Re: Could Sun-Avoidance be the Missing Link Explaining Rampant Autism?

Sunlight exposure has been linked to a healthy immune system in previous studies. In the office where I practice we receive a weekly publication "Science News" that has an article in the July 28 issue titled "Good Light: Sun early in life could protect against MS".

A few excerpts from this article:

"A half-century ago, doctors from Europe and North America who spent time in central Africa were struck by the absence of multiple sclerosis there. Indeed, the farther from the equator people lived, the more prevalent multiple sclerosis (MS) seemed to become. Scandinavians faced a higher risk than most other people. Thus arose the "latitude hypothesis" of MS, suggesting that a lack of direct sunshine somehow contributed to the nerve-damaging immune malfunction underlying the disease."
...

"The study bolsters a 2003 report from Australia that associated greater sun exposure and a history of sunburns in childhood with reduced risk of MS."
...

"This is a very sound piece of work," Goldacre says. "Dermatologists may feel that [advice to] spend some time in the sun is not a wholly welcome message. But it's all a matter of this being good for you in small doses."

So if lack of sunlight plays a role in preventing the development of MS, it doesn't seem unreasonable to me that it may also play a role in preventing other unnatural conditions such as autism.

One thing is for sure, over the past couple of decades many people, (me included), have gone to extrordinary means to avoid exposure to sunlight, especially by using sunscreens.

And Vitamin D in vitamins is toxic in large doses. The body can produce a form of Vitamin D in very large amounts as a result of exposure to sunlight that is non-toxic. The important thing is to find the right balance, and you won't find that in a tanning salon.

Valerie