in Britain found that both short-term sun exposure and history of total sun exposure were associated with lower blood pressure [6].

Additional studies have found a correlation between higher levels of Vitamin D, often associated with sun exposure and lower blood pressure. One meta-analysis of cohort studies showed that for every 25 nmol/L increase in circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), the risk of hypertension decreased by about 7% [7]. Another study concluded that vitamin D deficiency is closely related to high blood pressure and the development of hypertension, emphasizing that higher vitamin D levels could potentially mitigate this risk [8].

Research shows that blood pressure tends to vary seasonally, peaking during winter months when there is less ultraviolet (UV) availability. This seasonal variation is partly due to colder temperatures causing blood vessels to constrict, which increases blood pressure. Additionally, reduced sunlight exposure in winter leads to lower levels of vitamin D and nitric oxide, both of which help to keep blood pressure lower. Studies indicate that blood pressure is generally higher in winter and lower in summer [9].

Understanding that 108 million people in the US have hypertension and that the majority of them spend an average of 86% of their time indoors, we do have to ask ourselves, is the advice to hide from the sun really sound advice?

2. Drugs to treat “high cholesterol”

While cholesterol may be demonized by centralized doctors, and it is often at the “scene of the crime” in terms of arterial plaques, it’s far from being the actual villain.

Cholesterol is a major component of the brain and cell membranes and an essential precursor to many sex steroid hormones. Except in a very small population (i.e., post-stent surgery), the evidence that lowering cholesterol leads to decreased mortality and improved health is lacking, to say the least.

If this is new to you please watch this video on cholesterol and its roles in the body.

Without getting into an in-depth discussion on the “Truth About Cholesterol” (topic for another blog), it seems most cardiologists, quick to prescribe statins, may have forgotten that exposure of cholesterol precursors to 270nm UV light on the skin creates vitamin D and lowers LDL cholesterol.

In fact, increasing Vitamin D concentrations through sunlight exposure significantly reduced TC, LDL-C, and HDL-C concentrations, and vitamin D supplementation increased TC and HDL-C concentrations.

This is important to remember when comparing your cholesterol blood work. In the winter, it will naturally be higher as there is less sun exposure [11].

3. Antibiotics

While antibiotics can be life-saving therapies in certain cases, overprescribing antibiotics is highly detrimental to the gut microbiome and can result in the emergence of more and more virulent pathogens.

One dose of a standard antibiotic significantly alters the gut microbiome in healthy people- and can take months or years to recover. [12]

We know that our gut microbiome modulates inflammation and immune function, affecting every organ and system in the body, even brain health:

Clearly we should avoid antibiotics unless it is necessary.

By the way, did you know sunlight improves gut microbial diversity and improves gut function and metabolism [14, 15, 16, 17]?

We know that vitamin D plays a crucial role in immune function by improving our resistance to infections and lowering our risk of autoimmunity:

But it seems it’s not just vitamin D but sunlight that’s playing a role.

Sun exposure is not only about vitamin D3. UV exposure and up-regulation of genetic pathways like proopiomelanocortin (POMC) result in a beneficial effect on immune regulation, metabolic health, hormone balance, and more:

5. Drugs for pain/inflammation:

The upregulation of the POMC system (above) not only promotes immune regulation and reduction of inflammation but also creates endorphins/enkephalins, which reduce pain.

Sun exposure has been experimentally shown to reduce pain post-surgery. Increased natural light exposure during recovery of patients who have undergone spinal surgery results in decreased stress, pain, analgesic medication use, and pain medication costs [20]. Another randomized control trial found similar findings for pain in those with fibromyalgia:

Additionally, vitamin D from the sun has been clearly shown to reduce pain and inflammation:

5. Medications for breathing

Number five on the most prescribed drugs list are medications for breathing & asthma.

Guess what? There is a clear link between the risk of asthma, vitamin D3, and sun exposure [23, 24]. Even a low vitamin D status of the mother increases asthma risk in the children [25]. In young children, prenatal and early postnatal exposure to sunlight reduces the risk of sensitization and asthma among school-aged children [26].

6. Thyroid Medication

Subclinical and overt hypothyroid disease is so common in my practice; while factors like iodine deficiency, over-exposure to halogens like fluoride, chloride, bromide, and stress (high cortisol) all play a role, thyroid physiology is controlled largely by our light environment, and circadian biology.

Morning light stimulates the hypothalamus to begin to increase thyroid hormone production. I always tell clients that light is the conductor of the hormonal orchestra. As the composition of natural light changes as the sun rises from the predominance of Infrared/visible to UV/infrared later in the day, this powerfully influences the hormones secreted through the day:

In fact, there is a whole new area of study called “Photoendocrinolgy”. Sun on the skin and in our eyes powerfully controls the HPA axis and hormone secretion, as well as the production of endorphins (as mentioned), endocannabinoids, and neurotransmitters [28].

7. Antidepressants

Almost 6% of Americans are prescribed medications to treat depression. To make matters worse here in NZ, prescriptions of antidepressants to children/teens have increased by 53% in the last 5 years [29]! We have a clear understanding that depression is often related to neuroinflammation, poor circadian biology (light at night), and lack of sufficient bright light exposure [30].

In fact, a common treatment for depression (especially seasonal) is bright light therapy. But there is so much more to be gained from (morning) sunlight:

8. Metabolic health & diabetic drugs

Diabetes rates have soared in the past three decades, with Scandinavian nations like Finland and Sweden topping the charts for type 1 diabetes due to their lack of sunlight. Male children from mothers who avoid the sun have a significantly increased risk of Type 1, as well as those who are sun deficient in the first few years of life.  While Vitamin D is important, there are more factors to play, suggesting we can’t outsupplement low sun exposure for diabetes risk:

Winter months show spikes in blood glucose levels, suggesting sun exposure’s role in type 2 diabetes. Vitamin D, crucial for insulin production, has been linked to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes risk.

There is also ample evidence to support how sun exposure and vitamin D both reduce insulin/glucose and improve metabolic health. Light controls insulin and blood sugar, with red light improving energy usage in the electron transport chain (ETC).

I recently did a live Zoom session on how light controls our metabolic health. When it comes to obesity, blood sugar, and the risk of metabolic syndrome, you have to optimize your LIGHT diet first!

9. What about the latest blockbuster weight loss drug (Ozempic)?

Pharma’s latest blockbuster drug, Ozempic (semaglutide), prescribed for patients with type 2 diabetes and those wanting to lose weight, has become so popular that worldwide shortages have been reported.

Ozempic helps people lose weight by enhancing insulin secretion, suppressing glucagon release, slowing gastric emptying, and promoting satiety. It is classified as a GLP-1 agonist and works similarly to the peptide alpha-MSH, which we produce when our eyes and skin are exposed to UV light. This process happens via the leptin-melanocortin system (POMC gene).

GLP-1 and the leptin-melanocortin system both play crucial roles in regulating appetite and energy balance. GLP-1’s effects on satiety and appetite suppression likely involve interactions with the hypothalamic circuits that include the melanocortin system, contributing to their combined influence on metabolic regulation. When we avoid the sun, have disrupted POMC signaling, and are deficient in alpha-MSH, our appetite remains unregulated, we overeat and gain weight.

Sun exposure might work better for you than Ozempic, without any of the drug’s side effects and at zero cost!

10. Key points

Based on current scientific evidence, the following mechanisms highlight the multifaceted benefits of sunlight exposure:

• α-MSH and energy homeostasis: α-MSH, derived from POMC, promotes satiety and energy expenditure. We make a-MSH on exposure to UV light.
• vitamin D and insulin sensitivity: Vitamin D synthesis from UVB exposure enhances insulin sensitivity and reduces inflammation. We make vitamin D on exposure to UVB light.
• nitric oxide and glucose metabolism: UVA-induced nitric oxide release improves glucose uptake and cardiovascular health. We make NO on exposure to UV light.
• infrared light and mitochondrial activity: Infrared light boosts mitochondrial function, increasing metabolic rate and reducing inflammation. We make intracellular melatonin under infrared light. Sunlight exposure increases energy production and supports mitochondrial health.
• circadian synchronization and leptin: Sunlight regulates circadian rhythms, optimizing leptin function and preventing obesity. When we are exposed to natural light during the day and limit artificial light at night, we optimize our circadian rhythm.

Sun exposure is even inversely linked to the risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Poor circadian biology and spending all day/night under what I refer to as ultra-processed light also increases your risk of diabetes and may make you fat!

In 2020 we discovered the light-sensing pigment melanopsin in fat cells, suggesting another mechanism by which the sun prevents metabolic syndrome and obesity:

The mechanisms by which sunlight controls our metabolic health are complex. They include the interactions between vitamin D and insulin, circadian biology (leptin, cortisol, etc.), melanopsin sensors in the skin and fat, and UV-induced nitric oxide signaling.

Essentially the more sun exposure and less artificial light (and circadian disruption) we have, the better our metabolic health:

A new study highlights how opsins in our fat cells are tuned to light and how they communicate with the brain to regulate (lipid) metabolism. Translation: spend more time outside.

So is the recommendation to avoid the sun purely for the sake of public health, or could it be a fantastic way to ensure we stay customers of big pharma? Let me know what you think.

Vanessa