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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Ari Whitten
Read between
August 19 - October 12, 2022
most of us are completely unaware that light (very specific types of light) have a profound impact on our health, and are actually necessary nutrients, similar to nutrients from food.
Red and near-infrared light are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and more specifically, part of the spectrum of light emitted by the sun (and fire light). These wavelengths of light are “bioactive” in humans. That means that these types of light literally affect the function of our cells.
Specifically, most research
showing benefits of red and near-infrared light have used wavelengths in the narrow ranges of 630-680nm and 800-880nm. More on this later.)
In this book, you’ll discover the incredible power of red and near-infrared light therapy and how it can help: Increase your energy Combat aging and make your skin healthier, reduce wrinkles, and help get rid of cellulite Speed up fat loss Improve muscle recovery and athletic performance Improve mood and cognitive function Speed healing from injury Improve metabolism and hormonal health
Red and near-infrared (NIR) light therapy devices have been FDA-approved for several purposes so far, including anti-aging, hair-loss reversal, acne treatment, pain relief, slow to heal wounds, fat loss, among other purposes. (This is worth noting as
it proves the abundance of research showing benefits—the therapy has to be proven safe and effective in numerous trials to gain FDA approval.)
“LLLT/PBM (photobiomodulation) is more than an alternative kind of medical treatment; it is a whole new method to control cellular processes and modulate living organisms by precise alterations in the chemistry of biomolecules. PBM enables the contemporary clinician or therapist who holds a modern and multidisciplinary outlook to fight against diseases and other disorders in both humans and other animals. Moreover, it is a possible way to stimulate or inhibit many different biological processes that occur in most (if not all) different living creatures. It could even be suggested that the
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Just as human cells need nutrients from food, light is also a necessary nutrient for our cells to function well. Certain wavelengths of light can help power up our cells, affect hormones and neurotransmitters, balance our mood, enhance physical performance, hasten recovery from stress, increase alertness, improve sleep, and positively affect the expression of our genes.
Most importantly, you need to grasp that the human body needs ...
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These are the five types of bioactive light in humans:
Blue light—sets the circadian rhythm in our brain, which in turn regulates numerous different neurotransmitters and hormones UV light—allows us to synthesize vitamin D from the sun Far-infrared—acts to heat up our cells (this is the part of the sun’s spectrum that you feel as heat) which stimulates changes in cell function, as well as circulation changes Red light—acts on the mitochondria in our cells to stimulate increased cellular energy (ATP) production (among other mechanisms discussed in this book) Near-infrared (NIR)—acts on the same pathways as red light—particularly in the mitochondria
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The point is that modern humans are deficient in the benefits of all of these five wavelengths of light, and there are health consequences when we don’t get enough.
What kind of health consequences?
The most common light-related health problems that most people are already familiar with are vitamin D deficiency (from too little UV light) and circadian rhythm disruption (from too little blue light in the morning, and too much artificial light at night). Just these two light-related health issues alone are responsible for a massive burden of disease in the modern world. These two issues caused by inadequate and improper light exposure are linked with dozens o...
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vast majority of people living in the modern world are suffering from chronic mal-illumination and don’t even realize it. And it has widespread effects on our brain and organ function, immune system, energy levels, mood, neurotransmitter balance, and hormone levels.
Sunlight deficiency has been linked with numerous diseases, such as: Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, dementia, Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson’s5,6,7,8 Dozens of types of cancer9,10,11,12 Obesity13,14
Diabetes15 Metabolic syndrome16 Heart disease17
As another example of mal-illumination, artificial light exposure at night (from electronic devices like phones, TVs, computers, indoor lighting, etc.) have been linked with numerous diseases, like: Numerous types of cancer20,21 Depression22 Fat gain, obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome23,24,25 Insomnia and poor sleep26 Mood disorders27
We need the sun to be healthy. And red and near-infrared light are a big part of the reason why. Just as our body requires the intake of certain vitamins and minerals (e.g. vitamin C, magnesium, zinc, etc.) from the diet to function normally, our cells also require certain “light nutrients” (adequate amounts of certain wavelengths of light) to be healthy. In short, the human body needs red and near-infrared light to function optimally. Just as we can have malnutrition from a poor diet, we can have mal-illumination from poor light exposure.
Red and near-infrared light have profound effects on our cellular and hormonal health. And we’re designed to need ample amounts of those types of light to have optimal health.
Given that virtually all modern humans now spend almost all their time indoors, we are massively deficient in sun exposure. Thus, we are massively deficient in red and near-infrared light exposure.
The fundamental reason that red and near-infrared light have so many incredible benefits on our health is because they are correcting a deficiency. We should be getting plenty of red and near-infrared light from the sun, but since we’re not, we can apply a device in a targeted way to give us that light “nutrient,” and get profound benefits from it.
While most other wavelengths of light (such as UV, blue, green, and yellow light, etc.) are mostly unable to penetrate into the body and stay in the layers of the skin, near-infrared light and red light are able to reach deep into the human body (several centimeters, and close to 2 inches, in some cases) and are able to directly penetrate into the cells, tissues, blood, nerves, rods and cones of the eyes, the brain, and into the bones.
Once in those deeper tissues, red light and near-infrared (NIR) light have incredible healing effects on the cells where they can increase energy production, modulate inflammation, relieve pain, help cells regenerate faster, and much more.
The key point is this: Red/NIR light are not some weird technology that benefits us for some random reason. These wavelengths of light come from the sun, and it turns out that our body has evolved over millions of years to be capable of utilizing red and near-infrared light from the sun to help power up our cells—literally enhancing the function of our mitochondria, our cellular energy generators—among many other beneficial effects.
The next important question to answer is “how the heck does red and near-infrared light actually cause these effects?”
First, it’s important to understand that there isn’t just one mechanism. For example, this isn’t a drug that acts on one particular enzyme, compound or receptor (e.g. serotonin, cholesterol, etc.). There are literally dozens of mechanisms at the biochemical and cellular level.
It also can affect different cells differently—for example, affecting damaged and dysfunctional cells differently than healthy cells. It even has the capacity to irradiate the blood (and affect things like inflammatory mediators and immune cells), thus affecting the entire body through the changes in blood cells/compounds, not just the area the light was shined on.
I generally think of red/NIR light as having two central mechanisms in how it benefits cellular function and overall health: Stimulating ATP production in the mitochondria through interacting with a photoreceptor called cytochrome c oxidase. Creating a temporary, low-dose metabolic stress (known as hormesis, which is also a primary mechanism of why exercise works) that ultimately
builds up the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and cell defense systems of the cell.
Researchers have found that one specific mechanism of red and near-infrared light therapy is that these wavelengths of light are able to penetrate into cells and activate the mitochondria, directly leading to increased cellular energy production. Many lines of research indicate that the mitochondria are the key player when it comes to the mechanism of how red and near-infrared light affect our cells.
The mitochondria are the life-yielding, energy yielding engines within the cells of all living things. Our mitochondria produce cellular energy in the form of ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate). Our bodies are constantly producing and using massive amounts of ATP in every cell in order to fuel every function in the body, from breathing to thinking to lifting a dumbbell. Every time you breathe, digest food, your heart beats, or you perform a bicep curl, your cells are using ATP energy.
Our heart and liver are packed with mitochondria, because they work constantly to pump blood, give life, filter toxins, and protect us from toxic damage. The brain is also packed with mitochondria. So are all our organs, tissues, skin, and especially muscles, which power us through movement.
The mitochondria are the batteries that fuel all the processes of our organs; thus, things which enhance the mitochondria translate into more cellular energy inside the cell, which allows the cell or organ (e.g. br...
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We produce ATP by going through a cycle of something called “cellular respiration”—which is what gives us energy to do anything. It gives our body energy to chew, breathe, sweat, produce hormones—everything.
Cellular respiration has 4 steps: Glycolysis (this the first step in cell respiration, which is the conversion of glucose/sugar to pyruvate) Pyruvate Oxidation (the next step in converting glucose to ATP, which entails converting pyruvate to acetyl-CoA, to enable ATP to be manufactured) Krebs Cycle (this uses acetyl-CoA to generate a pool of chemical energy substances, ATP, NADH, FADH2) Oxidative Phosphorylation (the last step in ATP production, where the mitochondria use the chemicals produced in the Krebs cycle to pump out ATP)
This last stage, oxidative phosphorylation, is the when red light (red and near-infrared light) does most of its magic.
Mitochondria need this little enzyme called cytochrome c oxidase to bind efficiently with oxygen to produce cellular energy (ATP) efficiently, and red and near-infrared light help make that happen.
When cells are functioning poorly—which most human’s cells are today because we live a life full of stressors, like job stress, toxins like BPA and pesticides and heavy metals in our food, too much artificial light at night, and air pollution (among others)—these toxic impacts hinder our cells’ ability to produce energy.
NO of course plays many vital roles in the body, but when we have too much of it, too much in the wrong place, or when our cells don’t have the antioxidant capacity to quell the buildup of NO, it can hinder ATP from being manufactured in the mitochondria.
Mitochondria cannot generate ATP efficiently without oxygen. So anything that slows oxygen from being utilized by the mitochondria will slow energy production dramatically.
Therefore, in unhealthy cells, nitric oxide prevents cytochrome c from getting enough oxygen molecules. This hinders ATP production, which is a recipe for poor mitochondrial function, and thus, poor cellular function. As shown by several research groups around the world, red and near-infrared light essentially prevents this pairing of NO with cytochrome c oxidase. It knocks the NO out and lets the oxygen in!
In essence, red and near-infrared light therapy allow oxygen into the mitochondria (and prevent NO from halting energy production), which boosts mitochondrial function and improves the health of every organ and system in our body.
In short, when mitochondria are stimulated, the cell produces more energy, and when the cell has more energy available, it essentially does everything better—heals faster, is more resistant to stress, produces more proteins (e.g. collagen) and performs better (e.g. muscular performance). Mitochondrial energy production is the heart of all optimal cell function.
Another key mechanism for how red and near-infrared light therapy work is through hormesis. Hormesis is the process by which a transient metabolic stressor stimulates adaptations that actually improve health. This may sound like an odd concept at first, but you’re more familiar with it than you realize—exercise is a type of hormesis. Exercise works by transiently creating metabolic stress—stressing out the body (workouts are hard work!) and temporarily increasing reactive oxygen species, a.k.a. free radicals—and then in response to that stress, the body adapts to it with things like improved
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Light serves a transient low-level stress to your cells. The end result of these cellular adaptations to the temporary stress is healthier cells that produce more energy, have a stronger anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory defense system, and are more resilient to overall stress.
This is the same way that exercise makes us healthier. Red and near-infrared light therapy also work by temporarily creating an increase in metabolic stress and increasing reactive oxygen species (free radicals), just like exercise.38 In that sense, some researchers have called it an “exercise mimetic” because it mimics some of the same effects of exercise.
In addition to these—what I consider to be the two most important general mechanisms—there are a couple of other fascinating potential mechanisms for how red/NIR light works inside our bodies. Some of these potential mechanisms may even revolutionize our understanding of human biology and how our cells produce energy.
Potential Mechanism #1: Interacts with water in our cells to produce more energy.
