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The Healing Power of the Sun: A Comprehensive Guide to Sunlight as Medicine
Explores the many beneficial effects of sunlight to prevent and treat illness and boost health and well-being
• Shares scientific research on sunlight therapy and tuberculosis, as well as studies on sunlight with regard to osteoporosis, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, tooth decay, psoriasis, heart disease, and several forms of cancer
• Reveals how the sun can act as a natural disinfectant, killing viruses and bacteria, and how this wisdom was put into use by doctors
• Explains how sunlight affects eyesight, sleep, mental health, and the immune system
For thousands of years, the human race lived in harmony with the sun and used its heat and light as medicine. In recent history, however, with skin cancer on the rise, we have become too focused on the negative effects of the sun. Fortunately, science has made new discoveries showing just how beneficial the sun truly is to our lives.
In this new edition of The Healing Sun , Richard Hobday draws on historical and scientific evidence to explore the many ways that sunlight affects our health and well-being. He shows how the sun acts as a natural disinfectant, killing viruses and bacteria outdoors as well as inside buildings. The author highlights how sunlight therapy has been used to prevent and treat serious health problems like tuberculosis and other infections in the years before antibiotics were developed. Explaining how doctors of the past realized that sunlight and fresh air helped patients recover, he shows how this wisdom was put into use by doctors such as Niels Finsen, Oskar Bernhard, and Auguste Rollier, who each contributed substantially to the development of heliotherapy.
Hobday also examines the role of sunlight in regard to conditions like osteoporosis, rickets, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, tooth decay, psoriasis, heart disease, and several forms of cancer. Exploring the sun’s effects on body and mind, the author reveals how our modern artificially lit lifestyles can throw off our biological rhythms, create stress within the body, and lead to poor sleep as well as worsening eyesight, cataracts, obesity, depression, and weakened immune systems from lack of vitamin D.
Showing why and how we should welcome the healing sun back into our lives, this seminal book reveals how humanity needs sunlight for health and well-being and for vitality and happiness.
• Shares scientific research on sunlight therapy and tuberculosis, as well as studies on sunlight with regard to osteoporosis, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, tooth decay, psoriasis, heart disease, and several forms of cancer
• Reveals how the sun can act as a natural disinfectant, killing viruses and bacteria, and how this wisdom was put into use by doctors
• Explains how sunlight affects eyesight, sleep, mental health, and the immune system
For thousands of years, the human race lived in harmony with the sun and used its heat and light as medicine. In recent history, however, with skin cancer on the rise, we have become too focused on the negative effects of the sun. Fortunately, science has made new discoveries showing just how beneficial the sun truly is to our lives.
In this new edition of The Healing Sun , Richard Hobday draws on historical and scientific evidence to explore the many ways that sunlight affects our health and well-being. He shows how the sun acts as a natural disinfectant, killing viruses and bacteria outdoors as well as inside buildings. The author highlights how sunlight therapy has been used to prevent and treat serious health problems like tuberculosis and other infections in the years before antibiotics were developed. Explaining how doctors of the past realized that sunlight and fresh air helped patients recover, he shows how this wisdom was put into use by doctors such as Niels Finsen, Oskar Bernhard, and Auguste Rollier, who each contributed substantially to the development of heliotherapy.
Hobday also examines the role of sunlight in regard to conditions like osteoporosis, rickets, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, tooth decay, psoriasis, heart disease, and several forms of cancer. Exploring the sun’s effects on body and mind, the author reveals how our modern artificially lit lifestyles can throw off our biological rhythms, create stress within the body, and lead to poor sleep as well as worsening eyesight, cataracts, obesity, depression, and weakened immune systems from lack of vitamin D.
Showing why and how we should welcome the healing sun back into our lives, this seminal book reveals how humanity needs sunlight for health and well-being and for vitality and happiness.
- GenresHealth
224 pages, Paperback
Published December 21, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 25, 2026
“Healing Power of the Sun:
Florence Nightingale proposed to build hospitals with spacious pavilion sized wards and big windows to aid the healing of patients by allowing for much light and good cross-ventilation.
Low vitamin D levels- respiratory infections etc
Sunlight kills bacteria and is quite capable of doing so even when it has passed through window glass.
1903: Niels Finsen treated TB of skin with UV radiation
Sunlight is a powerful accelerator of skin ageing
What you eat determines how your skin responds to sunlight. The proportion of fat in your diet together with the vitamin and mineral content of your food could decide how likely you are to sustain damage in the sun
The first physician known to history— an Egyptian of the 27th century BC called Imhotep— was also one of the worlds most celebrated architects.
Sunlight : visible light (37%); UV Radiation (3%); infrared (60%).
UVB burns skin more rapidly than UVA but does not penetrate as deeply.
Prolonged exposures to the sun produces no more vitamin D than short exposures- you don’t have to tan for it to take place.
Wavelengths that synthesize vitamin D 290-320nm. 290-400nm cause erythema
When vitamin D levels are low the body cannot absorb sufficient amounts of calcium to stay healthy.
Vitamin D can trigger asthma in aspirin-sensitive patients and should be taken with caution by patients on anti-coagulants. It can also cause rise of blood glucose in insulin-dependent patients
Excess vitamin D supplementation: magnesium deficiency in the heart which can cause spasm in coronary arteries and heart attack. Upsets body’s calcium metabolism and may cause cholesterol levels in blood to increase.
UV radiation can lower blood pressure.
Exercise combined with exposure to the sun has a greater effect on stamina, fitness and muscular development than exercise aloneZ
The amount of insulin to maintain normal blood sugar levels can change significantly if person exercises or is in strong sunlight for any length of time”.
During winter months the symptoms of SAD can be alleviated by taking an hourly walk in the morning.
Dawn simulation is effective for SAD sufferers even though their eyes are closed. Dawn simulators are ineffective on SAD patients when they are fully awake.”
Depression can be made worse by exposing sufferers to bright light or to the sun.”
Glass filters out wavelengths below 350nm which means no UVB radiation and only a limited amount of UVA passes through.
Incandescent bulbs emit yellow and red light; most electricity converted to infrared radiation.
Fluorescent lights emit yellow and green; near-subliminal flicker which is source of stress to building users.
Unnatural lighting does not produce the same photochemical responses that natural daylight does.
A fortnight spent in cool-white fluorescent light at about 3500 lux increases ACTH levels in test subjects to abnormally high levels. They returned to normal after 2 weeks of exposure to daylight.
Prolonged exposure to artificial light at normal levels may compromise the immune system in unknown ways.
Our ability to respond to variations in temperature and humidity is compromised if we constantly live and work in conditions that do not change.”
Moving in/out of interiors that are maintained at levels of temperature and humidity markedly different from those outdoors may be prejudicial to our well-being.
The human body needs the challenge of gradually changing conditions and regular exercise.
The human eye evolved in sunlight and is well-equipped to cope with its full spectrum.”
Sunlight does not cause cataracts.
Basal cell carcinoma- face and hands
Squamous cell carcinoma-result of cumulative exposure to sunlight and develops in old age.”
Children who wore clothes in the sun instead of sun screen avoided sun-induced development of moles.
Children who use sunscreen, stay out in the sun and develop more moles are at greater risk for skin cancer.
A combination of sunscreen and sunlight can trigger photosensitivity in susceptible individuals.
Anyone concerned about sunlight causing premature aging may have more to gain from adopting a diet which protects against damage from the sun and wearing a hat.”
If TB patients didn’t tan, they didn’t get better.
Wearing clothes to protect from the sun was a strong predictor of vitamin D deficiency
Osteoporosis may have more to do with a weakened immune system or poor nutrition than hormonal balance.”
Rickets and osteomalacia are diseases of darkness and not diet. Providing you get sufficient exposure to the sun, a diet lacking in vitamin D will not cause these diseases.”
Tuberculosis bacteria can stay viable for months, but fortunately it is quite difficult to become infected unless one is in a confined space with little fresh air circulating and no sunlight.
Women from South Asia are particularly susceptible to TB in Britain because their diet, strict dress codes, and tendency to remain indoors prevent them from getting sufficient sunlight and vitamin D to ward off disease.”
The nearer one is to the equator, the less chance there is of developing cancer of the breast, colon, lung, etc.”
Exposure to sunlight might be an effective way to reduce the number of deaths from internal cancers.
The way people now sunbathe- baking in the hot sun in warm air— should be avoided. The purpose of a health sun bath is to stimulate the body’s defenses and not compromise them.
George Bodington- open-air treatment of the disease.
In Rome, as in Greece, heliotherapy was closely linked with sun-worship.
Finsen Lamps
Dr Oskar Bernhard- sunlight on infected wounds. He did not recommend sunlight for fresh y infected wounds or primary operation wounds.
Rollier Method of heliotherapy: slow tanning in cool 64F conditions with fresh air, good diet, exercise. Begin with feet, legs/arms, then abdomen and chest. Early morning sun is best. Do not sunbathe in midday in summer.
Sunlight and sea bath
Wear a hat to protect delicate skin on face, neck, chest
Frequent short exposures are best. Most important time to sunbathe is spring and early summer.
A very current mistake consists of thinking that the sun bath is all the more efficacious if prolonged or taken when the sun is at its hottest.
Window Tax 1695-1851
Sir Leonard Hill: radiant heat, warm floor, agreeable movement of cool air. Centralized heating produces a monotonous over-warm still atmosphere which will not promote health in people who have no opportunity for open-air exercise and who who not recognize the need for such.
Florence Nightingale: Pavilion Wards
The Romans developed hypocausts for their villas, passing heated air under the floors and walls to create radiant internal surfaces.”
Damp wall surfaces which are not sunlit favor the growth of molds and fungi that can get into the house and be inhaled.
House should face southeast or southwestern.
Cities that face the rising sun have the healthiest residents.
Some argue that jaundice in premature infants is actually caused by sunlight deprivation.
Sitting on the rest homes open verandah with their head and neck, forearms and lower legs exposed to the sun for only 30 minutes was all that was needed to achieve the required result.
Skin that has not had time to build up its own protection against strong sunlight and a body that has not acclimated are better protected by clothing, a hat, and a long siesta
Unless one has a proper diet, sunlight has I’ll effects on the skin. This must be emphasized: sunbathing is dangerous for those who are on the standard high-fat American diet or do not get an abundance of vegetables, while grains, and fresh fruits. Those on the standard high-fat diet should stay out of the sun and protect themselves from it, but at the same time they will suffer the consequences of both the high/fat diet and the deficiency of sunlight.” Dr Zane Kime
Florence Nightingale proposed to build hospitals with spacious pavilion sized wards and big windows to aid the healing of patients by allowing for much light and good cross-ventilation.
Low vitamin D levels- respiratory infections etc
Sunlight kills bacteria and is quite capable of doing so even when it has passed through window glass.
1903: Niels Finsen treated TB of skin with UV radiation
Sunlight is a powerful accelerator of skin ageing
What you eat determines how your skin responds to sunlight. The proportion of fat in your diet together with the vitamin and mineral content of your food could decide how likely you are to sustain damage in the sun
The first physician known to history— an Egyptian of the 27th century BC called Imhotep— was also one of the worlds most celebrated architects.
Sunlight : visible light (37%); UV Radiation (3%); infrared (60%).
UVB burns skin more rapidly than UVA but does not penetrate as deeply.
Prolonged exposures to the sun produces no more vitamin D than short exposures- you don’t have to tan for it to take place.
Wavelengths that synthesize vitamin D 290-320nm. 290-400nm cause erythema
When vitamin D levels are low the body cannot absorb sufficient amounts of calcium to stay healthy.
Vitamin D can trigger asthma in aspirin-sensitive patients and should be taken with caution by patients on anti-coagulants. It can also cause rise of blood glucose in insulin-dependent patients
Excess vitamin D supplementation: magnesium deficiency in the heart which can cause spasm in coronary arteries and heart attack. Upsets body’s calcium metabolism and may cause cholesterol levels in blood to increase.
UV radiation can lower blood pressure.
Exercise combined with exposure to the sun has a greater effect on stamina, fitness and muscular development than exercise aloneZ
The amount of insulin to maintain normal blood sugar levels can change significantly if person exercises or is in strong sunlight for any length of time”.
During winter months the symptoms of SAD can be alleviated by taking an hourly walk in the morning.
Dawn simulation is effective for SAD sufferers even though their eyes are closed. Dawn simulators are ineffective on SAD patients when they are fully awake.”
Depression can be made worse by exposing sufferers to bright light or to the sun.”
Glass filters out wavelengths below 350nm which means no UVB radiation and only a limited amount of UVA passes through.
Incandescent bulbs emit yellow and red light; most electricity converted to infrared radiation.
Fluorescent lights emit yellow and green; near-subliminal flicker which is source of stress to building users.
Unnatural lighting does not produce the same photochemical responses that natural daylight does.
A fortnight spent in cool-white fluorescent light at about 3500 lux increases ACTH levels in test subjects to abnormally high levels. They returned to normal after 2 weeks of exposure to daylight.
Prolonged exposure to artificial light at normal levels may compromise the immune system in unknown ways.
Our ability to respond to variations in temperature and humidity is compromised if we constantly live and work in conditions that do not change.”
Moving in/out of interiors that are maintained at levels of temperature and humidity markedly different from those outdoors may be prejudicial to our well-being.
The human body needs the challenge of gradually changing conditions and regular exercise.
The human eye evolved in sunlight and is well-equipped to cope with its full spectrum.”
Sunlight does not cause cataracts.
Basal cell carcinoma- face and hands
Squamous cell carcinoma-result of cumulative exposure to sunlight and develops in old age.”
Children who wore clothes in the sun instead of sun screen avoided sun-induced development of moles.
Children who use sunscreen, stay out in the sun and develop more moles are at greater risk for skin cancer.
A combination of sunscreen and sunlight can trigger photosensitivity in susceptible individuals.
Anyone concerned about sunlight causing premature aging may have more to gain from adopting a diet which protects against damage from the sun and wearing a hat.”
If TB patients didn’t tan, they didn’t get better.
Wearing clothes to protect from the sun was a strong predictor of vitamin D deficiency
Osteoporosis may have more to do with a weakened immune system or poor nutrition than hormonal balance.”
Rickets and osteomalacia are diseases of darkness and not diet. Providing you get sufficient exposure to the sun, a diet lacking in vitamin D will not cause these diseases.”
Tuberculosis bacteria can stay viable for months, but fortunately it is quite difficult to become infected unless one is in a confined space with little fresh air circulating and no sunlight.
Women from South Asia are particularly susceptible to TB in Britain because their diet, strict dress codes, and tendency to remain indoors prevent them from getting sufficient sunlight and vitamin D to ward off disease.”
The nearer one is to the equator, the less chance there is of developing cancer of the breast, colon, lung, etc.”
Exposure to sunlight might be an effective way to reduce the number of deaths from internal cancers.
The way people now sunbathe- baking in the hot sun in warm air— should be avoided. The purpose of a health sun bath is to stimulate the body’s defenses and not compromise them.
George Bodington- open-air treatment of the disease.
In Rome, as in Greece, heliotherapy was closely linked with sun-worship.
Finsen Lamps
Dr Oskar Bernhard- sunlight on infected wounds. He did not recommend sunlight for fresh y infected wounds or primary operation wounds.
Rollier Method of heliotherapy: slow tanning in cool 64F conditions with fresh air, good diet, exercise. Begin with feet, legs/arms, then abdomen and chest. Early morning sun is best. Do not sunbathe in midday in summer.
Sunlight and sea bath
Wear a hat to protect delicate skin on face, neck, chest
Frequent short exposures are best. Most important time to sunbathe is spring and early summer.
A very current mistake consists of thinking that the sun bath is all the more efficacious if prolonged or taken when the sun is at its hottest.
Window Tax 1695-1851
Sir Leonard Hill: radiant heat, warm floor, agreeable movement of cool air. Centralized heating produces a monotonous over-warm still atmosphere which will not promote health in people who have no opportunity for open-air exercise and who who not recognize the need for such.
Florence Nightingale: Pavilion Wards
The Romans developed hypocausts for their villas, passing heated air under the floors and walls to create radiant internal surfaces.”
Damp wall surfaces which are not sunlit favor the growth of molds and fungi that can get into the house and be inhaled.
House should face southeast or southwestern.
Cities that face the rising sun have the healthiest residents.
Some argue that jaundice in premature infants is actually caused by sunlight deprivation.
Sitting on the rest homes open verandah with their head and neck, forearms and lower legs exposed to the sun for only 30 minutes was all that was needed to achieve the required result.
Skin that has not had time to build up its own protection against strong sunlight and a body that has not acclimated are better protected by clothing, a hat, and a long siesta
Unless one has a proper diet, sunlight has I’ll effects on the skin. This must be emphasized: sunbathing is dangerous for those who are on the standard high-fat American diet or do not get an abundance of vegetables, while grains, and fresh fruits. Those on the standard high-fat diet should stay out of the sun and protect themselves from it, but at the same time they will suffer the consequences of both the high/fat diet and the deficiency of sunlight.” Dr Zane Kime
August 8, 2023
I enjoyed reading the historical accounts of using sunlight to heal. It was amazing to learn about the Egyptians and other cultures and how they viewed the power of sunlight. We seem to have forgotten all of that knowledge. Our current society is busy trying to escape the sun and busy applying toxic sunscreen. What disappointed me about this book is that it did not have a section with exposutre recommendations. It certainly needed a practical section that addressed measures to get sufficient sunlight for optimal health. I got to the end of the book and I felt cheated.
October 26, 2023
Great info, learned a lot. But somewhat repetitive.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews