Would it be possible to have living organisms without water and sun? Obviously, not in this universe. Well, some forms of creatures might exist outside this universe where dark might be the basis for the foundation of a body. But let’s stop imagining such ridiculous things from the brain, which is powered by the sun.
Before we wrangle our thinking to imagine these complex life forms on Earth, we have to understand that everything has evolved as per the influence of the sun’s energy. For example, the colder region with little sunlight has much larger species of animal than its counterparts in tropical regions. To be more precise, the bears at the north pole are much larger than bears in the amazon forest, though they are siblings. Well, this is all influenced by the sun’s energy. In the colder region,s animals should derive energy from their body, so they must evolve to be larger in size. And vice versa for the hotter region.
But why is Sunlight such an essential thing to life forms? Sun fuels the body with energy, supplies the necessary nutrients for cell functioning, develops immunities against bacteria, and so on and so forth. Among all those benefits, Sun provides us with one crucial vitamin:
- The Vitamin D
In Nepal, a famous proverb exists: “always worship the morning sun.” The morning sun composes of UV rays that act as a catalytic component to turn inactive vitamin D in the body into the active form. For this reason, it is always advised to get exposed to the morning sun for the best synthesis of vitamin D. But how long should humans stay under sunlight to acquire sufficient vitamin D from sunlight alone?
Based on the most recent available research findings, a white person can synthesize up to 50000IU within half an hour of the morning sun. 50k IU is enough daily required dosage of vitamin D . However, tanned people do not get the same 50k IU with half an hour of sunlight but instead receive 20k-30k IU during half an hour of exposure. Because tanned skin is better reflective of UV rays, vitamin D synthesis does not take in an equal amount to the white individual.
- Benefits of vitamin D to human health
If you are deficient in vitamin D, your body will probably feel worse than any other disease. From your brain power to bones and skin, everything starts to decay. Your skin collagen disappears, which makes your face mature and old; you have brain fog that makes you mentally weak, you will have pores in your bones that make you physically futile, and you also have weak immunity that makes you susceptible to bacterial and viral infections.
Most surprisingly, most other body malfunctions relate to vitamin D deficiency. For example, individuals with asthma and rheumatoid arthritis often also have Vitamin D deficiency. Moreover, asthma and cardiovascular disease exacerbate during winter due to little sunlight and vitamin D deficiency.
3. Is the Sun the only source of vitamin D?
Obviously not! If that were the case, people in the north and south pole, where the temperature drops below freezing and sunlight rise once in 6 months, probably would be the weakest people. Vitamin D is primarily found in fatty meats and fish, and because vitamin D is fat-soluble, eating meats and fish easily fuels the vitamin D in the body in cold places. This is why people in cold regions crave fatty meats and fish, which are readily available in such harsh climates.
In hotter regions, Sun itself is the best source. Getting out in the sunlight for at least a half hour. In case of severe vitamin D deficiency, egg yolk, and ghee would be better as their natural fat contents have an abundant vitamin D supply. As Dr. Berg mentions, you should also take Potassium when taking vitamin D, which can increase vitamin D uptake by 30-50%.
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