LIGHT –
A Vital Nutrient
by Lady Carla Davis, MPH
Specializing in Nutrition
Light is the fundamental component from which all life originates, develops, heals, and evolves. Light waves are frequencies of electromagnetic radiation that directly stimulate the sense of sight. Most energy comes from light, which travels at approximately 671 million miles/1,080 million kilometers per hour, or 186,282 mi/299,792 km per second. Without light, oxygen, and water, all life on earth would cease to exist.
Light waves that include the electromagnetic spectrum from infrared to near-ultraviolet are full-spectrum light. This term was conceived in the 1960s by photo-biologist Dr. John Ott to describe electric light sources that simulate the visible and ultraviolet (UV) spectrum. It also includes all light wavelengths used by plant and animal life. Sunlight is full-spectrum even though the solar spectral distribution reaching Earth changes with the time of day, latitude, and atmospheric conditions.
The importance and value of sunlight are symbolized in every major civilization and religion. For example, the great pyramids symbolize sunlight radiating to the earth, and the cross symbolizes sunlight simply radiating. Throughout history, many cultures worshipped the Sun for its healing powers.
In Heliotherapy, full-spectrum sunlight is utilized to treat physical and mental problems. A prominent light-therapy pioneer of the 1890s was Niels Finsen, of Denmark. In 1903, he was awarded a Nobel Prize, for being the first person to treat skin tuberculosis successfully with ultraviolet light. During the 1920s, Dr. Harry Riley Spitler developed a form of light therapy called Syntonics. This type of light therapy uses different proportions of the visible light spectrum to treat an array of bodily conditions via the eyes.
The work of Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (Nobel Laureate and the discoverer of vitamin C) showed that light waves from the Sun, including ultraviolet (UV) rays, provide energy for plants to photosynthesize the substances necessary for growth. In the same way, light waves also provide energy and health for the proper functioning of biological systems in humans and animals.
The eyes are the entry points through which light has its profound effect on the regulations of human physiological and emotional functions, fertility, and the development of consciousness.