Larry Weber, Naturallighting.com Copyright© 2002-2004 http:www.naturallighting.com Toll Free - 888.900.6830 email: sales@naturallighting.com

All life on our planet has adapted to and is nourished by light from sun and sky, a critical balance of visible color and invisible ultraviolet wavelengths. Over ages, virtually every living thing developed with help of Nature's Full Spectrum. Today most people don't get enough sunlight because they spend so much time indoors, and most lack understanding of lighting and that there is significant difference is type, and quality of lighting available. Most lighting in homes, schools, offices, factories, stores, is so bad that many health disorders can be traced to lack of natural lighting. Natural sunlight and various forms of light therapy can help reestablish body's natural rhythm (circadian rhythm - body's inner clock) which controls timing of sleep, hormone production, body temperature, and other biological functions. Disturbances in this rhythm can lead to health problems such as depression (SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder) and sleep disorders. Light therapy and use of natural full spectrum lighting are becoming an integral treatment for many related health conditions.

How Light Therapy Works - As light enters eyes, millions of light and color sensitive cells called photoreceptors convert light into electrical impulses. These impulses travel along optic nerve to brain where they tripper hypothalamus gland to send chemical messengers called neurotransmitters to regulate automatic functions of body. The hypothalamus is part of endocrine system whose secretions govern most bodily functions - blood pressure, body temperature, breathing, digestion, sexual function, moods, immune system, aging process, and circadian rhythm. Full spectrum lighting (containing all wavelengths) sparks delicate impulses that regulate these functions and maintain health.

The Importance of Natural Sunlight - According to numerous studies, poor light poses a serious threat to health. Many firmly believe that best light for maintaining health must contain full wavelength spectrum found in natural sunlight. Most artificial (incandescent and standard fluorescent) lighting lacks complete balanced spectrum of sunlight. The lack of full spectrum interferes with body's optimal absorption of nutrients, a condition known as "malillumination". Windows, windshields, eyeglasses, smog, and suntan lotions all filter out parts of light spectrum and contribute to problem. Most offices, even those with uncovered windows and lights on, have a light level of only 500 lux (the international unit illumination) as compared to outdoor light, which has about 50,000 lux, or about 100 times more. Light levels for night shift workers are usually about 50 lux. We spend about 90% of our lives indoors, under inadequate lighting conditions, which can cause or worsen a range of health problems, including depression, heart disease, hypertension, depression, insomnia, premenstrual syndrome, migraines, and carbohydrate cravings, associated with metabolic imbalances. A ten-year epidemiological study conducted at johns Hopkins University Medical School in Baltimore, Maryland, showed that exposure to full spectrum light (including ultraviolet frequency) is positively) related to prevention of breast, colon, and rectal cancers. In Russia, a full spectrum lighting system was installed in factories where colds and sore throats had become commonplace among workers. This lowered bacterial contamination of air by 40 to 70 percent. Workers who did not receive full spectrum light were absent twice as many days as those who did. Recent tests in classrooms, two using standard fluorescent lighting and two using full spectrum lights, indicated conclusively that students exposed to full spectrum lighting had a marked diminishment of hyperactivity, less absenteeism, and higher academic achievement.

SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder): Full spectrum light and bright light are effective treatments for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). The symptoms of SAD are depression, excess sleeping and eating, withdrawn feeling, lowered sex drive, etc. Melatonin levels are found to be very high in-patients with SAD. Daily exposure to sunlight or full spectrum light has been known to eliminate SAD symptoms.

Dr Atkins' death was extremely unexpected. On 8 April 2003, he fell on an icy street, lost his conscience and never recovered until his death, 9 days later. On 17 April 2003 medical support was withdrawn and Robert C. Atkins passed away. Soon after his death, nonbelievers and people who denied and blamed Atkins diet, showed very little compassion or sympathy. Rumors about dr. Atkins' enormous weight on very moment of death (258 pounds) and about a potential heart disease stirred medical community, Atkins supporters and media, too. Veronika Atkins, widow, was very upset and spoke out about real circumstances of her husband's death. She also felt extremely sad as unkind rumors prevented her from grieving for her husband. Actually, there were two issues regarding dr Atkins' death:

* His unusual weight: 258 pounds. This weight was considered obese by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's body-mass index calculator. Unusual because 6-foot tall doctor had always been a very active person and dieting himself for many years. * Dr. Atkins was suffering from a form of heart disease, of heart's muscle, in fact. This seemed odd, too, since he had always insisted that his diet made heart and blood vessels stronger and lowered cholesterol level. In January 2003, author of Atkins diet plan had a heart stroke arrest, which confused people even more.

This was puzzling information and everybody waited for truth to be unveiled. But dr. Atkins' widow and a good friend of deceased (Dr Keith Berkowitz) untangled situation and presented their version:

1. Dr Atkins was a rather healthy 72-year-old person, with a moderate weight (less than 190-200 pounds). His coma condition and being artificially fed led to an abnormal swelling during those nine days when his life was supported by medical equipment. People who saw him admitted that he was unusually swollen. The liquids given by medical assistance could have been cause of his growing, Dr Keith Berkowitz admitted. He also deplored that after many decades of criticism, dr Atkins was finally beginning to receive recognition he had always deserved, which rumours swept away. 2. Three years before his heart attack, dr Atkins (69) announced that he had been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, which may have been responsible for heart arrest three years later. Also, on his regular heart control, he found that his coronary arteries showed insignificant signs of coronary disease. Given his age, dr Atkins was a healthy person, able to control his cardiomyopathy, said Veronika Atkins.