We are experiencing that diseases like high blood pressure, heart attacks, etc. are becoming very common now a days even in early age. Just by chance, I started surfing on the net, to know the causes and cures for such diseases and to my surprise, I found that lot of research results are available which show that reducing exposure to sun rays is one of the main causes for such diseases.

With the fast life style of present days, time spent by most of us outdoors in sunlight has reduced to a great extent. Most of the offices and even class rooms are now fully air-conditioned and have artificial lighting. Instead of independent houses, the flat culture has left us with no open spaces or shaded verandahs. All this has resulted in negligible exposure of our body to sun rays in our daily routine which forms vitamin D when in touch with our skin.

Some of the findings regarding sun rays available on various dependable web sites are as under -

(1) Vitamin D plays an important role in the maintenance of organ systems of our body and regulates the calcium and phosphorus levels in the blood by promoting their absorption from food in the intestines and by promoting re-absorption of calcium in the kidneys. This process enables normal mineralization, growth and remodelling of bones. Getting your vitamin D levels optimized is one of the most important physical strategies to stay healthy and protect you from numerous chronic diseases.

(2) If you have low vitamin D blood level you are more vulnerable to contracting colds, influenza, and other respiratory infections.

(3) Vitamin D is important for preventing at least 16 different types of cancer, including Breast cancer, Prostate cancer, Lung cancer, Skin cancer, Colon cancer, Lymphoma. Some of the other health problems associated with vitamin D deficiency include high blood pressure, depression, immune system disorders, rickets, osteopenia, osteoporosis and osteomalacia (bone thinning disorder), Muscle pain and weakness, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson's disease, Tuberculosis etc.

(4) Low levels of vitamin D in the blood have been correlated with higher risk of heart disease and heart attacks. Studies have suggested that vitamin D deficiency might heavily impact the elderly by making them prone to developing bone-thinning diseases such as osteoporosis (reduced bone mineral density) and other bone-related problems including fractures.

(5) An infertility study has revealed vitamin D deficiency among men who are unable to impregnate their partners.

(6) Calcitriol, or activated vitamin D, is the most potent steroid hormone in the human body. It works by turning your genes on and off. That is, in hundreds of tissues throughout your body, calcitriol demasks your genome! It signals your genes to make hundreds of enzymes and proteins crucial to maintaining health and fighting disease.

(7)Calcitriol may protect us from background radiation and could be used as a safe protective agent before or after a low-level nuclear incident. The researchers pointed out that increasing levels of vitamin D could prevent diseases that claim nearly 1 million lives throughout the world each year.

(8) If you totally avoid the sun, recent research indicates you need about 4,000 units of vitamin D a day! So you can't get enough vitamin D from milk (unless you drink 40 glasses a day)

(9) People with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D are about two times more likely to die.

So, if you want to get in on one of the “hottest” trends for your health, take a break from your day and spend some time out in the sunshine. While doing this, morning and evening time is to be chosen and hot day time say after 9.00 am to 4.00 pm is to be avoided. The sunrays should touch the body directly for better results and therefore sun screens or creams are not to be used.

This simple action reduces your risk for so many diseases. Thus friendship with sunrays will always pay.