The Healing Sun: Sunlight and Health in the 21st Century

The human race evolved under the sun, and for thousands of years lived in harmony with its heat and light. Yet over the last fifty years we have lost this close contact with the sun and its healing powers. We have become afraid of it.

However the sun is central to our well being and health. Did you know that:
• designing and building sunlit houses can help prevent disease, make us feel happier and save energy
• sunlight can help prevent and heal many common and often fatal diseases like breast cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis and osteoporosis
• before antibiotics, sunlight was used successfully to speed up the healing of wounds
• tanning moderately throughout the year is better than avoiding the sun altogether
• sudden bursts of strong solar radiation are unnatural and dangerous, protection needs to be built up slowly
• early morning sunlight in cool temperatures is particularly beneficial to the body
• sunlit hospital rooms provide a better environment for the treatment of clinically depressed people
• prolonged exposure to artificial light puts the body under great stress
• large numbers of people may be compromising their health through sunlight deficiency
• there is a substantial body of historical and contemporary evidence that suggests moderate sunbathing is far more beneficial than we are currently led to believe

The light and heat from the sun are indispensable to all nature. Humanity is also part of nature and needs sunlight for health and well being, for vitality and happiness. This book explains how and why we should welcome sunlight back into our lives--safely! It shows how sunlight was used to prevent and cure diseases in the past, and how it can heal us and help us in the future.

Richard Hobday, MSc, PhD is a member of the British Register of Complementary Practitioners and has studied traditional Chinese Medicine and Chinese exercise systems in China. Dr. Hobday has many years experience of solar design in buildings and is a leading authority on the history of sunlight therapy.