Pete Evans recommends you stare directly into the sun for your health

Celebrity chef Pete Evans has again caused a stir with his advice, recommending his fans start their day by staring directly into the sun.

The Australian My Kitchen Rules judge posted a sunshine-filled selfie on Instagram on Monday.

"Every day I love to immerse myself in an experience within the cleansing ocean water as well as a brief gaze into the radiant light of the early rising or late setting sun," he captioned the photo.

"These simple, yet powerful practices have got to be two of the best forms of free medicine on the planet for body, mind and spirit."

He finished the post with the hashtag "#sungazing".

While Evans only advocates a "brief glance", doctors say even looking at the sun for a short time can cause retinal damage called solar retinopathy.

On their website Vision Institute warn the damage from solar retinopathy "can occur without any feeling of pain and the visual effects are not noticed for several hours after the damage has been done."

It's not the first time 'Paleo Pete' has recommended some less than sound medical advice.

Earlier this year he was slammed by medical experts for his controversial Netflix documentary The Magic Pill, where he claimed a high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet could fight chronic disease. He also has publicly said the diet can also treat diseases like asthma, autism and cancer.

In July 2016, Pete made headlines for saying that 'sunscreen is poisonous' due to the chemicals in it.

Pedestrian reporter Ben McLeay puts it in these no uncertain terms: "For now Pete Evans appears to be a man who just chooses to believe the exact opposite of what we currently understand to be true."

Newshub.