373: Why Sunlight Is As Important As Nutrition and Exercise for Health & Lifespan With Ari Whitten

Sep 10, 2020

Ari Whitten, a nutrition and lifestyle expert and bestselling author, joins the discussion to highlight the crucial role of sunlight for health. He presents compelling arguments that sun exposure is as vital as nutrition and exercise. The conversation covers how sunlight can reduce risks of diseases like cancer and heart disease. Whitten explains the dangers of malillumination, likening it to malnutrition, and shares fascinating studies linking increased sun exposure to longer lifespans. He also clarifies why vitamin D supplements can’t substitute for actual sunlight.

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INSIGHT

Sunlight's Profound Health Power

Sunlight benefits our health far beyond vitamin D production.
It plays a key role in reducing all-cause mortality and is vital for disease prevention.

INSIGHT

Sun Exposure and Skin Cancer Risk

Sun exposure increases non-melanoma skin cancers but they are rarely deadly.
Sun avoidance raises risk of deadly diseases far more than skin cancer risk from sun.

INSIGHT

Melanoma and Sun Exposure Patterns

Melanoma rates have risen despite less outdoor sun exposure in modern life.
Intermittent sunburns increase melanoma risk, while regular moderate sun exposure lowers it.

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This episode brings back one of my favorite guests, and one of your favorites as well, because he is one of the most requested repeat guests. I’m here with Ari Whitten, best-selling author and founder of the Energy Blueprint. I have a tremendous amount of respect for his research and look to him for guidance in many areas.

In this episode, we tackle what is often is a very controversial topic, even though it shouldn’t be — sun exposure! He makes an incredibly compelling case for why sunlight is as important as nutrition or exercise when it comes to health and lifespan. I know that you will learn as much as I did from this, even with all my research in this area, because he goes that deep.

Thanks for being here Ari!

Episode Highlights With Ari Whitten

The reason the sun is important (beyond just vitamin D)
Why a vitamin D supplement won’t replace the benefits of the sun
The relationship between sunlight and all-cause mortality
Why the research doesn’t show that sunlight is linked to dying earlier
The reasons why sun exposure is linked to better health and longer lifespan
A fascinating study that showed that women who got more sun exposure lived longer and healthier
Why avoiding the sun was as risky as smoking a pack a day of cigarettes
What malillumination is and why it is as bad as malnutrition
How sunlight reduces your risk of cancers, heart disease, and diabetes (which can all be more problematic than just skin cancer)
The different types of light in sunlight and why we need them all
A strong case for why sunlight does NOT meaningfully increase risk of skin cancer
Why melatonin is one of the most potent forces for health and how to increase it (hint: it has to do with light!)
How avoiding the sun might speed aging!
Why the more sunlight you get during the day, the stronger your brain gets against artificial light
How Katie eats her sunscreen to be able to handle more sun naturally without sunscreen
And more!

373: Why Sunlight Is As Important As Nutrition and Exercise for Health & Lifespan With Ari Whitten

Sunlight's Profound Health Power

Sun Exposure and Skin Cancer Risk

Melanoma and Sun Exposure Patterns

Episode Highlights With Ari Whitten

Resources We Mention

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