Red and near infra-red light therapy

[ofonorow]

A medical doctor recommended the book RED LIGHT THERAPY by Ari. Whitten https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Light-Therapy-Near-Infrared/dp/1721762825/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1544369478&sr=1-1&keywords=near+infrared+light+therapy

The Red Light/Near Infrared story reminds me of the oxygen therapies, thousands of studies, unknown to mainstream medicine, and spearheaded by a well-known professor at Harvard. (Hamblin, MR)

Although not finished with the book , (I did get the feeling in the beginning that if a small fraction of the claims are true, this therapy would be a medical miracle.)

I have just read the section that explains how red/near infrared light. at the prescribed frequencies, interacts with chlorophyll "metabolites" in the mitochondria and reduces oxidized CoQ10. (From the oxidized ubiquinone to the reduced ubiquinole.) The research showed that without the red light (or chlorophyll) none of the ubiquinone (CoQ10) was reduced! As the author suggests, this may be why eating greens is so important. Sunlight contains all light spectrums that have been found to provide unusual health benefits (e.g. blue, red/near infrared, and UV/B) the therapy makes the most sense during the winter, or for those who avoid sunlight.

Dietary chlorophyll metabolites catalyze the photoreduction of plasma ubiquinone
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22928808

This is not the referenced study, but similar
Light-harvesting chlorophyll pigments enable mammalian mitochondria to capture photonic energy and produce ATP
http://jcs.biologists.org/content/127/2/388.short

Here is an overview:

Red and near infra-red signaling: Hypothesis and perspectives
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389556712000032

[ofonorow]

A unified theory of Red Light/Near Infrared Light therapy... It just may be... that the value of Red Light/Near Infrared is because of the CoQ10 connection, i.e. most of the benefits that have been studied, e.g. increased hair growth, increased collagen leading to fewer wrinkles and better skin tone, etc. might very well be due to the light regenerating CoQ10 in the mitochondria.

And greens are apparently required, along with the light.

Even the RL/NRL benefits that remind me of increased cortisol production, e.g. reduced inflammation leading to the treatment of fatigue and fibromyalgia, plus reduction in heart disease, etc., might also be attributed to the regeneration of oxidant-reduced CoQ10 in the adrenal glands, etc.

I just bought a "green" drink from Sam's club

[ofonorow]

The delicious drink is "Green Machine" by NAKED.

Red Light Therapy has become ubiquitous. Just found out that my health club has a "total red light therapy" tanning bed

To review,

Everyone knows that chlorophyll reacts with light yielding energy for plants.

Who knows that when you eat greens, the chlorophyll "metabolites" or remnants make it to the mitochondria, react with (R/NI) light, and regenerate CoQ10?

No greens, (or no light), then: No CoQ10 regeneration (reduction from the oxidized form).

There are products, e.g. "Green Machine" by NAKED, that are delicious. And of course you can eat your green veges.

As far as the light - sunlight is perfect. Lucky folks living in the south should strive for 20-30 minutes in the sun daily. (Especially if you want to keep your youth, esp. hair)

For people in Sweden, Russia and even Chicago during the winter - the answer is a therapeutic tanning bed...that provides the Red Light Therapy - full body.)

At some point we'll review all the scientifically proven benefits.. antiaging, better collagen (anti wrinkle), hair growth, speeding wound healing, more energy, etc.

But the little known key to all the wondrous benefits of Red Light Therapy - eating greens!

[ofonorow]

Who woulda thunk... That the answer to "stubborn" fat reduction is...

Please note that red/NIR light therapy doesn't actually burn off the fat by itself. The mechanism, appears to be that it causes the fat cells to release their stored fat into the bloodstream where it can (potentially) be burned for energy. One still must be in a calorie deficit to have actual fat loss. Your overall diet and lifestyle must be conducive to overall net fat loss, otherwise you will just put back the fat right backing into the fat cells it was release from.... Think of the light therapy more as a tool to amplify the fat loss effects from diet and exercise... This technology can be used to greatly accelerate loss of overall body fat, and even "stubborn fat" from fat areas that normally are resistant to being burned off - for men, this is the lower abdomen and love handles, and for women, the hips and thighs...

To the part in the book where Ari brilliantly discusses stubborn fat - and all the money that has been made selling "spot" fat reduction exercise devices, as if an abdominal muscle workout can reduce abdominal fat. It has been proven such spot exercise doesn't work. Two different, unconnected systems - fat and muscle. (Exercise builds muscle but is not connected to fat reduction in that spot. First proved in tennis players... Both arms have equal amounts of fat.)

To lose fat, the fat has to be released into the blood stream. The stubborn areas usually lack the blood flow (and there is a receptor/hormonal angle.) So the trick is getting fat cells in these "stubborn" areas to release their fat.

Ari starts with studies showing that Red LIght Therapy - all by itself, causes fat reduction and speeds fat loss (about doubles fat loss during exercise). In the previous section in the book about exercise, he pointed to studies showing RLT for 120 seconds before a workout increased reps, and doubled muscle growth/strength gains. The only variable - 30 seconds to 2 minutes of red light therapy (The results at 30 seconds, one minute and two minutes are shown and compared.).

Ari has his own protocol for stubborn fat (spot) reducing, and he revealed another trick from another author/expert that seems to be aimed at the hormonal reasons fat isn't released into circulation as we age. So the key and means to reduce stubborn fat is to increase circulation in that spot. Another target is to adjust a ratio of "alpha/beta receptors" on fat cells. Apparently, RL/NI Therapy does both at the proper power and wave length. And the amount of red light is pretty minimal

Note the increased circulation leading to more fat in circulation from stubborn areas is not closely related to B5/ketosis (i.e. burning the fat).

So Ripley believe it or not, we (DBA as Immortal Cell Sciences) will soon be offering a supplement that supports efficient fat burning, without hunger (or ketosis), making it possible for dieters to stay on their diets for long periods.

And we now (think we) know how easy it is to amplify the fat loss, as well as how to attack stubborn fatty deposits, wait for it, by increasing circulation in those spots using Red Light/Near Infrared Light.

The end of the book recommends RLT products, and discusses how far or close the light should be for treatment, generally six to 12 inches.

The 3rd issue, hard to lose fat as we age issue, (the hormonal issue that makes it harder, in general, for fat cells to release their contents,) will probably be addressed by the B5 mix and Red Light, but if not, there is a third herbal protocol presented in the book.

Let we forget, easy stubborn fat reduction is why many people who learn about this will start using the light, fat reduction is a small fraction of the other benefits that have been studied and have scientific support. (Ari points out that in his opinion, the few studies that failed to measure benefits either used too little, or way to large a treatment dose.) Here is a partial list of some of the benefits demonstrated by more than 3000 scientific studies:

increase energy
combat skin aging
improve brain health
decrease pain and speed healing (e.g., diabetic foot sores heal normally)
improve mental (mood and cognitive function)
Improve physical performance
increase muscle growth and/or fat loss
improve metabolism and hormonal health

We'll end with a quote from page 123.

In summary, red and near-infrared light therapy are incredibly powerful tools you can use to dramatically enhance your health. As I said at the beginning of this book, if there were a drug that had scientific research showing all these benefits, it would be an absolute Blockbuster drug for the pharmaceutical companies -- it would be hailed as a "miracle drug" and prescribed to everyone.

p.s. I write all this while sitting under my Reptile UV/B lamp

[Johnwen]

[ofonorow]

[ofonorow]

Caveat for those who might try this (purchase a bulb) before reading the book. This therapy, done correctly, doesn't generate heat. However, many "therapeutic" lamps you can buy at Amazon generate Red, Near Infrared AND Far Infrared. These lamps (with Far Infrared) generate heat and can burn you.

The proper lamp uses LEDs with two wavelengths. Red and Near Infrared.

The Red spectrum generates no heat but is visible.

The Near Infrared spectrum generates no heat and is invisible.

[popnowlin]

As far as diet, how many people can stay on a diet? (A ha! This is where Dr. Leung's discovery regarding high dose vitamin B5 comes in Calorie deficit without hunger. )

Honestly, hunger isn't as big a problem for me as habit. Eating is just something I do while (pick your activity). If I'm not physically working with a keyboard, a tool, a fishing pole, or a gun, my hands seem to be putting something in my mouth. I've been making those somethings healthier but just not eating is more than being hungry to me. That's my problem but keep in mind that hunger is not a problem for everyone. I can do a twelve hour fast for a blood test with no problem. If I get in the zone on a programming problem, or I'm out wading with a fishing pole, I can skip a meal completely and not even miss it. If shining a light on my problem helps I'm willing to try it.

[Johnwen]

[ofonorow]

Started Ari's second book FOREVER FAT LOSS... (Forever, because research shows more than 90% of diets fail - the person regains at least what they lost.)



This is an exciting book too! Whitten claims after "15 years of research", he now knows how to compensate for the "metabolic adaption" that causes the weight regain, i.e. what slows down the body metabolism leading to weight regain.. .I have a feeling that a lot of this will be the CoQ10/Ubiquinone connection. Whether he knows it or not ie.. RL/Greens