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Health Devotional
Healing in the Sun
The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets. From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. Ps. 50:1, 2, NIV.
I love to get up early in the morning and go out on the deck of our house, which looks east over the hills and ridges to the Smoky Mountains. There I stand in awe as the sun's first rays blaze across the horizon, awakening the misty valleys and warming my soul. Stretching my muscles, I breathe deeply and bathe in the beauty. And I think about God.
I've always loved the sun. Perhaps it's a part of my European background to spend some time each day exposing my skin to the sun.
But it wasn't until I read in a recent medical journal about sunlight and colon cancer that I realized the far-reaching benefits of this wonderful fiery orb that lights up the sky and our spirits.
Here's what I've found. Researchers at the University of Washington studied cancer rates in nine regions of the United States. The results were impressive. Men from Southern states had much less colon cancer than Northerners. When Michigan, Connecticut, and Washington men were compared with New Mexico men, the colon cancer rates were 50 to 80 percent higher.
Why might sunshine ward off colon cancer? Vitamin D, known to suppress growth of cancer cells, may be the answer. Our bodies make Vitamin D when we get adequate ultraviolet light from sources such as the sun. This may explain why people living in cities with more air pollution that blocks out ultraviolet rays may have more colon cancer.
While too little sunshine means a likely increase in colon cancer, too much sunshine means possible skin cancer. So, as in all things in God's nature, be moderate. Your body needs about 400 units of vitamin D each day. By exposing your face to sunlight for as short a time as five minutes daily, you can get all the vitamin D you need. What a healthy gift from God! But it's impossible to get it inside!
No wonder Ellen White advises: "Go out into the light and warmth of the glorious sun, you pale and sickly ones, and share with vegetation its life-giving, healing power" (Health Reformer, May 1, 1871).
Enjoy the health benefits of the sun. It's a gift from your Creator.
I love to get up early in the morning and go out on the deck of our house, which looks east over the hills and ridges to the Smoky Mountains. There I stand in awe as the sun's first rays blaze across the horizon, awakening the misty valleys and warming my soul. Stretching my muscles, I breathe deeply and bathe in the beauty. And I think about God.
I've always loved the sun. Perhaps it's a part of my European background to spend some time each day exposing my skin to the sun.
But it wasn't until I read in a recent medical journal about sunlight and colon cancer that I realized the far-reaching benefits of this wonderful fiery orb that lights up the sky and our spirits.
Here's what I've found. Researchers at the University of Washington studied cancer rates in nine regions of the United States. The results were impressive. Men from Southern states had much less colon cancer than Northerners. When Michigan, Connecticut, and Washington men were compared with New Mexico men, the colon cancer rates were 50 to 80 percent higher.
Why might sunshine ward off colon cancer? Vitamin D, known to suppress growth of cancer cells, may be the answer. Our bodies make Vitamin D when we get adequate ultraviolet light from sources such as the sun. This may explain why people living in cities with more air pollution that blocks out ultraviolet rays may have more colon cancer.
While too little sunshine means a likely increase in colon cancer, too much sunshine means possible skin cancer. So, as in all things in God's nature, be moderate. Your body needs about 400 units of vitamin D each day. By exposing your face to sunlight for as short a time as five minutes daily, you can get all the vitamin D you need. What a healthy gift from God! But it's impossible to get it inside!
No wonder Ellen White advises: "Go out into the light and warmth of the glorious sun, you pale and sickly ones, and share with vegetation its life-giving, healing power" (Health Reformer, May 1, 1871).
Enjoy the health benefits of the sun. It's a gift from your Creator.
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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