"The 'Insider' Health Secret that the Government and Big Business Wants YOU to Forget About ... "

Dr. Ott and the Discovery of Therapeutic Full Spectrum Lighting ...

The term "full spectrum light" was coined by photobiologist Dr. John Ott in the 1960's to describe a light source that simulates both the visible and invisible full spectrum of natural sunlight. In fact, Dr. Ott is responsible for inventing the first full spectrum lights to provide the multiple health benefits of sunlight.

Ott's interest in lighting began while working as a time-lapse photographer for Disney. He was unable to grow plants successfully under common artificial lighting, discovering that radiation emitted by common fluorescent tubes caused unhealthy mutation in the plants.

His work at Disney led him to lifelong research in full spectrum lighting and light-related technology. After examining the beneficial effects of light on humans, animals and plants, he concluded that all living organisms need a full spectrum of light in order to grow and thrive.

"Mankind adapted to the full range of the solar spectrum," he wrote, "and artificial distortions of that spectrum - malillumination, a condition analogous to malnutrition - may have biologic effects."

So Why is Full Spectrum Light So Important?

Light, either too much or not enough, affects us because, according to Gabriel Counsens, M.D., "We are human photocells whose ultimate biological nutrient is light."

You're probably aware that I promote the healing benefits of sunlight on Mercola.com. In moderation, sunlight prevents disease, boosts our immunity, increases our energy level, improves our mood, stimulates our metabolism and increases our intelligence.

Due to the inadequate levels of sunlight that most of us receive, we need to supplement the light we receive from the sun itself with indoor use of full spectrum lights.

America's Sun Phobia: Scare Tactics of the U.S. Government Blow UV Dangers All Out of Proportion ...

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American has a phobia - an irrational fear - about sunlight, particularly ultraviolet (UV) light. How did it start? Like most science "fads", our phobia of sunlight started with money, politics and peer pressure. Unfortunately, in many scientific and medical endeavors, research is defined in relationship to the next lucrative grant, the ability to advance one's career, the flow of funding to continue work already started, no matter what the real truth may be.

Although UV light is just one of many wavelengths in the full spectrum of light, the phobia started after investigators anesthetized animals, propped their eyes open and shined intense UV lights into them. Not surprisingly, their retinas were damaged.

In another bizarre experiment, donated human foreskins were exposed to UV light in an effort to "prove" that melanoma can be caused by sun exposure.

After these types of extreme experiments were performed, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made a ridiculous leap from the truth to the conclusion that we should avoid all UV rays.

So now, the EPA puts out a UV Index, which predicts the amount of ultraviolet radiation, "helping people determine appropriate sun-protective behaviors". They even put out a UV Alert service that will email you when the amount of UV radiation is predicted to be unusually high.

Sunlight and Full Spectrum Lighting Prevents Diseases, Especially Melanoma and Other Cancers ...

The EPA links the following major health problems to what they call "UV overexposure":

• Skin cancer (melanoma and non-melanoma)
• Premature aging of the skin and other skin problems
• Cataracts and other eye damage
• Immune system suppression

What they aren't telling you about skin cancer is that studies are now showing that sunlight or full spectrum light HELPS you prevent the deadly skin cancer malignant melanoma.

A study by the U.S. Navy found the most melanoma in people who work indoors all the time. Those who worked both outdoors and indoors had the lowest incidence. Also, most melanomas appear on parts of the body that are seldom exposed to sunlight. The inference is that both very high and very low exposures to UV light can be harmful - and moderate exposure is healthful.

A study published in the prestigious medical journal Lancet and a Russian study found that fluorescent lights rather than the full spectrum of light (sunlight) promotes melanoma, proportionately related to the time of exposure. Among a sample of nearly 900 women, those who worked indoors under fluorescent lighting had over twice the melanoma risk than others. And the relative risks were lower in women who had been most heavily exposed to sunlight, both playing outdoors as children and sunbathing as adults.

And so we see that lengthy exposure to sunlight, the natural full spectrum light, partially "immunized" both men and women against later development of melanoma. These exposures had taken place in the 1960s and 1970s before the protective ozone layer far above us was thought to have thinned. But that might not matter: UV penetration of the atmosphere, some authorities say with considerable factual support, has not increased.

Melanoma is not the only cancer that hates full spectrum light. Terminal cancer patients that Dr. Ott knew personally got well by sitting in a rocking chair in the sunshine. Ott was criticized for making no scientifically controlled human studies. Well, funding for studies showing the effectiveness of full spectrum lighting was withdrawn - and that was his experience over and over again.

These days, scientific evidence shows that sun exposure will lower the risk of many cancers, including common ones such as breast and prostate cancer. A study published in the prominent journal Cancer has shown that the risk of cancer of the breast, colon and ovaries increases with less exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

I certainly agree that sun exposure has some risks, and you should expose yourself wisely. But, any damage from simple skin cancers (which are caught easily and only rarely fatal), premature aging and other skin problems are more than outweighed by the benefits from receiving sunlight in moderation, supplemented by full spectrum lighting, particularly during the winter months.

As far as cataracts and eye damage are concerned, UV-B exposure can increase the risk; moderation is the key. But this damage happens only to those who consume a junk food diet rich in unsaturated fats and their oxidized products. Those who consume a more sensible diet and supplement with vitamins C and E do not get cataracts, even from lengthy sun exposure.

Contrary to the EPA's stance, the immune system is not suppressed by moderate levels of sunlight, UV rays, or full spectrum lights. In fact, I am personally very excited about the therapeutic use of sunshine and full spectrum lighting in nearly every disease state.

An example from history: long before the development of antibiotics, tuberculosis (TB) was successfully treated by putting people in TB solariums and exposing them to simple sunlight. More recently, a Centers for Disease Control study found that pneumococcal infections peak on the shortest and darkest days, demonstrating that reduced sunlight increases susceptibility to infectious diseases. And yet another study found that mortality from multiple sclerosis (MS) was reduced by exposure to sunlight.

Dermatologists and Other Doctors Are Mistakenly Telling You To Use Sunscreens and Avoid the Sun ...

Although you should take care not to get burned, sunscreen is one of the last things you should put on your body - and not a good way to limit sun exposure, either. (I recommend strategically placed clothing to limit sun exposure.)

Sunscreen contains toxic chemicals that can cause health problems and increase your risk of disease. Even if it didn't contribute to disease, the central issue is that it doesn't even work! Studies have shown that sunscreen does not protect against melanoma.

And avoidance of the sun is nearly a guarantee that you will suffer health complications in the future. We are more likely to be victims of sunlight or full spectrum light deficiency than be damaged by sunlight overexposure.

Sunscreens block out only UV-A and UV-B, which we all need in trace amounts, but not the potentially dangerous, germicidal UV-C. Their chemicals penetrate your skin into the circulation and add to the burden of toxins to be detoxified. Commercial sunscreens increase risk of melanoma by causing mutations when the cells' chromosomes interact with the chemicals and the light.

The Big Drug Companies Don't Want You To Know The Truth About The Importance of Vitamin D (Because There's No Money In It For Them) ...

Vitamin D is not only essential for bone growth, but it exerts many protective functions on the body - including protection from cancers of many different types, such as cancer of the breast, colon, prostate, and ovaries.

This is another reason why full spectrum lighting is important to help us derive the vitamin D we need, especially since an estimated 80-90% of us are believed to be lacking in vitamin D.

Most people think of vitamin D merely in terms of its ability to grow and maintain strong bones. However, a deficiency of vitamin D has been linked to many disorders, including diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, infertility, fatigue, depression, autoimmune disorders, and obesity. And unfortunately, our vitamin D deficiency can't be alleviated just by taking supplements and eating right.

Although some Vitamin D can be gained by eating the right foods, a critical amount needs to be produced in your body through exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. Since sunlight is deficient during part of the year and since most people spend a majority of their time indoors, I recommend using full spectrum light to supplement natural sunlight.

Big Pharmaceutical Companies Want You To Forget That Full Spectrum Lighting Helps Depression and SAD ...

SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, affects over 10 million Americans. Many more than that are affected with the milder version, the "winter blues". Both these mood disorders are caused by sunlight deficiency, particularly in the darker winter months.

Winter is the time of year when full spectrum lights are critically necessary to offset the lack of natural sunlight.

Numerous scientific studies have provided compelling evidence that natural full spectrum lighting has been shown effective in treating SAD. In fact, a recent study commissioned by the American Psychiatric Association found that "light therapy" was just as effective as antidepressant drug therapy for depressive disorders, including SAD.

Big Business Interests Don't Want You To Find Out About The Health Benefits Of Full Spectrum Lights In Schools & Businesses ...

In 1973, radiation-shielded full spectrum lights were installed in five classrooms in Sarasota, Florida. And what happened? Several extremely hyperactive, learning-disabled children calmed down completely and learned to read. Absenteeism dropped. The children in four standard-lighted rooms continued to misbehave, as tracked by concealed motion-detecting cameras; their learning disabilities and absenteeism were unabated.

Similar findings have been reported from California, Washington State, and Alberta, Canada. A classroom comparison in Vermont even found that full spectrum lighting strengthened student immunity to disease.

All in all, there is a large body of research to support the conclusion that the typical antiquated cool white fluorescent bulbs found in most classrooms lead to fatigue, anxiety, hyperactive behavior, attention problems and poor learning performance.

On the other hand, full spectrum lighting has a positive impact on learning performance, energy and activity level and other classroom issues.

And in the workplace, companies that have switched from typically-used lights to full spectrum lights report an increase in productivity, better morale, decreased absences and decreased work errors.