Hi and welcome. I want to share something special with you today. It's a podcast I listen to,

and I think you're going to like this. It will help you uncomplicate the news and better understand

what's really going on in the world. On Point is a rare public space where you hear

nuanced explorations of complex topics live and in real time.

Host Megna Chakra Barthi leads provocative conversations that help make sense of the world with

urgency, timeliness, and depth. Each episode is a deeply researched, beautifully produced hour.

Listeners will learn, be challenged, and have some fun too. In this episode, Megna asks, could sunlight help treat disease?

She details a growing number of studies that find potential benefits of UV light therapy

for conditions like multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and

Crohn's disease. Okay, so here's the preview, and you can hear episodes of On Point every weekday,

wherever you get podcasts. BUR Podcasts, Boston.

This is On Point. I'm Magna Chakrabardi.

Imagine you're stepping outside on a bright and sunny day.

What do you feel?

Well, maybe the rays are warm and comforting on your skin. Maybe you tilt your head back,

close your eyes, and see bright spots behind your eyelids. Maybe the sun is helping you feel happy and energized. Well, the sun's rays can have a profound effect on our bodies. According to a growing amount of research, sunlight kicks off an array of complex biological processes. It impacts our skin, of course, but it can also alter our nervous systems, or our lymph and organs. It can slow down our immune response and lower blood pressure.

But could sunlight actually help treat disease? Studies have found potential benefits of light

therapy for conditions like multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and Crohn's disease. And so that's what

we're looking at today, harnessing

the health secrets of the sun. And we're going to start today with Prue Hart. She's a professor at the

Western, excuse me, the University of Western Australia, located at the Kids Research Institute

in Perth. And her research focuses on the effects of ultraviolet radiation and vitamin D on the immune system.

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