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Introduction
Chapter 1
Your Body and Mind in the Sun
Chapter 2
The Decline of the Sun in Recent Times
Chapter 3
How Sunlight Can Prevent Serious Health Problems
Chapter 4
Sunlight: A Medicine for Diseases of the Past,
Present and Future
Chapter 5
How to Sunbathe Safely, All Year Round
Chapter 6
The Merits of Getting Sunlight into Buildings
Chapter 7
Sunlight and Health in the 21st Century
Reviews
Press Reviews
RICHARD HOBDAY
CHAPTER 1:
YOUR BODY AND MIND IN THE SUN
The first chapter of The Healing Sun examines what sunlight does to the human body in broad terms, in particular, how the human body uses sunlight to manufacture vitamin D. This vitamin - which is really a hormone - is essential to health because it promotes the absorption of calcium for bone growth, and is also vital for a healthy immune system. In the UK a normal diet provides only a quarter of our minimum daily requirement, the rest comes from exposure to the sun during the spring and summer months. Vitamin D taken orally can be toxic at high levels but it is impossible to get a toxic dose from the sun which is the natural source. This chapter shows how different skin types respond to sunlight and the influence of sunlight on human growth. It also looks at the effects of sunlight on mental health, including a section on Seasonal Affective Disorder. Chapter 2: The
Decline of the Sun in Recent Times