The Golden Nutrient

How much would you pay for a pill that reduces your appetite, raises your metabolic rate, and induces a strong feeling of well-being? Sunlight does all this...for free.

Researching this post made me so cheerful but it wasn’t until I sat down to write just now that I realized why. The many benefits of sunshine make me so happy because sunshine, like fasting, is 100% free to all.

Sunshine is one of the brightest examples of the fact that we were born into a world of abundant blessings.

Consider this: the thing that is most crucial to all life (along with water) pours forth from the sky in golden glowing glory for all to bask in free of charge. And no matter how much each creature takes from this golden elixir for himself, he in no way depletes its perpetual stores, nor leaves less for the one next to him.

Did you know that light is one of the most bioactive substances influencing the human body? Light influences our human biology in many positive ways beyond making vitamin D, as important as that is. Approximately half of our genes are influenced by sunlight, and that influence is overwhelmingly positive. That means that getting sunlight is a free version of gene therapy.

It’s common to assume that crunchy people who don’t wear deodorant and know little of science are the ones yammering on about their superstitious beliefs in the benefits of sunlight while the “real” scientists are tinkering with new and better Ambien formulations.

But the exact opposite is true. Sunlight is where cutting-edge scientific research is centered. Doctors whose knowledge of how to fix the circadian rhythm begins and ends with scripts for Ambien are living in the scientific dark ages (pun intended).

The scientists and researchers who are at the top of their fields and know the most about the human brain are the ones who are researching all the genes in the human body that are directly influenced by light. For example, Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist and tenured professor of neurobiology at Stanford, has interviewed several top researchers on this subject and covers the important use of light in his landmark podcast on sleep.

The real scientific research, as opposed to the pharma-funded pill research, points to the incredible effects that light has on the human body. So buckle up, here we go.

Sunlight’s Affect on Our Hormones