Bandana Chiropractic & Wellness Center

08/13/2025

Why I ditched sunglasses 😎 !!!

I have never been a big wearer of the eye shield but many people swear by them and let's be honest some are super stylishly cool looking.

However, I did not stop because I lost them or decided to change my style. Now I choose to not wear them because I realize they are interfering with one of the most powerful healing forces available to the human body: sunlight.

Today, most people avoid the sun and shield their eyes with dark lenses. We’ve been told that sunlight is dangerous—that it damages our skin, our eyes, and accelerates aging.

But the truth is: our bodies are designed to function in harmony with the sun.

When you block natural light from entering your eyes, you disrupt deep biological processes that regulate your sleep, your metabolism, your heart health, and even your liver function.

Here’s the science behind why I don't wear sunglasses—and why you might want to do the same.

As a side note many people who ditch the carbs and sugar report they can stay in the sun longer with less skin and eye sensitivity.

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☀️ Your Eyes Are Light Sensors, Not Just Cameras

Inside the retina lies a concentration of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)—an omega-3 fatty acid with unique electrical and photonic properties. Think of your retina as a biological solar panel. When light—especially early morning UVA and UVB wavelengths—strikes the DHA-rich retina, it generates electrical signals that travel through the brain and nervous system.

But there’s a problem…

Most people are deficient in retinal DHA.

That’s because the human body cannot make DHA in sufficient amounts on its own. It must come from the diet—specifically from cold-water seafood like wild salmon, sardines, and anchovies. Unfortunately, most modern diets are dangerously low in seafood, leading to DHA deficiency in the retina and brain.

Low DHA means poor light signaling. Poor signaling means disrupted circadian rhythm, poor melatonin production, and impaired organ function.

If you’re not eating seafood 2–3 times per week, your retina—and your heart—are missing critical fuel.

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🌙 Melatonin: Not Just for Sleep

We often associate melatonin with nighttime and sleep. But melatonin is also produced in the eye during the day when exposed to sunlight. This retinal melatonin plays a crucial role in:
• Protecting against oxidative damage
• Maintaining healthy intraocular pressure
• Regulating circadian rhythms
• Supporting mitochondrial function

And melatonin isn’t just about sleep quality. It’s one of the most powerful endogenous antioxidants, especially inside the mitochondria where energy is made and free radicals are born.

Without proper sunlight exposure—particularly in the eyes—melatonin production drops, oxidative stress rises, and inflammation begins to take hold. That inflammation doesn’t just affect the brain and eyes—it impacts the entire cardiovascular system.

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💥 UVA Light, Nitric Oxide, and Blood Pressure

When UVA light hits your skin, it triggers the release of nitric oxide (NO) from endothelial stores. NO is a vasodilator, which means it widens blood vessels, reduces vascular resistance, and lowers blood pressure naturally.

This means that sunlight isn’t just about vitamin D—it’s a direct regulator of cardiovascular tone. In fact, studies show that sunlight exposure is associated with lower blood pressure and reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality, even when vitamin D levels are held constant.

But sunglasses confuse the body. They create the illusion of darkness even when your skin is in sunlight. This mismatch blunts nitric oxide release, disrupts hormonal signaling, and impairs the healing cascade meant to occur with sun exposure.

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☀️ UVB Light and Vitamin D: The Cholesterol Hormone

UVB rays activate 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin to produce vitamin D3—a hormone, not just a vitamin. Vitamin D plays a massive role in heart health by:
• Improving insulin sensitivity
• Lowering inflammation
• Enhancing endothelial function
• Reducing arterial stiffness
• Supporting LDL receptor expression in the liver

Low vitamin D levels are directly linked to increased cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, strokes, and even sudden cardiac death.

Once again, without sunlight—and especially if you’re wearing sunglasses—your body misses the environmental cues necessary to stimulate these processes.

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🧬 Liver Dysfunction, LDL Receptors, and Oxidized Cholesterol

Now let’s dive deeper.

The liver is one of the most light-sensitive organs in the body—even though it doesn’t see light directly. That’s because the liver operates on a circadian rhythm, and that rhythm is entrained by light through the eyes.

When sunlight enters the eye and travels to the SCN and down the cervical chain, it signals the liver to:
• Detoxify
• Produce bile
• Regulate metabolism
• Synthesize LDL receptors

Those LDL receptors are essential. They remove low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol from the blood. But when sunlight is lacking and circadian signaling is impaired, LDL receptor expression drops.

Fewer LDL receptors = more circulating LDL = higher risk of oxidized LDL (oxLDL).

Oxidized LDL is one of the key contributors to atherosclerosis. It damages the vascular endothelium, triggers immune responses, and accelerates plaque formation.

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🔥 Endothelial Dysfunction: The Final Blow

The endothelium is the thin inner lining of your blood vessels. It is incredibly sensitive to circadian disruption, oxidative stress, and inflammation.

When your eyes don’t get proper sunlight:
• Melatonin drops → Less mitochondrial protection
• NO drops → Less vasodilation
• LDL receptor activity drops → More oxidized LDL
• Vitamin D drops → More vascular stiffness and inflammation

This toxic combination damages the endothelium. The vessels lose flexibility. Blood flow is impaired. And oxidized cholesterol sneaks through the cracks to form plaque.

This is the beginning of heart disease.

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🧠 Summary: The Sunlight–Eye–Liver–Heart Axis

Here’s how it all connects:
1. Sunlight enters the eye, hitting a DHA-charged retina.
2. Signals travel to the SCN, the body’s master clock.
3. From there, signals pass down the cervical sympathetic ganglia, regulating liver and hormonal function.
4. The pineal gland uses this input to produce melatonin.
5. The skin, in response to UVA and UVB, produces nitric oxide and vitamin D.
6. The liver, under circadian control, produces LDL receptors.
7. When this system is working, LDL is cleared, inflammation is low, and blood vessels stay healthy.
8. When sunlight is blocked (e.g. by sunglasses or indoor living), the system breaks.
9. The result? DHA deficiency, oxidized LDL, endothelial dysfunction, and

Let the light in. Feed your eyes. Protect your heart! Live Elevated!

Credit Dr Matt Uchtman

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This is the backbone of our anti-inflammatory teachings. If you have not attended reach out so we can help you heal for a lifetime. It's taught 2/mo.
651-646-2050