Gut health can be helped tremendously by sunning the belly with no sunscreen for short, nonburning periods at midday. These deeply penetrating, near-infrared waves have the potential to kill candida and other gut pathogens to help restore intestinal balance.
Can the simple act of sunning the belly actually be beneficial to health even to the extent of helping to resolve gut problems? Yes, it can and here’s why…
When I was pregnant with each of my three children, I experienced extremely strong urges to sit in the sun with my belly uncovered. I did this as often as I could, typically 2-4 times a week depending on weather conditions.
This urge to sunbathe my belly was pretty much a constant thing from the very early part of the pregnancy right through to when labor started.
Why Belly Sun is So Beneficial
I didn’t understand at the time why I was wanting to sunbathe my belly, but sometimes you don’t need to understand all the ins and outs about something to do it. You just figure that you instinctively know what you need and that the answers will come later.
My husband used to tease me a lot about my belly sunning habit.
“There she goes flashing the neighborhood again!” he would joke.
We would both laugh and scratch out heads and wonder about this strange obsession.
Once I learned about the importance of the fat-soluble vitamins and Vitamin D in particular through the teachings of Dr. Weston A. Price, I figured the belly sunning thing might be simply a primitive urge to increase my Vitamin D levels for the benefit of the fetus.
However, I never fully bought into that notion as sitting in the sun with plenty of skin exposed but my belly covered did not feel the same.
It just felt so good to get that belly in the sun. It just wasn’t the same as my legs in the sun though that was certainly nice too.
What I was getting from the sun was much more than just Vitamin D as it turns out…
Gut Problems Helped by Sun on the Belly
I believe I have finally gotten an answer to this long-held question at the International Wise Traditions Conference. It came unexpectedly while chatting with Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, author of the groundbreaking book Gut and Psychology Syndrome.
Dr. Natasha was telling me about some very new research that indicates that certain wavelengths of the sun that have not been studied before actually pass right through the human body and have an energetically balancing and overall beneficial effect on the human physiology even helping to resolve longstanding gut problems.
And, in the case of a pregnant woman, these rays could energetically benefit the fetus as well when the belly is exposed to full-spectrum sunlight.
What’s more, Dr. Natasha suggested that these deeply penetrating sun waves have the potential to kill candida and other gut pathogens so as to help resolve gut problems and heal the gut environment as a whole! (1)
This gut balancing effect would have especially positive implications during pregnancy when the immune system is depressed due to pregnancy hormones giving any gut pathogens an easy opportunity to potentially take over dominance from beneficial flora.
Animals Sunbathe their Abdomens
Animals seem to instinctively know that belly sunning is beneficial. My two cats above roll onto their backs to sun their bellies quite often! I’ve seen many other animals including my backyard free ranging chickens do it too!
Here’s a quick video of one of my cats sunning her abdomen. She does this regularly for several minutes pretty much any day it’s clear with direct rays. After I turned off the camera, she continued on her back in the sun for about another 5 minutes.
Interestingly, she typically does it at midday as well, when the sun’s rays are strongest and most direct.
Near Infrared Saunas Do the Same Thing!
Dr. Mercola touched on this exciting area of research during his keynote address at the same Wise Traditions Conference when he said that the sun has an antiseptic effect on the human body. (2)
For example, he suggested that sunlight was a natural way to clear toenail fungus. Simply getting the affected foot out in the direct sun for a few minutes each day for a period of time would clear the infection!
He even went on to say that sunbathing the armpits would go a very long way toward eliminating body odor from that part of the body!
Incidentally, infrared sauna therapy does basically the same thing. 45% of the total energy received from the sun is in the near infrared range. I recommend and use this near-infrared sauna because it has zero EMF exposure.
None of the rays of the sun are in the far-infrared range, which is why only a near-infrared sauna mimics the sun’s energy. According to scientific studies, these healing rays penetrate up to 9 inches into body tissue beneficially stimulating the mitochondria of every cell that contacts it. (3)
The implications of using the sun (or a zero EMF near-infrared sauna!) as a simple and inexpensive way to resolve gut problems by helping rebalance gut flora and improve health is nothing short of astounding and very encouraging to those who have long struggled with gut imbalance issues.
Even persistent body odor that requires the use of deodorants or antiperspirants is frequently a sign of gut problems and overall imbalance and could be improved with regular jaunts in the sun.
So get outside and let the power of the sun go to work for you today! Don’t forget to skip the sunscreen and flash that belly for sensible nonburning exposure while you’re at it!
Sources
(1) Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride Lecture, Wise Traditions Conference
(2) Dr. Joseph Mercola Keynote Address, Wise Traditions Conference
(3) Effect of NASA light-emitting diode irradiation on molecular changes for wound healing
More Information
Heliotherapy: Benefits of the Sun Far and Beyond Vitamin D
Using Heat to Heal
Gut Problems? Get That Belly in the Sun! – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/pcNjke3C
Hey Sarah! I have a question that relates to this… I am considering a light box to help with sad and maybe improve my Vit D levels. Do you have an opinion on this? I heard Dr. Mercola mention that he uses one. I live in West Texas and we can have 3-4 months of no sun and it is a bit discouraging. Anyway, if you or any of your savvy bloggers can give me some tips on this, like brands, or features, wattage? etc; I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!
When I was pregnant with my son, my eczema came back with a vengeance, especially on my belly. I was so desperate to deal with it that I sunbathed very frequently with my belly exposed. I had no idea of the benefits of sunning my belly until I read this post. Little did I know my baby boy would benefit! And it felt so healing and nourishing just feeling the sun’s rays.
Now that it’s too cold for me to sunbathe, do you have any recommendations as to what I can do to maximize sun exposure to the eczema-covered parts of my body? Is there something nutritionally I could do to have a similar effect? I wish I could move to a place where it’s sunny and warm all the time!
Eczema indicates gut imbalances as it is auto-immune. Check out the GAPS Diet posts on this blog for more info on how to fix this condition by changing diet and healing the gut.
Could I be on GAPS Diet while breastfeeding?
About sunburns: something many people do not know is that if the body is deficient in vitamin F and calcium, the skin can use less of the suns goodness and will burn instead. The reason for this is because vit F is vit D’s antagonist. They are both fighting over the calcium, so if there is one more present then the other you will have problems. If you supply your body with plenty of vit F, and plenty of bio-availiable calcium, you can enjoy plenty of sun with no ill effects. This works even when you are already burnt. Here is a website that talks more about it.
Like a bunch of people here, I’ve only ever been pregnant in the winter. But once the baby was born, I made sure the two of us both got 15 minutes of sun a day. It’s funny — everyone tells you to keep your baby out of the sun, not let a single ray of that harmful sunshine touch his skin, but he loved it and was healthy all summer long! They say breastfed babies tend to be vitamin D deficient, but “still keep them out of the sun, just give them drops.” No way — he got his sun, never enough to burn, but enough to warm up his little naked self and give him some vitamin D. I’ll do the same with the baby coming next spring!
Oh, and do it without a diaper — clears up diaper rashes really quick! (And if you have a private yard, do the same with your breasts if you’re nursing … helps cure and prevent thrush.) Yeast is killed by sunlight.
Hi!
Thanks for that article. I wonder if put the belly in the sun would also help with menstrual problems… I’ll try it next time it’s not freezing outside… 🙂
Gut Problems? Get That Belly in the Sun! – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/xknNxTwN
Whenever I go out in the sun I cover my exposed skin in the highest quality coconut oil (organic, virgin, cold pressed etc) as I remember reading it contains a natural SPF, and although I love being out in the sun and don’t want to wear sunscreen, I also don’t want to burn and I think this had helped! Just want to make sure this won’t hinder all that great vitamin D though.. thoughts?
Sarah ,
This is slightly off topic, but what is your opinion of taking colostrum for gut imbalance? Are you familiar with “New Life” products? I have recently started taking them after having severe cystic acne breakouts and flareups with eczema that I have had as far back as I can remember (I’m 27). I know your a fan of GAPS so I was wondering if maybe you know that colostrum doesn’t work because if it did it would certainly be easier than GAPS. I’ve been taking it for a little over a week and am about to step up to larger doses because I’ve not seen any improvement yet (as they said I would) and it’s a little pricey. Do you have any insight on this?
Hi Bobbie, I really don’t have an opinion on this. I just haven’t read up on it or spent time thinking about it to really form a basis for any. Go with your gut on it. If you feel it’s best for you, then go for it.
I had major urges to get out in the sun this Summer so I went ahead and followed my instincts by getting out in the sun and wearing a light sunscreen cover in the most sensitive areas (chest, face, and upper back). After a few weeks I did notice a real improvement in my mood and sweat didn’t smell as bad. I think it worked even better for my odor issues then avoding grains.
I haven’t used deodorant in many many years. Haven’t used anti-perspirant in over 20 years (aluminum is a big baddie in those products). I do think my frequent time in the sun is part of the reason why I can and it’s really a non issue.