by Wayne H. Purdin —

As was commonly believed in ancient Greece, modern medical researchers now agree that moderate sun exposure during safe hours is essential for optimal health. Hippocrates prescribed sunbathing for his sun cure. Herodotus said, “Exposure to the sun is highly necessary for persons whose health is in need of restoring.” The Greeks practiced “aerination” or the exposure of the nude body to sunlight, specifically on beach sand.

Hygienists in the early part of the 20th century tried to revive aerination to treat problems from acne to whooping cough. TB patients in sanitariums sometimes sunbathed in the nude. However, with the widespread use of antibiotics after World War II, all the known benefits of nude sunbathing became redundant.

Dr. Bernarr McFadden, the most outspoken advocate of nude sunbathing, claims that safe sunbathing without sunscreen does not cause skin cancer or wrinkles, but actually helps heal these conditions. He writes that “… all we need do is pay attention to our bodies. … If the sunshine is going to be harmful to us, our bodies will feel uncomfortable in the sunshine. This will force us to withdraw.”

Dr. Edwin Flatto advised people, “Absorb the sun’s rays during the early morning or just before sunset, when the sun’s rays are slanting and when your shadow is longer than you are.”

“Okay,” you might say, “I agree. There is nothing harmful if I sunbathe in moderation during safe hours, but do I have to take off all my clothes?” Dr. McFadden insists that cancers of the breast, prostate, reproductive organs and colon are caused when these vital organs are not exposed to the sun and air.

But how do we sunbathe nude and avoid arrest for indecent exposure? City slickers must be resourceful. Those living in high-rise apartments can do it on the roof. If your condo has a patio, cover the railing to make it more private. If your backyard has no fence, ask your neighbors to share the cost, since it will give them privacy too. Some cities have designated clothing-optional secluded beaches.

Benefits to baring it all? Certainly, stranger things are possible.

Wayne H. Purdin is a leukemia survivor who has researched alternative healing modalities. He is a Web master and publishes a quarterly newsletter, “The Sun Gazette,” providing philosophical and historical articles for the growing community of sun imbibers. 623-256-9743 or wpurdin@yahoo.com.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 24, Number 5, October/November 2005.