全波長光: エネルギーと健康の元
by Joseph G. Hattersley
America has a phobia about ultraviolet (UV)
light. In the name of science, unwise practices
are being urged on us. The resulting sickness
and misbehavior will mystify yet enrich physicians,
psychiatrists, dentists and criminal specialists,
as well as pharmaceutical drug companies.
UV intensity will soon be forecast in population
centers daily. And the EPA suggests when
outdoors, we "protect ourselves against
ultraviolet light whenever we can see our
shadow". So we peer through sunglasses,
hide behind stylish dark car windows, slather
our skin with sunscreen for even brief exposure.
The phobia arose after investigators anesthetized animals,
propped their eyes open and shined intense
UV light into them. There was retinal damage.
And excessive exposure to one kind of ultraviolet (shorter-wave,
germicidal UV-C) can damage tissue. It is
present increasingly in sunlight with the
thinning of the protective ozone layer in
tanning salons and halogen lamps. [1]
Yet the trace amounts of UV radiation in
natural daylight are required for both physical and mental
health, muscle strength, civilized behavior,
energy and learning. Starting from a high school hobby of time-lapse
photography, John N. Ott, Sc.D.Hon., became
one of the world's leading photobiologists.
Now in his mid-80's, he is still active.
Among many publications, Dr. Ott's latest
book is Light, Radiation and You: How to Stay Healthy. (Greenwich, CT: Devin-Adair Publishers,
1990.)
"Mankind adapted to the full range of
the solar spectrum," he wrote, "and
artificial distortions of that spectrum --
malillumination, a condition analogous to
malnutrition -- may have biologic effects."
[2] Ott's largely anecdotal findings are
being explored by scientists in Australia
and England, at New York University, Thomas
Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia,
NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational
Safety and Health) and Boston University,
among others.
1. First let's consider health effects of
UV deprivation.
a. Malignant melanoma, the dangerous kind of skin cancer, is often
blamed on excessive exposure to sunlight.
But long-lived people at high altitudes in
the Andes and Himalayas are not known to
get it. Moreover, sunscreens block out beneficial
UVA and UVB, but not dangerous UVC. In fact,
a study published in The Lancet [3] found fluorescent light rather than sunlight promotes melanoma!
The ends of the cathodes of most fluorescent
light tubes, Dr. Ott found, emit low-level
x-rays and other electromagnetic pollution.
Terminal cancer patients that Dr. Ott knew
of personally, got well in a rocking chair
in the sunshine. One such woman ventured out with Norwegian
fishermen, ate a lot of their catch, and
recovered. Friends ate fish but stayed inside
-- and their cancers killed them. [4] Had
she "protected" herself from UV
when she could see her shadow, would her
cancer have ended? And if sun-loving Arizonans
threw away their sunscreens and sunglasses
and limited their sun exposure -- wouldn't
their cancers largely disappear?
b. The Well of the Sea restaurant in Chicago installed UV radiation to supplement
regular lighting in dining rooms and kitchen
for its subtle, eerie effect. The owner reported
after that, his employees were absent less
and dropped fewer dishes, and so their work
output increased 25 percent. Their personal
relations were unusually cordial from then
on. Moreover, the same group worked together
for 20 years, and even during the Hong Kong
flu epidemic, they were healthy without vaccinations.
[5,6]
How come? Well, in a laboratory, viruses lose much of their virulence when exposed
to full spectrum light including UV. And
a tumor-susceptible strain of mice lived
more than twice as long there as under standard
lights. [7] Infectious organisms such as
E. coli, which causes food poisoning, dislike ultraviolet,
too. [8]
c. The power of full-spectrum light, enter
the eyes, against SAD (seasonal depression)
has been amply demonstrated. [9,10] And working
two hours each morning in front of a bank
of bright, full-spectrum lights including
trace UV helped me recover from non-seasonal
depression. Light energizes and regulates
the body's entire chemistry. Won't "protecting"
millions of people from UV then worsen the
ongoing epidemic of depression and suicide?
Ordinary glass cuts out most UV light, so
for best results skylights, as well as windows,
need to be UV transmitting: Rohm and Haas'
UVT Plexiglass, or American Cyanamid's Acrylite
UVT.
d. A Chicago area elementary school suddenly reported five times the national
average incidence of leukemia. All but one of the afflicted children were
being taught in rooms where teachers kept
the blinds drawn and the children were exposed
all day to fluorescent light. When even the
amount of UV-rich daylight that can get through
windows was let in and the dangerous fluorescent
lights were turned off, the leukemia cluster disappeared! [11]
e. The cells in the retina of your eyes will not divide and regenerate without a
small amount of ultraviolet light. And so
full-spectrum lights reduce retinal degeneration, the leading cause of blindness among the elderly.[12]
f. A kinesiologist found the hearts of rats living under artificial lighting
-- but not rats under full-spectrum lights
-- showed calcific myocarditis [13] , a form of heart disease. They also had
significantly greater tumor development.
This finding, confirmed at six major medical
centers, is ignored by the tunnel-visioned
National Cancer Institute and American Cancer
Society.
2. Dr. Ott demonstrated to a large audience
the effects of ultraviolet deprivation on
muscle strength
A man looking at a full spectrum light held
his arm straight out against considerable
downward pressure; but looking at a standard
indoor light, lacking any UV, his arm was
pushed down easily.[14,15]
The same weakening was seen in a person holding
refined, white sugar (which is often used as a placebo in medical
trials!), fluoridated water, a lead pencil
in the normal writing position, wearing polyester
or standing on a polyester carpet.
Full daylight helps endurance, too. A man
in Tacoma, Washington, ran 10 kilometers
in 48 minutes wearing blue-tinted contacts,
which filtered out all UV. Without them,
he ran the course in six minutes less time and exclaimed that half way through,
he felt as though he had just started. [16]
3. Other effects of ultraviolet deprivation
are equally remarkable
After radiation-shielded full-spectrum lights
were installed in five classrooms in Sarasota,
Florida, in 1973, several extremely hyperactive,
learning-disabled children calmed down completely
and learned to read. Absenteeism dropped.
Children in four standard-lighted rooms continued
to misbehave -- as tracked by concealed motion-detecting
cameras; their learning disabilities and
absenteeism were unabated. [17,18]
Similar results were reported from schools
in California; Colville, Washington; and
Alberta, Canada. [19] A classroom comparison
in Vermont found full-spectrum lighting strengthened
immunity. [20,21] General Electric rigged
a study for a negative finding. [22]
And after a year, children in the full-spectrum
rooms had one-third less tooth decay than those taught under standard lighting.
"Protect" ourselves from UV: incidentally,
a full-employment plan for dentists?
"Every nutritional substance, medicine
and drug," says Dr. Ott, "has a
specific wavelength absorption. If those
wavelengths are missing in the artificial
light source a person is exposed to, then
the nutritional benefits of the substance
will not be utilized." UV functions
as a nutrient and as a co-factor in body
utilization of other nutrients. So the full-spectrum
lights corrected the children's deficiency
of vitamin D, now considered a hormone, enabling
more complete calcium absorption -- and lowering
risk of osteoporosis and hip fractures in
later life.
Exposed to full spectrum light, a father
rat is docile and even helpful after his
babies are born. But when the same rat pair
are moved under standard lights, before the
birth of the next litter the male must be
removed to prevent aggressiveness and cannibalism;
moved back to natural light, he is gentle
again. [23] Although human fathers aren't
likely to eat their babies, do we really
want more domestic aggressiveness?
4. Recommendations
Applying Dr. Ott's findings, I stay outdoors
at least half an hour daily, excluding time
in a car looking through the UV-blocking
glass. And occasionally on a sunny day, I
strip to the waist for two to three hours
without sunscreen. On the trail, a hat shades
my forehead; four years ago, I had a harmless
skin cancer promptly removed from my nose.
A person at a computer, other video display
terminal or color television soon develops
rouleaux (rope-like clumping) of red blood cells
-- because the iron in them gets magnetized.
(Some of the radiations from VDTs go right
through lead! [24] ) This clumping can clog
capillaries and slow blood supply to the
brain.
A special $20 light from Befit Corp. (sources
listed below), set 6 to 10 feet from me,
shines UVA and some UVB at me while I work,
to supplement incandescent light. This prevents
and reverses rouleau and reduces eyestrain. [25] It was installed
in an 18-inch fluorescent light fixture ($7.95)
from a hardware store. Ottlights offers a
special NRG TaskLight, which may be better.
Dr. Ott recommends wearing eyeglasses such
as Armorlite (R) that admit all the UV light
[26]. (He advises against such glasses after
cataract surgery. [27]) For driving, he suggests
neutral gray sunglasses (Keystone Optical
Laboratory) -- to be used only when necessary.
Despite my age (72 years), my ophthalmologist
cannot detect any progression toward cataracts.
Important: An individually tailored diet, supplements
including antioxidants, aerobic exercise,
etc., share credit for that finding.
Even your pet dog knows enough to get himself
into the sunshine a while each morning if
he can. And your flowers require full-spectrum
light for a complete process of photosynthesis.
Some sources and products included in Dr.
Ott's latest book: OttLights' Chromalux lamps fit into existing
fixtures and closely simulate natural daylight
without any of the sun's inherent dangers.
They are fully radiation-shielded. A separate
phosphor provides UV; it lasts about one-third
as long as the main lamp. Although initially
more expensive than regular lights, OttLights
use lower wattage and last ten times longer.
OttLight Systems, Inc., 28 Parker Way, Santa
Barbara, CA 93101; (800) 234-3724).
The Chromalux bulb is also available from:
- Lumiram Electric Corp., Dept.LL, PO Box 297,
Mamaroneck, NY 10543; (800) 356-5596.
- Befit Corporation, Southampton, NY. (800)
497-9516.
- Tahoma Clinic Dispensary, Kent, Washington.
(206) 639-1433.
Note: I have not used all the listed products and
services.
A Partial Chronological List of John N. Ott's
Publications
1. Study of the death of irradiated and nonirradiated
cells by cinemicrography, with Robert Schrek,
MD. Arch Pathol, AMA 1952: 53:363-378.
2. Some observations on the effect of the
pigment epithelial cells of the retina of
a rabbit's eye, Recent progress in photobiology,
Proc 4th Int Cong Photobiology. Oxford: Blackwell Publications. July 1964:
395-396.
3. Some responses of plants and animals to
variations in wavelengths of light energy.
Ann NY Acad Sci 1964; 117:624-635.
4. The influence of light on the retinal
hypothalamic endocrine system. Ann Dentistry 1968; 27:10-16.
5. Responses of psychological and physiological
functions to environmental light. J Learn Disab 1968; 27:10-16.
6. A rational analysis of ultraviolet as
a vital part of the light spectrum influencing
photobiological responses. Optometric Wkly 1968; 50:21-30.
7. The effect of artificial light on health.
Let's Live 1969; 37:no.10.
8. Health and Light: The Effects of Natural
and Artificial Light on Man and Other Living
Things. Old Greenwich, CT: The Devin-Adair Co.,
1973; paperback ed., NY: Pocket Books, 1976.
9. Light, radiation, and academic achievement:
Second-year data. With LW Mayron, EL Mayron,
R Nations. Academic Therapy 1976; 4:397-407.
10. Influence of fluorescent lights on hyperactivity
and learning disabilities. J Leaarn Disabil 1976; 9:417-422.
11. Light, an overlooked factor in healing.
Let's Live 1977; Aug:30-36.
12. The eyes' dual function (Parts I and
II). In A Physician's Handbook on Orthomolecular
Medicine by Williams, RJ and Kalita, DK. Reprinted
from Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat 1974; 53:#7&8. Elmwood, NY: Pergamon
Press 1977: 173-180.
13. Bad lighting and our health -- Is anyone
accountable? The Health Quarterly (Keats Publ Co, New Canaan, CT) 1978; 3:16-17,
66.
14. Paradoxical orthodoxy in cancer research.
Pursuit 1978; 11:13-17.
15. The effects of light and radiation on
human health and behavior. In Biochemical Approaches to Treatment of Delinquents
and Criminals. Ed., LJ Hippchen. NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold,
1978: 105-115.
16. Malillumination: A new dimension in lighting.
Lighting Dimensions 1978; 9:40-42.
17. The dual function of the eye. Southern J Optom 1979; 21:8-14.
18. The role of electromagnetic energy in
human health and behavior. J Energy Med 1980; 1:110-113.
19. School lighting. Churchill Forum 1980; 2:#3.
20. The effect of light in predetermination
of sex. N Calif Thoroughbred 1980; 9:34,53.
21. Letter to the Editor. J Orth Psych 1980; 9:#2.
22. Syntonic optometry and malillumination.
J Syntonic Optom 1980:July.
23. Malillumination and biological systems:
A challenge to designers. Planetary Assoc for Clean Energy Nwsltr 1980; 2:2-4.
24. School lighting and hyperactivity. J Biosoc Res 1980; 8:6-7.
25. The electrical dimension of living cells.
Northwest Acad Prev Med Newsltr 1980; 3:#7.
26. Light, Radiation and You: How to Stay Healthy. Greenwich, CT: Devin-Adair Publishers,
1990.
References Cited
1. Ceder, K. Healthy office lighting: a bright
idea. Healthy Office Rep 1992; 2:3-4.
2. Ott, JN. Light, Radiation and You: How to Stay Healthy. Greenwich, CT: Devin-Adair Publishers, 1990.
3. Malignant melanoma and exposure to fluorescent
lighting at work. Lancet 1982:Aug.7.
4. Light, Radiation and You.
5. Ott, JN. Lecture to Society for Clinical
Ecology, 1974.
6. Light, Radiation and You.
7. Lecture to Society for Clinical Ecology,
1974.
8. Web, RB. Genetic damage in Escherichia
coli K12 AB2480 by broad-spectrum near-ultraviolet
radiation. Science 1982;215:991-993.
9. Dranov, P. Lightworks. Health 1985;Nov:52--54,69.
10. Ceder, K. Healthy office lighting.
11. Lecture to Society for Clinical Ecology,
1974.
12. Ott, JN. Interview on Bland, J. Prev Med Update, 1991:Jan.
13. Lecture to Society for Clinical Ecology,
1974.
14. Lecture to Society for Clinical Ecology,
1974.
15. Light, Radiation and You.
16. Lecture to Society for Clinical Ecology,
1974.
17. Light, Radiation and You.
18. Lecture to Society for Clinical Ecology,
1974.
19. Light, Radiation and You.
20. London, WP. Full-spectrum classroom light
and sickness in pupils. Lancet 1987;Nov.21:1205-1206.
21. Calabrese, JR et al. Alternations in
immunocompetence during stress, bereavement
and depression; focus on neuroendocrine regulation.
Am J Psychiatry 1987;14:1123- 1134.
22. The Plowboy interview -- John Ott: The
"light" side of health. Mother Earth News 1986;Jan/Feb:17-22;
p.20.
23. Lecture to Society for Clinical Ecology,
1974.
24. Plowboy Interview.
25. Light, Radiation and You.
26. Light, Radiation and You.
27. Plowboy Interview: p.21.
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