By Carole Baggerly, GrassrootsHealth

Was sunshine always considered dangerous? No. In fact, sunlight enabled evolution and is important for humans. A study of traditionally living populations in equatorial east Africa, published in 2012, showed that 48 ng/ml (120 nmol/L) was the average vitamin D status of Maasai herdsman, suggesting that our hunter-gatherer forefathers likely maintained their vitamin D levels within the range of 40 -60 ng/ml (100-150 nmol/L).

What about more modern times? In the 18th century, with the industrial revolution, doctors in inner cities started noticing bone deformities in children, which turned out to be rickets. It took some time to figure out, but they were finally confronted with the fact that children with less nutritious diets, in rural areas, did not have these deformities – it was lack of sunlight in the inner cities that caused the problems. In the early 20th century, milk was fortified with vitamin D on a large scale and rickets essentially vanished.

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