HEALTH DevotionAL

Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. Eccl. 11:7, NIV.

Do you realize the incredible freebie that God has given us in the sun? Just think of it—without the sun we wouldn't have any green plants. Chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants, traps the energy of the sun and stores it, mainly in the form of glucose. This simple sugar is the building block for more complex carbohydrates and is the body fuel that gives animal life most of its energy.

Sunlight provides the environment needed for our existence by enabling plants to create oxygen and carbon dioxide, and its rays regulate temperature and humidity at life-supporting levels.

Plus, sunlight is good for us!

1. The sun helps heal certain diseases. It kills germs. Sunlight has been used to treat tuberculosis successfully, and it has a healing effect on infections such as strep throat, pneumonia, puerperal fever, and even leprosy.
2. When the sun touches your skin, your body makes vitamin D. That's why vitamin D is sometimes referred to as the sunshine vitamin.
3. Sunlight that enters your eyes improves body function, stimulating the pituitary, hypothalamus, and pineal glands, as well as the neurotransmitters of the brain.
4. Moderate sunlight gives you healthier skin. Some medical personnel suggest that tanned skin is three times more powerful in killing germs than untanned. However, too much sunlight can damage the skin. Sunburn is associated with skin cancer and wrinkles, so don't overexpose yourself to sunlight.
5. Sunlight is good for your nerves. It elevates your mood and probably increases the endorphins your brain manufactures to give you a feeling of well-being.
6. Sunlight strengthens your heart. Just like exercise, sunlight lowers the resting pulse rate, tones up the heart muscle, increases cardio output by improving your heart's efficiency, and normalizes blood pressure.
7. Sunlight enhances your immune system by increasing the oxygen-carrying capacity of the red blood cells.

Sunlight to the body is something like thanksgiving to the soul. It gives one an incredible feeling of well-being—and it's free.

Bask in God's incredible sunlight for at least five minutes today, and let God know how thankful you are for this freebie!

Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.