Wouldn't it be neat if we could "
eat the sun" - that is harvest energy from the sun the way green plants do? Some recent discoveries have a bearing on this seemingly whimsical thought.
Scientists from Woods Hole's Marine Biological Laboratory reported their work in 2014 on Elysia chlorotica, a brilliant green sea slug that looks like a leaf but is, in fact, an animal. The slug maintains its vivid hue by consuming algae and grabbing their photosynthesis genes. It's the only known instance of a multi-cellular organism co-opting DNA from another.
That same year, researchers from Columbia published their findings that when mammals consume a chlorophyll-rich diet and then are exposed to sunlight, the regeneration of Co-Q10 is enhanced. (Dr. Michael Greger explains briefly
in this video beginning at 2:30 mark).
Finally,
Arturo Herrera and others from San Antonio reported their discovery that light absorbed by melanin can supply as much as 90% of the energy needs of a cell. This is particularly important in the retina, which is rich is melanin but has a relatively small blood supply for the amount of energy the eye requires. The group has developed a
sublingual supplement that enhances this process.
This all sounds a bit complicated, but -- have you ever noticed that you seem to need less food to stay warm and productive in summer than winter, especially if you are eating a diet rich in greens? The research cited above certainly supports this observation. What does this mean for parents? This research suggests yet another health benefit from being outdoors.
