At the Wise Traditions 2012 Conference held earlier this month, Dr. Stephanie Seneff overturned commonly held views about the health effects of cholesterol and sunlight and offered insights about sulfur based on her years of research.
Cholesterol and sulfur are designed to work in tandem, and when they are depleted in the body (due to a variety of reasons), major health problems are likely to occur. While it’s generally assumed that applying sunscreen to exposed areas of the skin prior to intense and continuous sun exposure is necessary to block out harmful UV radiation that can lead to skin cancer (melanoma), alternative health sources such as Dr. Seneff, Natural News, and the Environmental Working Group are wary that many commercial sunscreens that contain harmful chemicals such as oxybenzone, benzophenone, octocrylene, or octyl methoxycinnamate are potentially carcinogenic and can cause a Vitamin D3 deficiency which is, in actuality, a cholesterol sulfate deficiency.
According to Dr. Seneff, when our skin is exposed to sunlight, it acts like a solar battery, allowing our cells to synthesize cholesterol sulfate which can then be supplied to tissues as cholesterol (the precursor to Vitamin D3) and sulfate. Many of the alleged benefits of Vitamin D3, such as improved immune function and protection against cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, are actually benefits of cholesterol sulfate. However, if we block the sun’s energy using sunscreen, the chemicals in these products are absorbed through the pores and prevent the skin from producing cholesterol sulfate, which must then be synthesized in the atherosclerotic plaque from homocysteine and LDL.
In their 15-year study of 38,472 women aged 30-49 years, researchers at the Karolinska Institutet’s Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department in Stockholm, Sweden, found that those who went on sunbathing vacations more than once a year or experienced two or more sunburns per year were less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and other causes than those who experienced sunburns no more than once a year or subjected themselves to artificial UV exposure using a solarium.
Unfortunately, when the skin is unable to produce sufficient cholesterol sulfate, the body will try to steal sulfate from tissues that are willing to give it up.
1. Stealing from the gut can lead to Crohn’s disease or colitis.
2. Stealing from the brain can lead to Alzheimer’s disease or Multiple Sclerosis.
3. Stealing from the pancreas can lead to diabetes or pancreatic cancer.
4. Stealing from the joints can lead to arthritis.
The blood transports oxygen with the help of sulfur, nitrogen, and carbon which reacts with oxygen to form negatively charged anions that stabilize the blood. Sulfur is the healthiest choice; nitrogen is associated with many pathologies; and carbon acting alone will lead to acidosis and cancer. Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase (eNOS) is a moonlighting enzyme that produces sulfate upon sunlight stimulation and switches to nitric oxide (nitrate) under stress.
Sulfation makes cholesterol water-soluble and therefore easier to transport. Neither HDL nor LDL is cholesterol. Both HDL and LDL are particles that transport cholesterol, fat-soluble vitamins, and antioxidants to all tissues. Current agricultural practices deplete sulfate from the soil, which has widespread consequences, especially for vegetarians. Environmental toxins deplete sulfur further.
The body depends upon heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) as a temporary storage bin for glucose. Insufficient HSPGs impair the muscles’ ability to utilize glucose as a fuel which can lead to diabetes and obesity, as fat cells insinuate themselves into the loop by transforming glucose to fat for later release to supply safe usable fuel to muscles.
Dr. Mercola Interviews Dr. Stephanie Seneff (Part 1 of 7)
Uploaded by mercola on Sep 8, 2011
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Higher vitamin D intake linked with cognitive performance and Alzheimer’s disease risk in women
by John Phillip
Natural News
Dec. 5, 2012
Researchers found that participants with the lowest blood concentration of vitamin D (fewer than 10 ng/mL) were associated with significantly higher odds of global cognitive impairment at baseline among the older women.
Higher vitamin D intake linked with cognitive performance and Alzheimer’s disease risk in women
by John Phillip
Natural News
Dec. 5, 2012
Researchers found that participants with the lowest blood concentration of vitamin D (fewer than 10 ng/mL) were associated with significantly higher odds of global cognitive impairment at baseline among the older women.
Thank you for your website and for posting the link to the Seneff / Mercola interviews. I watched all 7 segments and am deeply impressed with the credibility and importance of her findings. Your summary of her findings is excellent. You mention that modern farming techniques reduce sulphur in our vegetables. She also points out that natural sulphur is removed from our drinking water with modern filtration.
Thanks very much, Nick, for your complimentary feedback. I am always on the lookout for relevant health information offered by experts like Dr. Seneff and Dr. Mercola.
Thank you for your website and for posting the link to the Seneff / Mercola interviews. I watched all 7 segments and am deeply impressed with the credibility and importance of her findings. Your summary of her findings is excellent. You mention that modern farming techniques reduce sulphur in our vegetables. She also points out that natural sulphur is removed from our drinking water with modern filtration.
Thanks very much, Nick, for your complimentary feedback. I am always on the lookout for relevant health information offered by experts like Dr. Seneff and Dr. Mercola.