The 2017 Nobel Prize in Medicine went to the Mechanisms controlling the “Circadian Rhythm”. Circadian Rhythm controls several important functions, it affects digestion, insulin sensitivity, fat oxidation, DNA repair, detoxification, autophagy, NAD metabolism, methylation and much more. And what does sunlight, hormones and Vitamin D have to do with it? EVERYTHING!!!
You need sunlight, all frequencies of the spectrum. Sunlight acts like a cofactor to nutrition to stay healthy. We need UVA to make melatonin so you can fix your sleep; during deep sleep mitochondria repair takes place… Deep sleep is essential for autophagy, to clean yourself, reverse age, repair imbalances, heal and for overall wellness and health. In order to get deep sleep, we need melatonin from the pineal gland and sunlight through the retina. Specifically red light from the morning sun, as well as total darkness after sunset.
Additionally, another amazing benefit of UVA light is that turns tryptophan into serotonin, serotonin then makes melatonin at the proper time, more circadian rhythm, it also turns tyrosine and phenylalanine into dopamine. We feel motivated and focused when we naturally make these neurotransmitters upon waking up and exposure to UVA light. It is not necessary to look at the direction of the sun at this time, simply go outdoors during the first two hours upon sunrise, without sunglasses, contacts, or glasses, let the light in trough the naked eye and into your retina. The retina utilizes DHA from seafood, Fish is essential in our diet for mitochondrial health. Science and research reports that our ancestors, those with access to fish, were found to have the biggest brains 🧠
DHA (docosa hexaenoic acid) in fish is a very specific fatty acid that does not get burned for fuel completely, instead, our mitochondria direct it to our myelin sheath, protecting the nervous system and cells, especially those in the brain! Sunlight though the eye (retina) further excites this DHA molecule to sync our circadian system.
Circadian Rhythm is induced by light, sunlight! Sunlight, specifically UVB is necessary to make Vitamin D. UVB light makes vitamin D from cholesterol upon sunlight on the skin. Your mitochondria need vitamin D to make ATP, the more ATP, testosterone increases. Additionally, cholesterol is the building block for all your steroid hormones, it makes pregnenolone through exposure to UVA light, pregnenolone is the master hormone of all your sex hormones, pregnenolone then becomes progesterone and DHEA, which then becomes testosterone if not impacted by the pregnenolone steal, which operates by making cortisol out of DHEA instead of testosterone. When you optimize ATP, you optimize your hormones.
Mitochondria requires ATP to perform autophagy. if we don’t clean ourselves it leads to all sorts of health issues, dementia, infertility, gut problems, hormone imbalance, neurodegenerative disease, diabetes, heart problems, autoimmune conditions, and many more. Men’s testosterone in particular decreases from lack of morning sunlight in the eyes and on the body.
Light is Medicine, it treats fatigue, boosts serotonin, melatonin and vitamin D as previously mentioned, improves sleep, regulates Insulin, appetite, and cravings, improves acne, improves blood pressure, resets your leptin (satiety hormone), reduces the risk of many cancers, and regulates Circadian Rhythm.
Every hormone in your system works though Circadian Rhythm! Sunlight signals the pituitary to produce hormones in the am, and then follows the circadian rhythm in order to degrade any excess of those hormones to regulate and create balance. It is truly cool and magical how our system is guided by these light instructions merely through sunlight exposure. Without the changing frequencies of the full light spectrum, whether sunny or cloudy, our bodies start to become chaotic.
Why would you supplement Vitamin D from a bottle when you can rip all these benefits and make vitamin D through circadian rhythm and sunlight exposure?
You can read the recent article by the New York Times below on a recent study showing that supplementation of Vitamin D from a bottle has no benefits.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/27/health/vitamin-d-bone-fractures.html
There are things you can do to produce Vitamin D naturally:
- Ensure healthy fats-cholesterol
- Vitamin D whole foods: cod liver oil, dairy, fatty fish
- DHA (from daily seafood consumption ideally)
- Ensure daily magnesium containing foods or supplements
- Cysteine- sulfur containing amino acid (from meat, pork, fish, eggs, dairy and brassica vegetables).
However, if your gut health is compromised, bypass the digestive system by making Vitamin D through Sunlight on the skin
- UVB exposure using the D minder app.
- Stay hydrated (with proper electrolytes)
Optimal range for Vitamin D:
50-80ng/mL
If under the age of 70, you need an estimate of 600iu’s daily to be at optimal range year-round……you can achieve this by being outdoors on direct sunlight, without sunscreen, without sunglasses, no contacts or glasses. We need sunlight to thrive, but improper sun exposure can damage your DNA, so remember to use the D minder app for safety.
There are several factors that affect the way we absorb sunlight to convert cholesterol into Vitamin D, which is essential for mitochondrial health. One of them is location, if you live in an area geographically above (north) the 37 parallel circle of latitude, 37º north of the earth’s equatorial plane, your chances of available UVB during the day decrease significantly. Under these circumstances obtaining a redlight lamp to supplement is your best option.
Some of my favorites are on the links below:
Sunlight is Nutrition and Medicine; I hope you find your little sunshine anywhere you go!
In health and wholeness,
Victoria
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