Can Red Light Really Heal?

For about five years I’ve heard off and on about light therapy. I didn’t pay much attention to it because my healing repertoire was full. Recently a business client asked if I would look into it and I was amazed by what I learned.

The short answer is absolutely yes; red light does heal. It’s really sad that it took several hours of research to discover this though.

Light being beneficial is a no brainer when you stop and think about it. God put a wonderful star called the Sun in just the right position to nourish not only plant life but also human life. Remember studying prisms in school? It broke white light into the seven colors that we see after rainstorms. Turns out we need these colors to live healthfully.

NASA sent red lights up with past projects to help plants grow in space. The red wavelengths are great for photosynthesis. Later, they applied the same wavelengths to people and found it is also great for helping humans heal.

So like plants, we too have photochemical reactions. The most commonly know are that blue light will help babies get rid of bilirubin when they are yellow and that vitamin D3 production starts in our skin after we’re in the sun. Fascinating, but there is so much more!

LeAnne Vernier, engineer and light therapy researcher, calls the Sun a multivitamin. Each wavelength of color gives you something that you need.

What has recently been discovered about red light is that scientists and physicians alike are using it to heal many things like broken bones, nerve pain, chronic fatigue, dementia, traumatic brain injury, obesity, and macular degeneration.

The reason it can stimulate such healing in many different tissues is that it stops oxidative stress, the killer of so many good things in our body. Red light affects our body’s powerhouses, the mitochondria. When red light shines from a LED (light emitting diode) into a cell, photons move NO (nitric oxide) off a key enzyme, which allows oxygen back on. When this happens, the mitochondria can then make ATP (energy) again.

When a cell can make energy it can do what it is supposed to do. If it is a bone cell it will heal a break, if it is a brain cell it will help you think, if it is a fibroblast it will make collagen to repair skin or tendons, and so on. The result is quicker healing while pain and swelling go away.

One of the unintended consequences for red LED use was weight loss. When this light hits fat cells, pores open in the cell membrane and triglycerides (the contents of a fat cell) flow out. The result is a raisin looking fat cell. Coupled with hydration and exercise, red LED can lead to inches of pain free weight loss. Anti-aging and tanning spas have been using this technology for years now with some impressive results.

Coupling this new info with what I know about a body brought about some interesting observations. Our body often stores heavy metals, petrochemicals, and pesticides in fat cells. This was first noticed by the hippie generation as they lost weight in mid-life and had new acid trips because old PCP was liberated from their fat cells. I see red light sessions as a good way to detox our bodies while enjoying the benefits of losing weight.

To date, the research I have read has not discovered any negative effects of red light exposure. The only warning I found comes with LEDs that emit near-infra red light, which can damage your eyes at certain wavelengths.

The difference between regular red LEDs and ones that emit near-infrared wavelengths is the depth the light will travel into your body. Near-infrared will pass through bone and cartilage; red light will go through skin. Some researchers are using near-infrared helmets to help patients with dementia and Parkinson’s disease.

I am so convinced with the red LED research that I have agreed to help a local tanning salon’s clients with their follow-up by offering health-coaching sessions with their weight loss packages. It is such a wonderful way to help people take back ownership of their lives. I’ll have more details in the coming weeks, but in the meantime you can contact Sun Splashed Tanning in Billings, MT with your questions.

Personally, I have used the far-infrared wraps (which are like a hot sauna) and the red LED sessions and enjoyed the benefits of weight loss and improved wellbeing from both.

I encourage you to look into this new technology. With so many people researching its applications worldwide, you are bound to find encouragement with whatever you are facing in your health.

Dr. Jane