1. Stay Out of the Sun

In his book, The Maker's Diet, Jordan Rubin devotes a chapter to 27 recommendations on how to GET sick and suggests that if you want to remain healthy as long as possible, go against these 27 suggestions if at all possible. Every week I will post the next 'recommendation' so that it will be a series.

1. Stay Out of the Sun
Civilizations throughout history have understood that the sun is vital to human health. The human skin uses the energy from the sun to manufacture vitamin D for the body. This hormone/vitamin is important for many reasons, including its role in strengthening immune system function and poper mineral absorption.
Critics claim that exposure to the UV rays of the sun cause higher rates of melanoma and other forms of skin cancer. This might be true for a small population segment - those with compromised immune systems who don't consume adequate nutrients (especially health fats). However, the people who actually get the most exposure to sunlight in different parts of the world exhibit the lowest incidence of skin cancer. The only logical explanantion is that exposure to sunlight is not unhealthy.
What is unhealthy is exposure to sunlight with the diets we consume. Rex Russell, M.D. notes that when sunlight activates the phytochemicals in healthy foods, consumption of these foods not only blocks the harmful effects of UV rays, but they also produce "antiviral, antibacterial, and anticancer components, as well as pest repellents."