Sunshine Diet

The Sunshine Diet is essentially a vitamin D diet. The skin naturally produces vitamin D when exposed to the sun's rays. In fact, the Mayo Clinic reports that the sun is the most efficient way to follow the Sunshine Diet. However, you can use other sources of vitamin D, through your diet. The Sunshine Diet is not only thought to protect your bones, but may also benefit various medical conditions such as cancer.

Components

While the largest aspect of the Sunshine Diet is sunshine, foods and vitamin D supplements are also included. The U.S. Office of Dietary Supplements reports that you need to spend 5 to 30 minutes in the sun at least twice per week to get a good dose of vitamin D, which is also found naturally in foods such as mackerel, wild sockeye salmon, herring, catfish, wild tuna, dried shiitake mushrooms and cod liver oil, according to doctor of chiropractic Edward Group. Some people do not get adequate amounts of vitamin D and may need to take supplements. The Mayo Clinic reports that adults up to 50 years old need at least 200 international units, or IU, daily and suggests 400 IU to 600 IU per day for those over 50.

Effects

Vitamin D, the essential component of the Sunshine Diet, provides several vital health benefits. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, or LPI, vitamin D maintains an appropriate balance of calcium that is necessary for nervous system functions and bone health. This critical vitamin helps keep cells from proliferating out of control and is a powerful immune system booster, the LPI says. It may also reduce high blood pressure and help regulate insulin secretion.

Cancer

The Sunshine Diet may be an important factor in the development and treatment of cancer. According to the September 14, 2008, edition of "The London Times," in 1977, two American cancer researchers traveled across America and discovered that bowel cancer was most prevalent in the Northeast, when compared with the South and West -- fostering an idea that cancer may be linked to amounts of sun exposure. NewsMedical.net reports that evidence presented at the April 2007 Centennial Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research further suggests a positive association between vitamin D and cancer. Investigators reportedly discovered that a vitamin D deficiency may increase the incidence of many cancers and exacerbate complications often experienced by cancer patients. In addition, the researchers claimed that pre-clinical studies found that vitamin D has a positive effect on all kinds of cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, patients may benefit from the Sunshine Diet. The Mayo Clinic reports that investigations indicate that adequate amounts of vitamin D may decrease the risk of MS and lessen the frequency and severity of symptoms. Researchers believe vitamin D boosts the immune systems of patients with this autoimmune disease, in which immune cells attack the protective coating, or myelin, around nerve cells. Furthermore, MS appears to occur more frequently in areas with the least amount of sunlight that are farthest from the equator, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Risk Factors

A vitamin D deficiency is associated with several risk factors. The Linus Pauling Institute reports that the elderly are less able to synthesize vitamin D in their skin and also spend more time indoors. Breast-fed infants with little sun exposure may need vitamin D supplements. The color of your skin could also affect levels of vitamin D. The LPI cites an investigation of African-American and Caucasian American women between the ages of 15 and 49. Results found that 49 percent of African-American women had vitamin D deficiencies in comparison with only 4 percent of the Caucasian women. Using a sunscreen with the SPF factor of 8 decreases the production of vitamin D by 95 percent, according to the LPI. Additionally, conditions such as fat malabsorption syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease and obesity are linked to low levels of vitamin D.