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Sunshine and Vitamin D
206
Editorials Sunshine and Vitamin D
much is said these days about the dearth of sunshine and its consequent SOinhibition to man's well-being, there is so much ballyhoo in regard to the various and sundry means of providing synthetic varieties of this precious lifegiving something, that it is to be wondered whether or not this proposition of canned sunshine is not being overemphasized far beyond its intrinsic importance. We now have vitalized cigarettes, sun kissed everything, vitalized cows. The latest is vitalized feed to build up surcharged cows which, in turn, are purported to be able to give birth to and rear sun kissed calves, which in their turn, will leave these potent characteristics to their cow posterity of future generations. It is difficult even in one's most enthusiastic moods to be. lieve without considerable reservation that all of these sundry products which are supposed to contain Vitamin D are universally important. However, the beneficent sun rays which really contain Vitamin D have been amply and conclusively proved by accredited scientists and investigators. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports cases in infantile rickets in which the effects as gained during a season vary during the progress of the disease. Medical men have shown the antirachitic effect of sunshine in Toronto in April and May to be approximately eight times as potent as in December, January and February. The writer, Day, has found in cases where patients exposed themselves to sunshine ten minutes each day over a period of forty days in mid-summer that rapid calcification resulted. Hess claims that in the tropics rickets occurs as a disease infrequently, and when it does occur, it is only in a very mild form, possibly in cases where the baby has been almost wholly confined indoors for many weeks. It is, however, a significant thing to know that it has been definitely found that the intensity of rickets throughout the world corresponds rather definitely to the amount of intensity of sunshine. Accordingly, it has been found that the dominant factor in the antirachitic activity of the solar rays is not so much the number of hours of sunshine exposure as its quality and intensity. High altitude sunshine seems to be the ideal in intensity and potency as claimed by a number of writers upon the subject. An expression by Lewis would indicate that the effective biologic rays of sunshine in June and July are quantitatively of more magnitude in a higher altitude than in a lower altitude. Some investigators say that the freedom of the atmosphere from moisture and smoke may offer a satisfactory explanation of the high altitude potency of sunshine. The observations on experimental animals are supported by a comparative record of rickets in a high altitude. Another interesting thing is the demonstration that there is no difference in the antirachitic effect of winter and summer sunshine in very high altitudes. In any event, climatic variations have assumed new importance in so far as they are related to nutrition, particularly in childhood and adolescence. This interests orthodontists because light and the subtle Vitamin D playa highly important role in ossification of bone, but just how and why obviously are still "mysterious phenomena." The researches of Dr. McCollum have shown that nutrition plays a very important part in the ossification of bone and that the
E ditorials
207
absence of this normal factor brings about rickets. In t urn, he has shown t hat light is import ant to nutrition and that th e absence of light prevents the fixation of calcium and leads to ri ckets. W e know then th at light is imp ortant in nu trition, that it does something, th at it influences nutrition in a favo r able manner. P erh aps the next ten years will give us more in formation.
Editorials Sunshine and Vitamin D
much is said these days about the dearth of sunshine and its consequent SOinhibition to man's well-being, there is so much ballyhoo in regard to the various and sundry means of providing synthetic varieties of this precious lifegiving something, that it is to be wondered whether or not this proposition of canned sunshine is not being overemphasized far beyond its intrinsic importance. We now have vitalized cigarettes, sun kissed everything, vitalized cows. The latest is vitalized feed to build up surcharged cows which, in turn, are purported to be able to give birth to and rear sun kissed calves, which in their turn, will leave these potent characteristics to their cow posterity of future generations. It is difficult even in one's most enthusiastic moods to be. lieve without considerable reservation that all of these sundry products which are supposed to contain Vitamin D are universally important. However, the beneficent sun rays which really contain Vitamin D have been amply and conclusively proved by accredited scientists and investigators. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports cases in infantile rickets in which the effects as gained during a season vary during the progress of the disease. Medical men have shown the antirachitic effect of sunshine in Toronto in April and May to be approximately eight times as potent as in December, January and February. The writer, Day, has found in cases where patients exposed themselves to sunshine ten minutes each day over a period of forty days in mid-summer that rapid calcification resulted. Hess claims that in the tropics rickets occurs as a disease infrequently, and when it does occur, it is only in a very mild form, possibly in cases where the baby has been almost wholly confined indoors for many weeks. It is, however, a significant thing to know that it has been definitely found that the intensity of rickets throughout the world corresponds rather definitely to the amount of intensity of sunshine. Accordingly, it has been found that the dominant factor in the antirachitic activity of the solar rays is not so much the number of hours of sunshine exposure as its quality and intensity. High altitude sunshine seems to be the ideal in intensity and potency as claimed by a number of writers upon the subject. An expression by Lewis would indicate that the effective biologic rays of sunshine in June and July are quantitatively of more magnitude in a higher altitude than in a lower altitude. Some investigators say that the freedom of the atmosphere from moisture and smoke may offer a satisfactory explanation of the high altitude potency of sunshine. The observations on experimental animals are supported by a comparative record of rickets in a high altitude. Another interesting thing is the demonstration that there is no difference in the antirachitic effect of winter and summer sunshine in very high altitudes. In any event, climatic variations have assumed new importance in so far as they are related to nutrition, particularly in childhood and adolescence. This interests orthodontists because light and the subtle Vitamin D playa highly important role in ossification of bone, but just how and why obviously are still "mysterious phenomena." The researches of Dr. McCollum have shown that nutrition plays a very important part in the ossification of bone and that the
E ditorials
207
absence of this normal factor brings about rickets. In t urn, he has shown t hat light is import ant to nutrition and that th e absence of light prevents the fixation of calcium and leads to ri ckets. W e know then th at light is imp ortant in nu trition, that it does something, th at it influences nutrition in a favo r able manner. P erh aps the next ten years will give us more in formation.