This post will be about Red Light therapy and the effects it has on the body. I will be pooling together all the information I can find via Dr. Ray Peat and also other sources. I will add links towards the bottom of places you can purchase the correct lighting from. If there is anything that is wrong or that I missed out on please feel free to critique or add.
What Dr. Ray Peat says about red light:
Ray Peat
Stem cells, cell culture, and culture: Issues in regeneration
Aging Eyes, Infant Eyes, and Excitable Tissues
The problem of Alzheimer's disease as a clue to immortality Part 2
Radiation and Growth January 2011 Newsletter:
What other people say about red light therapy:
redlighttherapyinc.com
Buy Red Light & Infrared Light Therapy Devices By Clicking Here
What Dr. Ray Peat says about red light:
Ray Peat
Dr. Ray Peat said:It turns out that the meaning of "excess estrogen" has to be interpreted in relation to the balance of estrogen (and the multitude of factors which mimic estrogen's effects) with all of the antiestrogen factors. I have concentrated on thyroid, progesterone, and red light as the most important factors that protect against estrogen, and these all turn out to be protective against stress, shock, ionizing radiation, free radicals, lipid peroxidation, thymic atrophy, osteoporosis, arthritis, scleroderma, apoptotic cell death, and other problems that are involved in tissue degeneration or aging.."
Stem cells, cell culture, and culture: Issues in regeneration
Dr. Ray Peat said:"Subnormal temperatures cause a shift from phagocytosis to inflammation. Light, especially the red light which penetrates easily into tissues, activates the formation of new cells as well as their differentiation. It affects energy production, increasing the formation of mitochondria, and the activity of the DNA methyltransferase enzymes. Red light accelerates wound healing, and improves the quality of the scar, reducing the amount of fibrosis."
Aging Eyes, Infant Eyes, and Excitable Tissues
Dr. Ray Peat said:"(Chemically, the meaning of “a pigment” is that it’s a chemical which selectively absorbs radiation. Old observations such as Warburg’s, that visible light can restore the activity of the “respiratory pigments,” showed without doubt that visible light is biochemically active. By the 1960s, several studies had been published showing the inhibition of respiratory enzymes by blue light, and their activation by red light. The problem to be explained is why the science culture simply couldn’t accept crucial facts of that sort.)"
Dr. Ray Peat said:"Cytochrome oxidase is one of the enzymes damaged by stress and by blue light, and activated or restored by red light, thyroid, and progesterone. It's a copper enzyme, so it's likely to be damaged by excess iron. It is most active when it is associated with a mitochondrial lipid, cardiolipin, that contains saturated palmitic acid; the substitution of polyunsaturated fats lowers its activity. Mitochonrial function in general is poisoned by the unsaturated fats, especially arachidonic acid and DHA."
Dr. Ray Peat said:"The pituitary hormones, especially prolactin and TSH, are pro-inflammatory, and darkness increases TSH along with prolactin, so to compensate for a light deficiency, the pituitary should be well-suppressed by adequate thyroid. Armour thyroid or Thyrolar or Cynoplus, Cytomel, would probably be helpful. (Eye-drops containing T3 might be a way to restore metabolic activity more quickly.) Limiting water intake (or using salt generously) helps to inhibit prolactin secretion. The saturated fats protect against the body's stored PUFA, and keeping the blood sugar up keeps the stored fats from being mobilized. Aspirin (or indomethacin) is generally protective to the retina, analogously to its protection against sunburn. Adequate vitamin E is extremely important. There are several prescription drugs that protect against serotonin excess, but thyroid and gelatin (or glycine, as in magnesium glycinate) are protective against the serotonin and melatonin toxicities. Copper and magnesium deficiencies predispose to retinal damage. Red light is protective, blue light (or u.v.) is harmful, so wearing orange lenses would be helpful. Progesterone and pregnenolone, by reducing the stress reactions, should be helpful--in the eye diseases of infancy and old age, as they are in the respiratory distress syndromes."
The problem of Alzheimer's disease as a clue to immortality Part 2
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/ti ... tion.shtmlDr. Ray Peat said:"When the body temperature is very much below normal, mental functioning is seriously limited. I think the first question that should be asked about a demented person is "is this the cold brain syndrome, or is something else involved?" When it is known that the brain has shrunken drastically, and filled up with plaques and developed gliosis, we know that something more than a "cold brain" is involved, but we don't know how much function could be regained if the hormones were normalized. Every moment of malfunction probably leaves its structural mark. Early or late, it is good to prevent the functional errors that lead to further damage, and to give the regenerative systems an opportunity to work. Before the final "calcium death" described (above) by Fujita, there are many opportunities for intervening to stop or reverse the process. The older the person is, the more emphasis should be put on protective inhibition, rather than immediately increasing energy production. Magnesium, carbon dioxide, sleep, red light, and naloxone might be appropriate at the beginning of therapy."
Dr. Ray Peat said:"Often, a small physiological dose of natural hydrocortisone can help the patient meet the stress, without causing harmful side-effects. While treating the symptoms with cortisone for a short time, it is important to try to learn the basic cause of the problem, by checking for hypothyroidism, vitamin A deficiency, protein deficiency, a lack of sunlight, etc. (I suspect that light on the skin directly increases the skin's production of steroids, without depending on other organs. Different steroids probably involve different frequencies of light, but orange and red light seem to be important frequencies.) Using cortisone in this way, physiologically rather than pharmacologically, it is not likely to cause the serious problems mentioned above."
Radiation and Growth January 2011 Newsletter:
Dr. Ray Peat said:"Even ultraviolet light can produce electronic excitation and bystander effects that destabilize cells, but, unlike gamma rays and x-rays, ultraviolet light doesn't penetrate deeply into the body. In visible light, it is only the red component that can pass deeply into the tissue, and it happens that red light is able to "quench" many excited electrons, restoring them to their normal resting or ground state. In a solid material,such as a seed or hair or bone, excited electrons will persist for a long time (hours in the seed and hair, years in bone), but with a brief exposure to red light, they will return to their normal state. This beneficial effect of the red component of sunlight helps to keep plants from being sunburned. If the red light is removed from sunlight, even the blue light by itself is quickly toxic to their mitochondria. Duringthe night animals' respiratory enzymes lose some of their effectiveness, possibly from the effects of random lipid peroxidation, and red light restores their activity."
What other people say about red light therapy:
redlighttherapyinc.com
"One emerging type of anti-aging treatment has recently gained popularity, but has shown amazing results for years. This treatment, discovered by NASA , is called RED light therapy. RED light therapy is characterized by infrared light, which is a unique type of light that has a stronger wavelength than other types of light. This enables it to penetrate deeper into the skin and provide many therapeutic benefits including improvement in the skin’s appearance and structure as well as relief from pain. There is NO UV light associated with RED light therapy.
RED light therapy is able to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, sun damage, and skin problems including acne and Infrared light also stimulates the production of ATP, an essential energy source used in body tissues that promotes rapid healing.
Because of its amazing benefits, traditional tanning salons have begun using RED light therapy beds as a sort of “reverse tanning bed.” This type of light therapy has become a breakthrough treatment because unlike cosmetic surgery, red light therapy is non invasive, cost-effective, and risk-free alternative to improving skin’s appearance.
Similar to the Sun, infrared light provides a warming effect on the skin, but without the presence of damaging UV Rays. Recommended therapy schedules are 3-4 days per week, for 4-6 weeks. After the initial treatment schedule it is recommended to continue 1-2 days per week. With no damaging effects, only positive results, it’s no surprise that RED light therapy is a great new way to improve your appearance and health.
Aside from its cosmetic and anti-aging benefits, RED light therapy can provide relief from chronic and acute pain including muscle pain, joint pain, arthritis, high blood pressure, tissue and nerve damage, and can decrease injury healing time. Originally discovered by NASA for this purpose, RED light therapy is now used by professional athletes to promote healing with powerful results.
Infrared light penetrates below the surface of skin to speed up healing time. Red light has the ability to stimulate the production of ATP, an important source of energy in body tissues. This allows ATP to promote rapid action by the body’s defenses. ATP helps to increase blood circulation, which reduces swelling and inflammation. Increased blood circulation can benefit those with high blood pressure because good circulation allows the heart to do less work. Red light activated ATP stimulates white blood cells that work to repair damaged tissues, and increases collagen production that builds elasticity in the skin and can aid in wound healing. ATP also activates endorphins that provide soothing relief from chronic and acute pain.
Because RED light therapy triggers the body’s own defenses, it actually treats the sources of pain and doesn’t just mask the symptoms. RED light therapy provides relief from pain and discomfort without the side effects of pharmaceutical drugs or surgery."
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