This is a good topic, and I'd like to add just a little to the discussion. Though what I want to say has nothing actually to do with Crohn's disease, but rather eyesight.
A long time ago (1970s) I read an article in Mother Jones magazine about
Dr. John Ott, whose "research" led him to believe that we shouldn't wear sunglasses. In fact, he "proved" that we need lots of UV light shining in our eyes.
Here is an article by a disciple of Dr. Ott:
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/benefits-of/full-spectrum-light
Dr. Ott is now dead, but ingenious marketers exploit his (bad) name to sell special lightbulbs that emit high-intensity UV light, lest you aren't getting enough at night. Thus we have the "OttLite" (note: I am NOT recommending you buy this, quite the contrary I suggest you don't touch it with a 10-foot pole):
http://www.ottlite.com/t-full-spectrum-lighting.aspx
Well-known quack Dr. Mercola is also milking this market:
http://products.mercola.com/light-bulbs/
A couple of problems. First, all real medical researchers have come to the opposite conclusion, that UV light is very harmful to the eyes. A good explanation of the reality:
http://www.allabout
vision.com/sunglasses/spf.htm
Secondly, "Dr." Ott was never a real doctor. He was first a banker, and later a nature photographer for Disney. His "research" was done on plants. He noticed that plants needed UV light to remain healthy. Well yeah, plants make their own food from photosynthesis which requires sunlight. But humans don't.
However, humans do need
some UV light on the skin to produce vitamin D. Nowadays you can supplement that with vitamin D pills or capsules, an option that was not available to our ancestors.
Nevertheless, all scientific reasearch has found that UV light is not good for the eyes. Thus, sunglasses are recommended if you find yourself outdoors in the sun often.
The holistic practitioners who push UV light (minus sunglasses) as a kind of medical treatment are simply quacks. Be forewarned.
Post Edited (ozonehole) : 3/14/2015 11:28:01 PM (GMT-6)