TROXLER PHENOMENON, SUN COLUMNS AND PARHELIC CIRCLE
The exhibition of every hue of the rainbow and the apparent variation in size and distance of the sun, can be explained by the so called Sun Dogs, also called mock suns or false suns. The spinning of the sun and its pulsations might be explained by the Troxler phenomenon.
When the gaze is fixed intently on an object for a long time, peripheral images that tend to disappear reappear immediately when the eyes are moved. This effect is called the Troxler phenomenon. To study it reproducibly it is necessary to use an optical device that ensures that the image of any object upon which the gaze is fixed will remain on the same part of the retina however the eyes move. Two investigators found, when they did this, that the stabilized retinal image tended to fade within a few seconds. It may be assumed that in normal vision the normal involuntary movements--the microsaccades and drifts mentioned earlier--keep the retinal image in sufficient movement to prevent the fading, which is essentially an example of sensory adaptation, the tendency for any receptive system to cease responding to a maintained stimulus.
Sun pillars are vertical columns of light that appear above or below the sun, or both, when the sun is near the horizon. They are caused by reflection of sunlight from the near horizontal surfaces of ice crystals and are similar to the glitter path of sunlight reflected on water. Light pillars are also associated with the moon.
The parhelic circle is a reflection from the vertical surfaces of horizontally oriented flat plate or columnar crystals when very small ice crystals, diamond dust , fall through the air. The crystals reflect the light in all directions of the azimuth but always downward at the same elevation as the sun. Thus if the sun’s elevation is 25° an observer would see the parhelic circle 360° around the horizon by looking up 25°, but usually only part of the faint white circle is seen. The parhelic circle and a sun pillar may form a cross in the sky, centered on the sun. This was the main reason why the ancients associated the cross symbol to the sun.
MASTERS OF SUN GAZING
Socrates (c. 469-399 B.C.) was the greatest Greek philosopher according to
the Oracle of Delphi.
In Plato's Phædrus, Socrates is made to say that "our greatest blessings come to us by way of madness." Then Socrates said: "For prophecy is a madness, and the prophetess at Delphi and the priestesses at Dodona when out of their senses have conferred great benefits on Hellas, both in public and private life, but when in their senses few or none." (Phaedrus, 243)
Aristophanes, who did not understand and appreciate Socrates’ philosophy,
wrote a play entitled “The Clouds” in which Socrates, after being asked "what are you doing up there?", is saying: "I am traversing the air and contemplating the sun." When asked what why he floats in the air, he replies, "I have to suspend my brain and mingle the subtle essence of my mind with this air, which is of the like nature, in order clearly to penetrate the things of heaven. I should have discovered nothing, had I remained on the ground to consider from below the things that are above; for the earth by its force attracts the sap of the mind to itself. It's just the same with the watercress." Let's mention that the Brahmans also used to levitate while sungazing. According to Philostratus , the Brahmans levitate at will in the air "not for the sake of vain glory, but to be nearer their Sun God," to whom they pray. (Flavius Philostratus, The Life Of Apollonius Of Tyana
)
Socrates did also moon gazing. One cold winter night he was out amidst an olive grove. At daybreak when his wife Xanthippe, found him missing a search party was sent out. They found Socrates frozen like a Greek statue. When asked about this strange experience Socrates said: "I was gazing at the moon and suddenly my soul separated from the body and thus I did not know what to do, until you came and resuscitated me".
In Plato's Symposium, Socrates freezes in deep meditation en route to a drinking party (the 'symposium' of the title). The host Agathon, and the other guests, are left waiting; a slave is sent and returns reporting: "Socrates is here, but he's gone off to the neighbour's porch. He's standing there and won't come in even though I called him several times."
Agathon gives the order, "Go back and bring him in!" but Socrates' companion, Aristodemus, objects: "No, no, leave him alone. It's one of his habits: every now and then he just goes off like that and stands frozen, wherever he happens to be." Alcibiades gives a further example of his deep meditative trances, being impervious to his surroundings and the heat of the Mediterranean summer Sun. He mentions also that he was praying at sunrise: "So much for that! But you should hear what else he did during that same campaign, 'The exploit our strong-hearted hero dared to do.' One day, at dawn, he started thinking about some problem or other; he just stood outside, trying to figure it out. He couldn't resolve it, but he wouldn't give up. He simply stood there, glued to the same spot. By midday, many soldiers had seen him, and, quite mystified, they told everyone that Socrates had been standing there all day, thinking about something. He was still there when evening came, and after dinner some Ionians moved their bedding outside, where it was cooler and more comfortable (all this took place in the summer), but mainly in order to watch if Socrates was going to stay out there all night. And so he did; he stood in the very same spot until dawn! He only left next morning, when the Sun came out, and he made his prayers to the new day."
Pythagoras, his teacher, instructed Socrates: "Offer sacrifice and worship with thy shoes off." According to Pythagoras: “Life is like a gathering at the Olympic festival, to which, having set forth from different lives and backgrounds, people flock for three motives. To compete for the glory of the crown, to buy and sell or as spectators. So in life, some enter the services of fame and others of money, but the best choice is that of these few who spend their time in the contemplation of nature, and as lovers of wisdom.”
Apollonius of Tyana was born around 4 BC at Tyana, in Cappadocia, and is last heard of in Ephesus, over 100 years later.
He was presented in the memoirs of Damis of Nineveh, the so-called Scraps from the manger. The Scraps from the manger were given to Philostratus by the empress Julia Domna. The neo-Pythagorean sage who is described by Damis, worships the Sun. This element is almost absent from earlier Pythagorean works.
Philostratus frequently mentions Apollonius' prayers to the sun, something for which we do not find antecedents in the Pythagorean literature. “For he said that, whereas other men only make conjectures about the divinity and make guesses that contradict one another concerning it, -- in his own case he said that Apollo had come to him acknowledging that he was the God in person” (Flavius Philostratus, The Life Of Apollonius Of Tyana)
When Apollonius inquired Iarchas, the leader of Brahman sages, of whether the cosmos was composed of four elements, the latter replied that it was made not of four but of five, the fifth being the ether. There is, said the Indian sage, "the ether, which we must regard as the stuff of which gods are made, for just as mortal creatures inhale the air, so do immortal and divine natures inhale the ether." Damis saw too, the fire that they drew from the sun's rays, while they worshipped the solar orb. Either sunrise or at noon, Apollonius would say the following prayer:
"O thou Sun, send me as far over the earth as is my pleasure and thine, and may I make the acquaintance of good beings,
but never hear anything of bad ones, nor they of me."
Omram Michael Aivanhov: "Human beings are so unaccustomed to using their God-given psychic and spiritual faculties
that they have no idea what to do when they see the sun rising. They soon start yawning with boredom. They are tired of watching that brilliant sphere in the sky. So they leave the sun and go to take care of more tangible, more important things!... What is so extraordinary is that many people, finding themselves by chance in front of the rising sun, acknowledge that it is one of the most beautiful sights one can see, but that does not mean they are ready to make an effort to renew the experience. Yes, how many would feel impelled to get up early to greet the dawn, to welcome that light into their hearts and souls so that the whole day may be luminous and pure?"
"The ego is the ultimate black hole. It sucks in light but emits none. The Sun is the exact opposite of the ego. It ceaselessly bestows life upon the world. Its life is a true sacrifice. This secret message was clearly understood by the ancient rishis." "You will understand how important it is for you to receive these particles of sunlight that vibrate with such intensity, so that your etheric body may become strong and radiant and safe from attack by disorder, illness or dicouragement of any kind." "In your thought, with your imagination, try to draw some of these divine particles [of the Sun] into yourself. In this way, little by little, you will completely regenerate all the materials of your being. Thanks to the Sun you will think and act as a child of God."
"When we focus our attention on the sun, the centre of our universe, we draw closer to our own centre, our higher self, the sun within; we melt into it and begin to resemble it more and more."
"The world needs more and more human beings capable of dedicating themselves to this work with the sun, for only love and light are capable of transforming humanity."
"You go and watch the sunrise for your morning meditation, but you will not gain a great deal from this exercise if you do not prepare yourself; possibly the night before, but certainly from the moment you set off before dawn you must hold firmly in your head and in your heart the belief that you will not just assist but also participate in this incredible event taking place in the universe.[...] You will say that the sun will always rise, whether you are there to watch it or not. Yes, you are right, the sun does not need you to rise in the morning. It is important for you, however, because there is a connection between the events that occur in nature and those of your inner life."
"When you are watching the sun rise, wait, watchful and attentive, for the first ray and as soon as the first ray appears, concentrate on absorbing it, swallowing it. So instead of simply watching the sunrise, you are drinking it, you are eating it, and you imagine that this living light spreads through all the cells of your organs, purifying them, strengthening them and enlivening them. This exercise not only helps you concentrate, but you will feel your entire being quiver and illuminate because you are truly absorbing light"
"Light is the true beverage of immortality and you can catch this light in the morning at sunrise and use it to nourish your subtle bodies."
"If you are able to watch the sun with a free, clear mind you will feel that you are entering into contact with it, with its spirit, and that you are absorbing its rays, like so many seeds of life."
"Prana is a great river flowing from the sun and, by meditation and breathing exercises, we can obtain all the elements we need from it."
"In a dream, the sun which is rising can announce, for example: the end of a grave disease (return of health), or blooming, the arrival of a prosperous situation, etc."
"The sunset (which is announcing night herald or darkness) represents: loss of consciousness, disease and death. It connects usto the destructive forces of decline and death. That is why it is not recommended to contemplate sunset."
"The nearer you get to the sun in spirit, soul, and thought, with your heart and will, the nearer you will be to God, for on the physical plane, the sun is the symbol and the tangible representative of the Deity."
Aïvanhov was always careful to emphasize, however, that the sun should not be worshipped as God: "God must always be sought above and beyond forms.""God is utterly ineffable, beyond our powers of conception; there is no question of thinking the sun is God."
"So, when you are gazing at the sun, try to sense that you are gazing at God's most perfect representative on earth. This sensation will contribute to raising the vibrations of your being to a higher level. All the elements will be exalted in you; you will be launched into the farthest regions of space, and even the notion of time will be abolished. Like God, you will be living in eternity."
Acharya Jowel is being recognised as Surya Swami for his Suryayog practice that is gaining a lot of followers in Mumbai.
He says: "Through Suryayog, your mind naturally begins to concentrate, which is the aim of all spiritual processes. The sun's rays collide with our thoughts and create silence. The mind is too powerful to be managed by ordinary human consciousness. The photons from the solar system help to control the mind."
Dimbeswar Basumatary, a 24-year-old college dropout from Balimari village west of Assam’s capital Guwahati, has
sun-gazing as his passion. He has baffled ophthalmologists by staring at the sun for hours without blinking, while staring at a radiant sun for just 90 seconds can cause solar burn or retina damage.
He claimed that he had tried not eating anything for four days and did not experience hunger or thirst because the sun gives him food for survival in the form of solar energy.
A senior ophthalmologist Biraj Jyoti Goswami of the Sankardev Netralaya, a premier eye hospital in Guwahati, said that Basumatary had been examined a number of times and was found to have good colour vision with no significant problems detected so far. (Youth’s Sun-Gazing Baffles Eye Specialists, The Star, 17 December 2002)
Sunyogi Umasankar, an Indian Yogi, was born in 1967 in Lachipur, near Calcutta, into a
Hindu family.
During his time at the ashram of Pondicherry, he spent every morning meditating on a rock looking out at the sun's reflection off the sea. His daily meditation upon the reflected sunlight onto the sea water, which is a polarized light, gave him great pleasure and became aware that, through this method of meditation, he was somehow able to absorb powerful energies from the sun's rays. He began to experiment by looking directly at the sun, initially as it was rising, then day by day he began to concentrate on it as it rose higher into the sky. He continued his meditation and after a couple of months the sun started to appear as a "clear hazy ring with soft blue sky inside". The harsh brightness disappeared and he felt it become increasingly soothing. As time went on, he started to see "seven bright colours radiating from the sun, slowly reaching closer to the ground".
During his three month period of concentrating on the sun, Swamiji had developed a great interest in the way that trees and plants are able to receive energy directly from sunlight. His discoveries now made him believe that he had found a way of absorbing the sun's energy directly into his body, charging his body's cells with kinetic energy and therefore removing the need to eat food. So, as an experiment, Swamiji stopped eating breakfast and continued concentrating on the sun. Six months later, he stopped eating his dinner, then six months after that, he stopped eating food at all. From the 17th August until the 7th December 1996, Swamiji stopped eating and sleeping altogether. His body weight remained the same and he continued his daily routine working in the ashram in a perfect state of health.
Hira Ratan Manek (HRM) was born on 12th of September 1937 in Bodhavad, India, was raised in
Calicut, Kerala, India, where he had his Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Kerala. After graduation, he joined the family business, which was shipping and spice trading, and continued working there until he retired in 1992. After he retired, he began to study on sun gazing, in which he had been interested since his childhood. After working 3 years on this method, he was able to find the secrets of sun gazing. During his study, he was mainly inspired from the teachings of Lord Mahavir of Jains, who was also practicing this method two thousand and six hundred years
ago. He walked in the sun for long periods of time. As he kept walking in the sun, he felt progressively energized. He also felt less and less need to eat food. There was no compulsion to do a fast; no will power was necessary. He follows the jain way of fasting and he takes only water after sunrise & before sunset. He has done fasting for 211 days, from 19th June 1995 to 15th Jan 96. The fast ended in the Jain temple situated in the Gujarat. When he completed the 211 days fast, his weight was reduced by 41 kg. and the Sugar level (Glucose) was lowered to 43. "Medical Science says that when the glucose level of a human being decreasing below 50, then the situation becomes dangerous, even though in his case nothing has append." Said Dr. P.D.Doshi the secretary of Health Care International Multitherapy Institute.
HRM started a 411 days fast at 1st January 2000 and was ready to go for continuous medical checkup during his fasting. The medical team is led by Health Care International Multitherapy Institute & Jain Doctors Federation jointly. It is fully
supported by Jain Yuvak Mahasangh President Dr. Jitubhai Shah.
HRM has has completed 166 days of fast on 14th June 2000. His initial weight was 77 kg was reduced to 62kg. All other parameters were normal. On 14th Februry 2001 he completed 411 days of fasting. Except for loss of 19 Kg weight (58 kg, which was stable with no further weight loss for last 3 months) a slight reduction of pulse rate and B.P. and definite reduction of respiratory rate (from 18 to now 10/minute) amazingly, there is no other medical abnormality. He has stopped passing stool after the 16th day of fasting and urine output was maintained at around 600 to 800 c.c. His blood sugar was between 60 and 90.
Even though HRM claims to have given up solid food, during the year 2005 he was filmed eating into an Indian restaurant. He recognized, after being faced with the evidence, that he had eaten while telling his followers that he only consumed coffee and buttermilk.
No person who followed his protocol/method managed so far to give up food, or to live only on liquid food.
Nikolay Nikolayevich Dolgorukiy is a 49-years old Ukrainian who lives only on green
tea, vegetable broths or boiled water with honey or with seasoning for fish-soup. "Earlier I had drunk milk. I have already left milk. Now I drink vegetable broths", — says Nikolay.
Nikolay saw “terrible” dreams during the first 2 weeks after he stopped eating - as if he eats appetizing buns. The man waked up in cold perspiration with the thought: “Do I really fail?” Feeling of hunger disappeared later. The indifference to food and feeling of perfect soul rest appeared then.
Nikolay lost 7 kg during almost 1000 days of sun-diet. The heart problems and stomach aches disappeared and he feels as if he is 30 years old. His personal record of non-stop sungazing is of 13 hours. He makes press-ups with one arm for 30 times.
The doctors consider that his life is supported by the several litres of drinks, daily: milk, tea, honey-drink have all necessary substances for organism (calcium, proteins, carbohydrates, microelements). Other important factors were autosuggestion and willpower.
SUN GAZING HELPS FASTING
There are two mechanisms by which sunlight suppresses the hunger:
1. by stimulating melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH) production into the pituitary gland; 2. by stimulating serotonin production and suppressing melatonin production into the pineal gland.
Exposure to sunlight makes pituitary gland to MSH. MSH stimulates the pigmentation of the skin, but it is also anorexigenic (suppresses hunger). Injection of MSH in one of the lateral ventricles of rodents leads to suppression of food intake in a dose-dependent manner.
There was proven the physiological suppression of MSH under fasting. However, sun gazing overrides this mechanism. MSH is leading to increased metabolism and accelerates weight loss during a fast, by increasing the accessibility of fat stores.
The rate of production of serotonin by the brain was directly related to the prevailing duration of bright sunlight and rose rapidly with increased luminosity.
To transform tryptophan into serotonine, vitamin B6 is required. Consuming more protein than you need, requires extra vitamin B6 (and B2 and folic acid). Consuming too much proteinous food inhibits serotonine production. Consuming too much protein increases blood-phenylalanine level. The amino acid phenylalanine inhibits serotonine production, through inhibiting decarboxylation of 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophane into serotonine. Consuming too much protein increases blood-leucine level. The amino acid leucine enhances tryptophan-pyrrolase, irreversibly decomposing tryptophan.
A common cause of obesity is the serotonin-deficiency. Symptoms include sugar cravings, food obsession, binge eating, depression, anxiety, and phobias. Fasting results in increased turnover of brain serotonin (Curzon et al, 1972).
Sunlight, or simulated sunlight, stimulates the thyroid gland which boosts metabolism and fights obesity.
Melatonin is produced, in the absence of sunlight, by pineal gland. Stress, refined sugars, and other factors that increase epinephrine output will also increase melatonin production. This is the cause of stress induced obesity.
Melatonin does inhibit the pituitary secretion of melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH), which leads to increased hunger. That's why hunger is hard to control during the night and that's why the Ramadan fasting is maintained until sunset.
Melatonin suppresses the production of insulin by the pancreas, and therefore causes a rise in blood sugar. In contrast, calcium and vitamin D appears to stimulate the production of insulin. Exposure to sunlight lowers blood sugar by stimulating its storage in the muscles and liver. Diabetics are benefited by getting moderate amounts of sunshine, but lengthy sunbathing is not recommended.
The pineal gland produces melatonin from serotonin, causing a decrease of the serotonin level.
Twenty-two patients with both SAD and bulimia received a four-week trial of light therapy, with each session lasting 30 minutes to one hour.
10 of the 22 patients had a complete remission of depressive symptoms following the trial, while the number of binges decreased by an average of 46%, and the number of purging events dropped by 36%, they report.
Norman Rosenthal, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and author of the book Winter Blues, believes that light affects the brain in such a way as to both diminish the need for food and to dampen the need for the good feelings that come with purging.
Rosenthal also says that light increases brain levels of serotonin, a chemical involved in mood that also regulates the sense of "satiety" -- the feeling of being full after eating.
Vegetarian and vegan diets are exceptionally poor or completely lacking in vitamin D predisposing to an absolute need for UV-B sunlight.
Obesity is associated with vitamin-D deficiency. In fact, obese persons have impaired production of UV-B-stimulated D and impaired absorption of food source and supplemental D.
When the diet lacks calcium, whether from D or calcium deficiency, there is an increase in fatty acid synthase, an enzyme that converts calories into fat. Higher levels of calcium with adequate vitamin D inhibit fatty acid synthase while diets low in calcium increase fatty acid synthase by as much as five-fold. In one study, genetically obese rats lost 60 percent of their body fat in six weeks on a diet that had moderate calorie reduction but was high in calcium. All rats supplemented with calcium showed increased body temperature indicating a shift from calorie storage to calorie burning (thermogenesis).
SUNLIGHT REDUCES FATIGUE
Indoor light is missing the ultraviolet (UV) component of the sunlight. When sunlight passes through the windows, the glass is removing the UV component. Electric light is also missing the UV radiation, because it is absorbed by the glass of the bulbs. However, special bulbs, made of quartz, are providing full-spectrum light. Various laboratory tests and on-site studies have shown that UV-inclusive light helps workers reduce fatigue and accidents and dramatically increases productivity. Normal fluorescent lighting actually increases fatigue and drains the body of energy and vitamin A.
Carbohydrates in the diet are broken down into molecules of sugar, which either circulate as blood sugar and are therefore readily available but also readily lost, or else they are stored for later use as glycogen. Glycogen molecules consist of thousands of glucose or sugar units joined together in numbers of small clusters. Each cluster contains thirty four molecules of glucose. It represents the main source of energy for normal physical exertion, and is the limiting factor for endurance. When all the available glycogen in muscle is used up, the muscle relies on what energy can be brought to it in the blood. One of the most important effects of physical training is to increase the store of glycogen in the muscle, and this explains why athletes normally do not train for two or three days before a competitive event - it takes this long for the glycogen store in the muscles to be built up again.
When human subjects are exposed to UV, the glycogen level in their tissues dives in the first hour or so, and then the enzymes which manufacture glycogen are stimulated. The level of glycogen stored in the tissues rises steadily for about sixteen hours. (Ohkawara, A., "Glycogen Metabolism Following Ultraviolet Irradiation", J. Invest Derm: 59; 264-268, 1972) In parallel with the increase in glycogen stores goes a decrease in blood sugar - or, more precisely, a normalization of abnormal blood sugar. Although most cells in the body do not depend on glucose, being able to use their glycogen stores, the one tissue that is most dependent on blood glucose, and which uses up twenty per cent of it, is the brain. When the blood sugar goes down we tend to find ourselves running out of energy and becoming drowsy, irritable and emotional.
Blood-sugar level of rabbits during constant exposure to red light causes it to go up rapidly while ultraviolet light reduces it. This effect was further confirmed in human studies when it was shown that the blood sugar of diabetics was also lowered by ultraviolet.
Pincussen showed that by using daily doses of UV light, he could bring the blood sugar of diabetics down very effectively. There was an immediate improvement after the first day of treatment, and over a period of up to a fortnight the blood sugar slowly settled down to normal and stayed there. It showed no signs of decreasing to below the normal level, so there is no reason for us to think that UV has a harmful hypoglycemic effect. (Pincussen, L., "Effect of Ultraviolet and Visible Rays on Carbohydrate Metabolism", Arcb Phys Ther: 18; 7SO-7S5, 1937)
Exposure to sunlight rises insulin level, which lowers blood sugar by pushing sugar into cells, where it provides them energy. Sunlight entering the eyes prevents the pineal from inhibiting the pituitary, and thereby provides a counterbalance to the hypoglycemic effect of sunlight hitting the skin. (Relkin, R. (ed), The Pineal Gland, Elsevier, New York, 1983. 13Tanaka, Y., "Effect of 1,2S-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 on Insulin Secretion: Direct or Mediated", Endocrinology: 118(5); 1971-1974,
1986)
HRM feels little or no fatigue, and sleeps just for a couple of hours a day. Sometimes he goes for a whole week without sleep and without ill effects.
SUNLIGHT CURES SAD AND REDUCES STRESS
Patients with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a regular recurrence of depression during the fall and winter, caused by a drop in serotonin levels in the brains, often improve after basking under bright light, a technique known as phototherapy. Little is known about why phototherapy works, but Dr. Gavin Lambert of the Baker Heart Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia, and his team discovered that serotonin levels rise in the brain on days with longer periods of sunlight, regardless of the season.
The Australian researchers took blood samples from the jugular veins of 101 healthy men and compared serotonin levels based on weather conditions and seasons. They found the turnover of serotonin was lowest in the winter and the amount of serotonin produced by the brain was directly linked to prevailing sunlight duration. (Lancet , news release, Dec. 5, 2002) The symptoms of SAD and the “winter blues” can include fatigue, craving carbohydrates, irritability, sleeping more and a change of personality from your summer self to your winter self. Four times as many women as men suffer from SAD. There is little motivation to get up in the morning or even to live
at all. Low sex drive, overeating to compensate and the inevitable weight gain add to the misery. Most people with SAD symptoms, show changes in their sleep/wake patterns and melatonin levels.
A recent study at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City found that people who got a burst of artificial light in the morning were twice as likely to overcome their seasonal depression as were those who received the light in the evening. About 80% of sufferers show the sleep delayed pattern. Their melatonin
production and sleep periods begin later at night, and creep into the normal AM waking hours. These people
have trouble waking up in the morning, and often never feel fully awake, even if they have slept longer than usual. This group should do sun gazing early in the morning. The other 20% who feel best in the morning, then fade steadily by afternoon, often going to sleep hours earlier than normal, should do sun gazing late afternoon. These people feel better when treated with bright light, of over 2500 lux. The average person responds to light therapy in 2 weeks, but some people take up to a month. However, they get worse again when given melatonin capsules. (Rosenthal, N.E, et al., 'Seasonal Affective Disorder and Phototherapy', Ann. New York Acad. Sci: 435; 260-267, 1985)
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that conveys the positive sensations of satiety, satisfaction and relaxation. It regulates appetite and when converted to melatonin helps us to sleep.
A deficiency of Serotonin in the brain can cause endogenous depression, upsets the appetite mechanism and may lead to obesity or other eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa.
Sugar consumption stimulates the body to produce insulin, a hormone which transports glucose, fatty acids and amino acids (except tryptophan) into body cells. Thus insulin speeds up the absorption of amino acids other than tryptophan. Normally, tryptophan must compete with other amino acids for entry into the brain, but insulin eliminates the competition, allowing tryptophan levels to rise in the brain. This leaves tryptophan available for absorption and conversion to Serotonin (via 5-hydroxytryptophan, 5-HTP) in the presence of vitamin B6 and magnesium, and presto we feel happy.
In a study on rats, insulin enhanced Serotonin (5-HT) release (+81%), but only 45 min after the beginning of its infusion. A person low in Serotonin will be inclined to consume greater amounts of sugar in an attempt to increase Serotonin production and this may lead to sugar addiction.
High levels of insulin - hyperinsulinism - blocks the utilization of fat cells (adipocytes) as a source of energy, thus causing obesity.
Estrogen might inhibit vitamin B6 status and decrease brain serotonin levels. That's why SAD is more common in women. Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil and flax-seed oil raise serotonin levels, although how they do this is unclear.
A recent controlled experiment by researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle found that a simulated dawn—a gradual brightening for ninety minutes in the early morning—was more effective than a sudden burst of light for half an hour (Psychology Today, Mar/April, 2002).
Daniel F. Kripke, MD and professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, states that, "The response to light therapy is quite rapid, often within two weeks, which is more rapid than the response to anti-depressant drugs or psychotherapy." "In 1980, Dr. Fritz Hollwich conducted a study comparing the effects of sitting under strong artificial cool-white (non-full spectrum) illumination versus the effects of sitting under strong artificial illumination that simulates sunlight (full-spectrum).
Using changes in the endocrine system to evaluate these effects, he found stress like levels of ACTH and cortisol (the stress hormones) in individuals in sitting under the cool-white tubes. These changes were totally absent in the individuals sitting under the sunlight-simulating tubes." (Liberman, Jacob, 1991, Light Medicine of the Future. New Mexico: Bear& Company Publishing)
The researchers from the Kobe University found in mice that light sparks a cascade of gene activity in the adrenal gland through its effects on the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). When the researchers severed the SCN, light's effect on the gland was lost.
"The surge of blood corticosterone after light exposure indicates that environmental signals are instantly converted to glucocorticoid signals in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid," said Hitoshi Okamura of the Kobe University.
Glucocorticoids--including cortisone in humans and corticosterone in mice--play many roles throughout the body, including metabolic response to starvation, antiinflammatory immune response, and the timing of circadian rhythms in peripheral organs.
"It might also explain why bright light therapy can aid patients with other disorders--such as major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder--not typically associated with the circadian clock," Ueli Schibler and Steven Brown said in an
accompanying commentary.
Sunlight exposure decreases adrenaline and noradrenalin levels, reducing their stressing effect, and releases endorphins, which promote the feeling of "well-being". It also increases vitamin D level. Seasonal Affective Disorder has been treated successfully with vitamin D. In a recent study covering 30 days of treatment comparing vitamin D supplementation with two-hour daily use of light boxes, depression completely resolved in the D group but not in the light box group. High stress may increase the need for vitamin D or UV-B sunlight and calcium.
Adults with Alzheimer’s disease have increased risk of hip fractures. This may be because many Alzheimer’s patients are homebound, and frequently sunlight deprived. One study of women with Alzheimer’s disease found that decreased bone mineral density was associated with a low intake of vitamin D and inadequate sunlight exposure.
Professor Dick Swaab, a Dutch Alzheimer's specialist, says that simply increasing the daily exposure to sunlight can help to reduce the restlessness exhibited by many patients, causing many to wander at night. Increased light may even improve their memory, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Swaab suspects that the sunlight helps to correct an imbalance in the brain chemical melatonin, although a clinical study under way should confirm whether that's the actual reason for the
improvements seen. Patients with AD produce much less melatonin than in other individuals of the same age (Liu 1999).
SUNLIGHT AFFECTS HORMONES' LEVELS
According to Dr. Julian Whitaker (Health & Healing, Vol.2,No.13,12/92), "light enters your eyes and has a stimulatory effect on your hypothalamus, pineal gland, and pituitary gland--the master hormone-secreting gland of the body. Lights that approximate the sun's full spectrum of energy keep your glands stimulated, happy, and healthy. Lights that do not, can make you sick".
A San Diego Psychiatrist, Dr. Barbara Perry, has found that women treated with two hours of bright light in the evening experienced a reversal of their PMS symptoms. Her findings, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry ("Morning Versus Bright Light Treatment of Late Luteal Phase Dysphoric Disorder" 9/89), indicate that bright-light treatment may become an effective alternative treatment to drug therapy for PMS.
As puberty progresses and body size increases, the level of melatonin decreases to its adult norm, and the level of LH rises. (Waidbauser F., and Dietzel M., "Daily and Annual Rhythms in Human Melatonin Secretion: Role in Puberty Control", Ann. New York Acad. Sci: 453; 205-214, 1985) LH also peaks at the time of ovulation, and melatonin shows a drop at the same time, which is probably due to suppression of melatonin production by estrogen.
Dr. Daniel Kripke, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California at San Diego, enlisted 11 healthy male volunteers, aged 19 to 30, to test whether light affects the body levels of luteinizing hormone, which is produced by the pituitary gland and assists in the production of other hormones, such as testosterone, in men. The men woke at 5 a.m. for five days and spent an hour in front of a light box giving off 1,000 lux, or much more brightness than typical indoor lighting. Later, they spent five days in front of a light box that only gave out 10 lux. The lux is the measurement unit for illumination. In our homes we have 200 to 300 lux. A well-lit office may have 500 lux, whereas a sunny day produces 50,000 to 100,000 lux.
Researchers found the body levels of luteinizing hormone grew by 69.5 percent in the men while they were exposed to the high levels of light.
The researchers didn't look at women because the rapidly cycling hormones in their bodies would make it difficult to study the effect of light, Kripke says. However, luteinizing hormone does affect ovulation, he adds, and "we think light is potentially a very promising treatment for women who have ovulatory problems or long and irregular menstrual cycles." Dr. Norman Shealy from Missouri, found increases in the levels of various hormones and neurochemicals after patients had
been treated for 20 minutes with pulsed light. (Shealy, CN, et al., "Effects of Color Photostimulation Upon Neurochemicals and Neurohormones", J. Neurol Orthop Med Surg, 17:95-97, 1996.)
In an open study 17 women with confirmed, severe and long-standing premenstrual syndrome, was done a photic stimulation with a flickering red light, every day for up to four menstrual cycles. At the end of treatment prospectively recorded median luteal symptom scores were reduced by 76%, with significant reductions for depression, anxiety, affective lability,
irritability, poor concentration, fatigue, food cravings, bloating and breast pain. Twelve of the 17 patients (71%) no longer had the premenstrual syndrome. (D. J. ANDERSON, N .J. LEGG and DEBORAH A. RIDOUT, Department of Neurology and Medical Statistics Unit, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, London, UK, Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (1997) Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 76-79)
Bright Light Increases Testosterone
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have found that the levels of a pituitary hormone that increases testosterone are enhanced after exposure to bright light in the early morning. The findings suggest that light exposure might serve some of the same functions for which people take testosterone and other androgens. One of the study's authors, Daniel Kripke, M.D. UCSD professor of psychiatry, added "the study also supports data that bright light can trigger ovulation in women, which is also controlled by luteinizing hormone (LH), the pituitary hormone we studied."
Published in the current issue of the journal Neuroscience Letters (341, 2003, 25-28), the study looked at LH excretion following bright light exposure (1,000 lux) from 5-6 a.m. each morning for five days in 11 healthy men ages 19-30. The same group of men had their LH measured again after exposure to a placebo light (less than 10 lux) from 5-6 a.m. for five days.
The researchers found that LH levels were increased 69.5 percent after bright light exposure in the early morning.
When researchers gave doses of ultraviolet to subjects in Boston, USA, they found that a course of five doses, of increasing duration, each of them sufficient to produce slight reddening of the skin, could double the male hormone output. Some increase could be achieved whichever area of skin received the irradiation, but while exposing the back produced a doubling in hormones, exposing the skin of the genitals could cause the hormone level to triple.
The principal male hormone, testosterone, is known to be produced by the effect of sunlight on the skin, and particularly on the skin of the genitals. Its level into the urine rise
throughout the spring and summer months, being about one third higher by the end of August than in February. (Myerson, A., and Neustadt, R., "Influence of Ultraviolet Irradiation upon Excretion of Sex Hormones In the Male", Endocrinology:25; 7, 1939)
This ties in with the studies which have shown that levels of testosterone, the major male hormone, rise by about twenty per cent through the summer, reaching a peak in September.
(Aschoff, J., "Annual Rhythms in Man", in Aschoff, J. (ed.), Handbook of Behavioural Neurobiology, Plenum Press, New York, 1981)
The levels of 17-ketosterolds, the adrenal steroids, which are produced in response to stress, on the other hand, fall steadily to a trough in August. The further north of the equator, the more marked is the trend. Clearly, at these latitudes our bodies find winter something of a strain.
Wurtman and Neer (1975) suggest that nonvisual retinal responses to light mediate a number of neuroendocrine hormonal functions, which, in turn, regulate such mechanisms as pubescence, ovulation and a wide variety of daily rhythms. Faber Birren has been quoted as saying that ultraviolet radiation intensifies the enzymatic processes of metabolisms, increases hormone system activity, and improves the tone of the central nervous and muscular systems (A Summary of Light-Related Studies 1992).
Melatonin levels decreased in some of the blind patients when they were exposed to light, even though they couldn't see that light. But when the researchers blindfolded these patients and then turned on the lights, melatonin levels did not drop. Those findings suggest that although their eyes could not sense light in the normal way, they still were somehow regulating the release of melatonin, providing evidence that the eyes are involved in functions other than vision.
Recent work by the Van Gelder lab, in close collaboration with researchers at Novartis Gene Research Foundation, has shown the protein melanopsin is critical to these non-visual light responses.
UV radiation (200-400 nm) is generally considered to be outside the range of visible illumination for mammals. Experiments on hamsters confirm that wavelengths as low as 305 nm are transmitted through the clear ocular media to the retina.
Furthermore, low irradiances of broadband (340-405 nm) and monochromatic (360 nm) UV radiation are capable of suppressing high nocturnal levels of pineal melatonin (Brainard GC, Podolin PL, Leivy SW, Rollag MD, Cole C, Barker FM: Near-ultraviolet radiation suppresses pineal melatonin content. Endocrinology 1986, 119:2201-2205)
The 446–477 nm portion of the spectrum is the most potent for suppressing melatonin secretion. These data suggest that the primary photoreceptor system for melatonin suppression is distinct from the rod and cone photoreceptors for vision. Finally, this action spectrum suggests that there is a novel retinaldehyde photopigment that mediates human circadian photoreception. (Action Spectrum for Melatonin Regulation in Humans: Evidence for a Novel Circadian Photoreceptor George C. Brainard, John P. Hanifin, Jeffrey M. Greeson, Brenda Byrne, Gena Glickman, Edward Gerner, and Mark D. Rollag, The Journal of Neuroscience, August 15, 2001, 21(16):6405–6412)
Chickens were raised with translucent occluders both under normal light cycles (12-h light/12-h dark) and in constant light (CL). Under normal light cycles, eyes with occluders became very myopic. When the chickens were raised in CL,
development of deprivation myopia was reduced (8 days CL) or entirely blocked (13 days CL). Thirteen days of CL resulted in a dramatic reduction of retinal dopamine (DA) and DOPAC levels, but serotonin levels were also lowered. The results suggest that deprivation myopia requires normal diurnal DA rhythms to develop. (Bartmann M, Schaeffel F, Hagel G, Zrenner E., Constant light affects retinal dopamine levels and blocks deprivation myopia but not lens-induced refractive errors in chickens, Vis Neurosci. 1994 Mar-Apr;11(2):199-208)
In 1980, Hollwich studied the levels of ACTH, the adrenal-stimulating hormone, in the blood under natural and artificial light. After a fortnight in light from "cool white" fluorescent tubes, his subjects' ACTH levels had climbed to abnormally high, stress levels. Two weeks under daylight returned them to normal. But when the lights used were of a full-spectrum type, there was no significant increase in ACTH levels. In both cases, the light intensity was high - high enough, at 3500 lux, to suppress melatonin. (Hollwich, F., "The Effect of Natural and Artificial Light via the Eye on the Hormonal and Metabolic Balance of Animal and Man", Ophthalmologica: 180(4); 188-197, 1980)
UV light activates a skin hormone called solitrol, which is thought to be a form of Vitamin D3. It works to counterbalance melatonin, the hormone of darkness, produced by the pineal at night. Solitrol, the hormone of light, affects regulation of the whole body including the immune system, mood, circadian rhythms and seasonal responses. (Stumpf, W. (1988). "Vitamin D - Solitrol the heliogenic steroid hormone: Somatotrophic activator and modulator." Histochemistry 89: 209-19.)
ORANGE AND RED LIGHT
In the article "Eye protective techniques for bright light,'' published in Ophthalmology 90, 937-944 (1983), David H. Sliney wrote: "When the sun is low in the sky it is yellow or orange indicating that the hazardous blue light has been scattered out of the direct path of sunlight, and the sun may be fixated for many minutes without risk."
From 50% (at noon) to 93% (at dawn and dusk) of the near ultraviolet radiation (397 nm) is scattered into the sky (Jerlov, N.G.,1976. Marine optics. New York: Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co.) Sunlight has the highest ratio of near-infrared light at sunrise and sunset, when the ultraviolet and blue radiation are scattered while red and infrared are passing through the atmosphere. That's why the sun is red at these moments, which are the best for improving the vision.
Exposure to near-infrared light helps protect the retina from damage, according to a new study.
Near-infrared light which is able to increase the amount of energy in cells, say researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin. They studied the new methods in rats whose retinas had been damaged by methanol, a toxic chemical. It is known that methanol harms the mitochondria, the energy-producing structures within the cells. But exposure to an LED light could prevent this damage. The researchers believe that this method, which they call photobiomodulation, may turn out to be a non-invasive way of treating retinal injury and preventing blindness.
In the late 1990s, lab studies on cells showed that near-infrared wavelengths can boost the activity of mitochondria, the crucial powerhouses in cells. In a 2002 study backed by the National Institutes of Health and the
Persistence in Combat program from the Pentagon's research arm, Harry Whelan blinded rats by giving them high doses of methanol, or wood alcohol. This is converted by the body into formic acid, a toxic chemical that inhibits the activity of mitochondria. Within hours, the rats' energy-hungry retinal cells and optic nerves began to die, and the animals went completely blind within one to two days. But if the rats were treated with LED light with a wavelength of 670 nanometres for 105 seconds at 5, 25 and 50 hours after being dosed with methanol, they recovered 95 per cent of their sight. Remarkably, the retinas of these rats looked indistinguishable from those of normal rats. "There was some tissue regeneration, and neurons, axons and dendrites may also be reconnecting," says Whelan. Whelan and his team have
reportedly shown that skin and muscle cells grown in cultures and exposed to the LED infrared light grow 150 to 200 percent faster than ground control cultures not stimulated by the light.
The specially designed near-infrared LED generates infrared light that penetrates to a depth of 23 centimeters, or more that nine inches without damaging the skin. Though three times brighter that the sun, the LED is very safe and easy to use, as well as portable. DNA synthesis in muscle cells quintupled after a single application of LEDs flashing at the 680-, 730- and 880-nanometer wavelengths, according to Whelan. He identified more than 20 genes that typically are associated with retinal damage, for example, and "the LED alters all of them."
"Some increased, some decreased," she added. "But they were all brought back to normal."
Whelan thinks that the LED pulses give the retinal cells extra energy, allowing them to heal more quickly.
A natural way to expose the retina to infrared light, recommended for persons sensitive to sunlight or that have photophobia, who usually wear sunglasses, is to watch into the direction of the sun, preferably at noon, with the eyelids closed. The eyelids act as filters, letting only the infrared light to reach the retina. It is necessary a long time exposure, from 20 to 30 minutes, because the intensity infrared light which reach the retina in this way is hundreds of times lower than that generated by the LEDs. The big advantages are that this therapy is available to anybody and is totally free.
Sunlight influences the metabolism of fatty acids in the retina. "Gazing directly into the sun actually improves sight and aids in overcoming disease" (Dr. Herbert Shelton).
After discontinuing wearing his eyeglasses, Dr. John Ott wrote that he exposed his eyes to sunlight without lenses and his vision was much improved. He recommended similar therapy to his friends and they gained similar improvement in their vision.
Writing in Psychology (July, 1929), Dr. R. A. Richardson, optician, says: "On a recent trip to Africa, I took advantage of the opportunity to find out whether cataract and blindness, often found there, were caused by the sun's intense light and heat, as I had been told. To my surprise, I discovered that the persons blinded by cataract were not those who worked in the open sunshine, but in the small shops and bazaars of Tunis. Questioning them, I traced their trouble to over-indulgence in proteins, sugars and starches, nicotine and caffeine."
An elderly man in the audience arose, and identified himself as a veteran of the Korean war. He had, he said, worn glasses for much of his life, and had been POW held by the Koreans for about 9 months near the end of the Koran war. At some point, an apparently sadistic but curious medical doctor at the prison camp had selected 10 men – this man was one of the ten – and forced them to stare at the sun for 10 hours per day, including high noon. If a prisoner resisted or looked away, or closed their eyes, guards would beat them, and the prisoner risked death. While the former POW reported that it was decidedly unpleasant sitting and staring at the sun for 10 hours a day, almost non-stop, and that he and the other prisoners all developed massive headaches and neckaches, none apparently experienced any long-term negative effect upon their vision or their eyes. Further, each man who had previously worn glasses (the POW telling the tale was among them) shortly
discovered that their vision had drastically improved and that they no longer needed to wear glasses. The ex-POW relating the tale told the class that he had never since needed glasses, and that he was now in his seventies and his eyesight was perfect.
Folks often report really nasty headaches and sinus pains which may last for days afterward, especially when first starting. The headaches and migraines are caused by the increased levels of serotonin, induced by sun gazing. Serotonin is a potent vasoconstrictor and the headaches and migraines are the consequence of that.
Three patients who had malignant melanomas of the uvea and normal foveas agreed to look at the sun for one hour before enucleation of the eyes. Two of the patients sungazed with an undilated pupil, and 24 hours later, recovered their
preexposure visual acuity with no detectable scotoma. One of the patients looked at the sun with a partially dilated pupil, and 24 hours later her visual acuity dropped from 20/20 to 20/25. (The human fovea after sungazing, Tso MO, La Piana FG. Trans Sect Ophthalmol Am Acad Ophthalmol Otolaryngol. 1975 Nov-Dec;79(6):OP788-95)
According to one scientific research report (ISBN: 0-8194-1500-6) blood exposed to infrared light had less blood cell aggregation (clumping together) which would free up more surface area of red blood cells to transfer nutrients and oxygen to tissues.
Britton Chance of the University of Pennsylvania has shown that about 50 per cent of the near-infrared light is absorbed by mitochondrial proteins called chromophores. Whelan and his colleagues think the light boosts the activity of a chromophore called cytochrome c oxidase, a key component of the energy-generating machinery. Whelan's theory is that the photons of the
infrared light give the cytochrome electrons it ordinarily would get from sugar. Light becomes a substitute for food, basically.
Evidence indicates that cells absorb photons and transform their energy into adenosine
triphosphate (ATP), the form of energy that cells utilize. The resulting ATP is then used to power metabolic processes; synthesize DNA, RNA, proteins, enzymes, and other products needed to repair or regenerate cell components; foster mitosis or cell proliferation; and restore homeostasis.
After a crush injury to the sciatic nerve in rats, low-power laser irradiation was applied transcutaneously to corresponding segments of the spinal cord immediately after closing the wound by using 16 mW, 632 nm He-Ne laser. The laser treatment was repeated 30 minutes daily for 21 consecutive days. RESULTS: The electrophysiologic activity of the injured nerves (compound muscle action potentials--CMAPs) was found to be approximately 90% of the normal precrush value and remained so for up to a long period of time. In the control nonirradiated group, electrophysiologic activity dropped to 20% of the normal precrush value at day 21 and showed the first signs of slow recovery 30 days after surgery. The two groups were found to be significantly different during follow-up period. (Effects of laser irradiation on the spinal cord for the regeneration of crushed peripheral nerve in rats)
Seth Pancost, in his book "Red and Blue Light: or, Light and Its Rays as Medicine" (Philadelphia, J. M. Stoddart & Co. 1877) wrote that: "These two rays produce the two opposite forces, or principles of light -- the Red the positive, polarizing, integrating force or principle, the Blue the negative, depolarizing, disintegrating force or principle. He used red light for physical and mental strain leading to exhaustion (pains in back of the head, shortness of breath, fluttering of heart, compressible pulse, loss of appetite, constipation and phosphoric urine).
In The Principles of Light and Color (1878), Edwin Babbitt recommended red light for: all cold, dormant and chronic conditions; all anemic or impoverished states of the blood; all pale, sallow complexions with poor arterial blood; constipation of the bowels; suppressed menstruation; dormant liver, kidneys and lower spine; all hard, chronic tumors and negative inflammations; bronchitis, ulceration of lungs, paralysis, chromic rheumatism, chills; despondency, stupid brain, dropsy, exhaustion, etc.
The evidence suggests that red light and infrared radiation speeds many stages of healing. It accelerates inflammation, promotes fibroblast proliferation, enhances chondroplasia, upregulates the synthesis of type I and type III procollagen mRNA, quickens bone repair and remodeling, fosters revascularization of wounds, and overall accelerates tissue repair in experimental and clinical models. Recent studies of human cases of healing-resistant ulcers suggest that doses ranging from 1 to 6 J/cm2 results in healing of 55% to 68% of ulcers that did not respond to any other known treatment. In an experiment to examine the effects of 3 J/cm2 dose of 830 nm light applied twice weekly on slow-healing diabetic leg ulcers in patients
that, for at least 4 weeks, did not respond to conventional treatment, four of the seven cases treated (57%) responded positively with total healing of the ulcers achieved within 5 to 10 weeks.
SUNLIGHT, THE BILIRUBIN AND THE LIVER
Bilirubin is produced in bone marrow cells and in the liver as the end product of red-blood-cell (hemoglobin) breakdown. The amount of bilirubin manufactured relates directly to the quantity of blood cells destroyed. About 0.5 to 2 grams are produced daily.
Newborns with moderately severe jaundice are placed under powerful florescent lights which are designed to emit light at a specific wavelength (range for maximum absorption of bilirubin is 400 - 500 nanometres, corresponding to blue near-UV light) which accomplish the isomerisation of unconjugated bilirubin in the skin. This molecule is converted from the toxic, fat soluble form which can enter and damage the baby's brain tissues to a harmless, water soluble form which is excreted in the urine and stool more readily.
Research of Dr. Dan Oren at Harvard has shown that SAD can be caused by excessive bilirubin. The idea behind it is basically that in the winter there is a lot less UV light to break down the bilirubin, which directly affects the brain to cause depression.
In the liver bilirubin conjugates with glucuronic acid made from the sugar glucose. It is then concentrated to about 1,000 times the strength found in blood plasma. Conjugated bilirubin passes from the gallbladder or liver into the intestine. In the Chinese traditional medicine, "the eyes represent the orifices of the liver. When a person closes his/her eyes and falls
asleep, the blood returns to the liver. From there it is transmitted to the eyes, and the ability to see results from this. When a person sleeps, now, the nameless fire within grows dim in order to revitalize." - Yang Jizhou, The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Zhenjiu Dacheng), ca. 1590
In the Suwen and Neijing it says, "Liver qi is in communication with the eyes, so the eyes will be able to distinguish the five colors." A person's eyesight may therefore also serve as an indicator for liver function. If the liver blood is insufficient, there will be a dryness of the eyes, blurred vision, myopia, "floaters" in the eyes, color blindness or night blindness.
For the yogis, the Surya chakra (Sun's wheel) controls the liver is assisting the Manipura chakra.
Dr. Holwich, professor of optical medicine, observed that blindness is often followed by a deterioration in many functions of the internal organs and in the secretions of the liver, gall bladder and pancreas. The heart's action is also affected, as is the peristaltic motion of the intestines. When sight is regained, an unmistakable activation of these organic functions is observable.
Dr Liberman observed that natural sunlight is required as a catalyst to ensure complete digestion.
Following several months of sun gazing, Ed from Netherlands noticed a better digestion, without the energy-drop he normally experienced after breakfast: "I reached 15 minutes and 20 seconds (of daily sun gazing) two days ago.[...] I also notice that the energy-drop I normally experienced after eating a cooked breakfast (two broiled eggs with 100g of roast beef and a lot of butter) has disappeared."
Russian experiments showed that animals exposed to the correct doses of sunlight were capable of clearing a wide range of toxins out of their system considerably quicker than animals reared away from the sun. The toxins that they studied included quartz and coal dusts, toxic minerals such as lead, cadmium and mercury, liver poisons such as carbon tetrachloride, and the neurotoxins which these days are so heavily used worldwide as pesticides. They found that sunlight speeded up the clearance of toxins from the body twice to as much as twenty times. The best effect was obtained when sunlight exposure had started some time before exposure to the toxin.
(Gabovich, R.D., et al., 'Effect of Ultraviolet Radiation on Tolerance of the Organism to Chemical Substances', Vestn Akad Med Nauk SSSR: 3; 26-28, 1975.)
The Syntonic Principle, Chapter X, Body Potential, Brain Waves and Action Currents, Spitler cites an experiment to confirm this hypothesis. He inserted a galvanometer between the brain and the liver of a rabbit to measure the voltage changes in response to red and blue light. When he flooded the eye with red light he recorded an increase voltage over time. Blue light produced the opposite result. The brain/liver charge drained faster than the body could replenish it.
In syntonic phototherapy, red light is prescribed for amblyopia because red allows retinal charge to build.
In his A Course in Specific Light Therapy (Actino Laboratories, Inc. Chicago, [1939]), Carl Loeb described the use of filter #1 (flame-red) as a "liver and renal energizer and sensory stimulant. Red typifies the basic principle of life. It stands for blood, heat, and expansion."
Colonel Dinshaw P. Ghadiali says in his Spectro-Chrome Metry Encyclopaedia (Spectro-Chrome Institute, Malaga, N.J., 1934, 1940):
"The color of the liver is red; it selects from the spectrum the red wave to build itself." The attributes of red include: Sensory Stimulant, an agent that increases the activity of the sensory nervous system; Liver energizer, an agent that activates the liver."
SUNLIGHT AND THE PINEAL GLAND
The Pineal Gland produces serotonin and is the richest site of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is responsable for the "Psychadelic Experience". Considerable excess of serotonin was found in the Pineal Gland of mental patients & schizophrenics.
Administration of pineal extract to rats increased their life-span by up to twenty five per cent. (Ralph, C., "Pineal Bodies and Thermoregulation", Relkin, R., (ed), The Pineal Gland, Elsevier, New York, 1983)
The Pineal Gland metabolizes serotonin into the hormone Melatonin. Melatonin is secreted by the pineal gland around twilight, in response to the diminishing light, and helps in the sleep process.
The suppression of melatonin from the pineal gland requires a minimum intensity of 2500 lux, compared to the probably maximum of 1000 lux in indoor office environments. (Wurtman, R.J., and Moskowitz, M.A., The Pineal Organ, The New England Journal of Medicine 296; 23: 1329-1333, 1977)
The light frequency most effective at suppressing melatonin and therefore at altering biorhythms is between 450 and 550 nanometers. (Rosenthal, N.E., et al., 'Seasonal Affective Disorder and Phototherapy' Ann. New York Acad. Sci: 435; 254-260,1985) This is blue and green light. The effect spills over into the ultraviolet, but there is virtually no effect from the higher - yellow and red - frequencies. The level of light that is required for melatonin suppression is roughly that of a cloudy day. When our eyes are exposed to such level of light, our pineal stop producing melatonin within about half an hour. We
know that it's not simply a psychological response, because it can still happen in blind people. (Wurtman, R.J., and Moskowitz, M.A., 'The Pineal Organ', New England Journal of Medicine: 296; 1329-1333, 1977) However, it is abolished with loss of the eyes themselves. This is because the pathway starts with the reception of light by cells in the retina but then travels by a different set of nerves from the optic nerve, which carries visual signals. This pathway leads by a circuitous route to the pineal, where the signal is given to turn off melatonin synthesis.
Certain body functions, such as the regulation of human sleep-wake cycles and other biorhythms, require exposure to intensities of 4000 lux or more.
Stress, refined sugars, and other factors that increase epinephrine output (as well as epinephrine medications) will increase melatonin production. The excess of melatonin cause alcoholism and whitens the skin.
Research by Dr. K. Blum at the University of Texas medical school showed that in total darkness rats preferred drinking alcohol to water, while if their pineal glands were removed their preferences would be reversed. Other studies where melatonin was injected into rats turned them into alcoholics. People from northern countries have increased melatonin, during the winter time, due to the weak sunlight, and that’s the reason they have a particular preference for alcohol.. The methoxyindoles are synthesized by the pineal in the absence of light and presumably exert inhibitory effects on the gonads.
Melatonin is the first substance that has been shown to safely and effectively lower core body temperature in humans. Larval forms of amphibians undergo a marked blanching when maintained for a time in darkness. A similar response is displayed by many fishes. Blanching, which means the suppressing of melanin pigment, results from the release of melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) from the pineal. Melatonin exerts a profound contracting effect on dermal melanophores (pigment pores) leading to rapid blanching.
MELANIN AND NEUROMELANIN
There are three types of melanin in humans:
1. Eumelanin: brown black pigment derived from tyrosine following its conversion to dopa (dihydroxyphenylalanine) 2. Phaomelanin: reddish-brown pigment which are cystine derivatives of eumelanin
3. Neuromelanin: dopamine with 10-20% incorporation of cysteine. In plants and microorganisms is found a fourth
type of melanin, called allomelanin (similar to eumelanin) formed from catechols via
polyhydroxynapthalene. It has a self-assembled network structure, resembling a neural
network. It provides basis for the neuro-network of plants, possibly conducting signals. Melanins have unique properties:
– biopolymeric semiconductor (band gap of ~1.4eV – tuneable)
– biopolymeric photoconductor
– electronically bistable with a conducting transition at biological field strengths (McGinness, Cory & Procter, , Science, 1974) The microscopic structure of iridescent bird feathers are made up of stacks of melanin rods within layers of keratin, creating a space lattice.
This lattice acts as a photonic crystal, with the number and spacing of the rods determining the colour of that part of the feather.
The lattice constants for the blue, green, and yellow barbules are 140, 150, and 165 nm, respectively. The number of periods is 9–12 for the blue and green barbules, 6 for the yellow barbule (see electron microscope images of barbule structures). Since the melanin granules have a much higher refractive index than the keratin the phenomenon of iridescence is possible. Melanin absorbs much of the light not reflected by the iridescence and enhances the brilliance of the color. Additionally, at certain angles the reflected light will be highly polarized.
An experiment at the University of Arizona where male patients were injected with a melanin extract, was designed to see if skin could be chemically darkened to prevent skin cancer. Results showed, as a side effect, that men became sexually aroused.
Melanotan - a synthetic version of a natural cell-activating hormone called alpa-MSH (melanocyte stimulating hormone), which the body produces after a sunburn - was found to have other effects, including suppressing appetite and stimulating
sexual desire. It works directly on the brain, where it affects a human's sexual desire as well as sexual performance.
According to Robins, 1991, darker pigmentation found in the genitals, may have evolved for the “protection of reproductive capacity”, in that the pigmentation protects gametes within the genitalia from ultraviolet radiation damage.
When the chest and back are exposed to sunlight, the male sex hormones may increase by up to 120%.
Neuromelanin is found into the eyes and in Substantia Nigra and Locus Coeruleus from brain. People with more eye melanin have less occurrence of macular degeneration; people with less eye melanin have greater occurrence of macular
degeneration. About 15% of our original supply of melanin is lost in the eye by the age of forty and about 25% is lost by the age of fifty.
The brain center with the deepest pigmentation is the Locus Coeruleus or black dot. The Locus Coeruleus supplies the pineal gland with norepinephrine. The less melanin, the more calcified the pineal gland and less access the individual has to the spiritual world. Women with a calcified pineal gland (associated with a low production of melatonin) have a significantly greater risk of developing breast cancer. The pineal gland secretes melatonin, which activates the pituitary to release M.S.H. (Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone). It is in the melanocytes that melanin (Greek “melas”=black) is produced. Melanin is somewhat analogous to chlorophyll in plants.
Neuromelanin consists mostly of dopamine with 10-20% incorporation of cysteine.
X ray diffraction studies have shown that neuromelanin has a multi-layer (graphite-like) three dimensional structure similar to synthetic and naturally occurring melanins, but, these layers are stacked much higher in neuromelanin than in any other synthetic and naturally occurring melanins.
Neuromelanin was identified as a genuine melanin with a strong chelating ability for iron and an afinity for compounds such as lipids, pesticides, and MPP+. It plays a protective role by inactivating the iron ions that induce oxidative stress. When free neuronal iron increases to the point where neuromelanin becomes saturated and it starts to catalyse the production of free radicals, neuromelanin would become cytotoxic. Because hydrogen peroxide can degrade neuromelanin, the pigmented neurones could loose this putatively protective agent. The consequence is a release of iron and other cytotoxic metals or compounds from neuromelanin that accelerates neuronal death, as in Parkinson’s disease. The most consistent pathological finding in Parkinson’s disease is degeneration of the melanin-containing cells in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra. The more profound degree of hypomelanization found in the right substantia nigra explains the left (side of body) predominance of parkinson symptomsism.
Copper oxidizes catecholamines such as dopamine and therefore propagates neurotoxin formation. The brain may fail to store excess catecholamines, a job normally reserved for neuromelanin, and hence allow free circulation of neurotoxins (Smythies, 2000; Hoffer, 1981; Hoffer, 1973). This might under certain circumstances contribute to synaptic deletion. Abnormalities in this neuromelanin storage pathway may be considered causative factors in schizophrenia or Parkinson's disease. This biochemical theory was the first presented in medical literature by Dr. Abram Hoffer M.D., Ph.D. and Dr. Humphry Osmond M.R.C.P., D.P.M. This theory is called the adrenochrome hypothesis.
The ability of neuromelanin to chelate other redox active metals such as copper, manganese, chromium, and toxic metals including cadmium, mercury, and lead strengthens the hypothesis that neuromelanin is a high capacity storage trapping system for metal ions and prevent s neuronal damage.
The afinity of neuromelanin for a variety of inorganic and organic toxins is consistent with the protective function for neuromelanin.
SUNBATHING AND HEALTH
Celsus, Pliny the younger, Galen, and Cicero, are among the Roman writers who describe the use of the sun-bath. "Sol est remediorum maximum"--the sun is the best remedy--declared Pliny.
The Ancients, as disclosed by Herodotus and Antyllos, knew that "the sun feeds the muscles". The Greeks obviously appreciated the importance of sunlight. Their athletes trained naked out of doors, thus exposing all their muscles to its beneficial effect.
The old German epic poem, the Edda, tells us that Germans used to carry their sick, in the springtime to the sunny mountain slopes, in order to expose them to the sunshine. Certain Germanic tribes placed their feverish children in the sunlight on the tops of their houses.
At the turn of the century, it was estimated that as many as ninety per cent of children in some of the crowded cities of northern Europe and the northern United States had rickets. This is despite the fact that the value of sunlight and fresh air in treating rickets had been remarked on in 1822. It took an investigative committee of the British Medical Association in 1889 to state clearly that there was a relationship between urban industrialized environments and rickets.
The modern era of sun therapy began with the knowledge that pathogenic bacteria could be destroyed with the use of sunlight. Dr. Neils Flasen successfully used sunlight in the treatment of tuberculosis of the skin, thereby winning the Nobel Prize in 1903. Finsen, Niels Ryberg was a Danish physician, founder of modern phototherapy (the treatment of disease by the influence of light). He developed an ultraviolet treatment for lupus vulgaris, a form of skin tuberculosis, which met with
