3 Fundamental Actions of Red Light Therapy - The SPARK to creating Energy
1) Glycolysis ->-> OXPHOS (Increase ATP production) - Revs up the engine and helps to perform better
CCO - Compresses Fuel with help of oxygen to pump out hydrogens and convert O2 -> H2O
ATP-ase - Lube, RLT makes ATP-ase turbine spin more easily
2) Antioxidant/Melatonin - Cools the Engine (Reduces Oxidative stress by increasing natural Antioxidants)
3) Increases Nitric Oxide (Both Endothelial and Mitochondrial) - Better delivery of gas to ignition
1) Glycolysis ->-> OXPHOS (Increase ATP production) - Revs up the engine and helps to perform better
CCO - Compresses Fuel with help of oxygen to pump out hydrogens and convert O2 -> H2O
ATP-ase - Lube, RLT makes ATP-ase turbine spin more easily
2) Antioxidant/Melatonin - Cools the Engine (Reduces Oxidative stress by increasing natural Antioxidants)
3) Increases Nitric Oxide (Both Endothelial and Mitochondrial) - Better delivery of gas to ignition

**Mitochondria** - Overheating and oxidative stress.
To explain why light is so important to the human body, we have to get get down to the cellular level to really explain this, and to do that I am going to use an analogy. In every cell of our body we have something called mitochondria. Mitochondria are like the engine in a car, that produces the power, the energy and for the body it produces ATP which is the currency of energy for our body. And as we hinted in the last chapter it is a hybrid engine. But just like the engine in your car it can overheat and it can shut down and that is a byproduct of what it does. And it is a very similar situation to what happens in the mitochondria. The mitochondria takes the food that you eat, the fats, carbs and it makes the ATP that your body needs, but a byproduct of that is oxidative stress, that is the heat around the engine that if the oxidative stress builds up too much, it can cause all kinds of problems.
What scientists have discovered and looked at over the years is that there are a lot of consequences to oxidative stress. Less optimal health, inflammation, cancer, dementia, diabetes and learning disabilities have been tied to oxidative stress in the mitochondria and mitochondrial disability.
To explain why light is so important to the human body, we have to get get down to the cellular level to really explain this, and to do that I am going to use an analogy. In every cell of our body we have something called mitochondria. Mitochondria are like the engine in a car, that produces the power, the energy and for the body it produces ATP which is the currency of energy for our body. And as we hinted in the last chapter it is a hybrid engine. But just like the engine in your car it can overheat and it can shut down and that is a byproduct of what it does. And it is a very similar situation to what happens in the mitochondria. The mitochondria takes the food that you eat, the fats, carbs and it makes the ATP that your body needs, but a byproduct of that is oxidative stress, that is the heat around the engine that if the oxidative stress builds up too much, it can cause all kinds of problems.
What scientists have discovered and looked at over the years is that there are a lot of consequences to oxidative stress. Less optimal health, inflammation, cancer, dementia, diabetes and learning disabilities have been tied to oxidative stress in the mitochondria and mitochondrial disability.

So if the mitochondria is like the engine in a car and oxidative stress is like overheating of that engine, what is the cooling system to further the analogy in our mitochondria?
The body has two different systems to be put in place to take care of the mitochondria in terms of "cooling" it down or getting rid of the oxidative stress in the mitochondria depending on whether it is day or night.
1) NIGHT: The cooling system at night uses Melatonin produced by the Pineal Gland, and Melatonin is one of the strongest antioxidants which upregulates the glutathione system and it is twice as powerful as vitamin E. Melatonin is secreted at night from the Pineal Gland and goes into the blood circulation, is actively transported into the cells and than goes into the mitochondria to fulfill its duty which is to mop up very efficiently these oxidative stress molecules.
2) DAY: So how does mitochondria handle oxidative stress during the day? Any type of light that hits the human eye is going to shut down the production of melatonin from the pineal gland, so there has to be a completely different system that is put in place during the day that allows melatonin to be made in the day that allows melatonin to be made in the mitochondria to deal with the oxidative stress. These hydroxy and oxygen radicals that are produced in the mitochondria as a result of metabolism can destroy things immediately in its vicinity so you need to have antioxidants right there on site.
How does this happen during the day? The answer is near infrared radiation from sun or red and near infrared light from a LED panel goes into the mitochondria and will stimulate the production of melatonin on site. So if we do not get enough of this light during the day, it can have consequences.
It is important to note that oxidative stress is not always bad. Like for example, it is very important for white blood cells to have oxidative bursts to kill bacteria. And in small amounts oxidative stress, like in exercise has a hormesis effect which means simply a little bit of stress strengthens the body. But certainly too much can cause damage and in the case of the mitochondria, oxidative stress can break down the proteins of the electron transport chain.
The body has two different systems to be put in place to take care of the mitochondria in terms of "cooling" it down or getting rid of the oxidative stress in the mitochondria depending on whether it is day or night.
1) NIGHT: The cooling system at night uses Melatonin produced by the Pineal Gland, and Melatonin is one of the strongest antioxidants which upregulates the glutathione system and it is twice as powerful as vitamin E. Melatonin is secreted at night from the Pineal Gland and goes into the blood circulation, is actively transported into the cells and than goes into the mitochondria to fulfill its duty which is to mop up very efficiently these oxidative stress molecules.
2) DAY: So how does mitochondria handle oxidative stress during the day? Any type of light that hits the human eye is going to shut down the production of melatonin from the pineal gland, so there has to be a completely different system that is put in place during the day that allows melatonin to be made in the day that allows melatonin to be made in the mitochondria to deal with the oxidative stress. These hydroxy and oxygen radicals that are produced in the mitochondria as a result of metabolism can destroy things immediately in its vicinity so you need to have antioxidants right there on site.
How does this happen during the day? The answer is near infrared radiation from sun or red and near infrared light from a LED panel goes into the mitochondria and will stimulate the production of melatonin on site. So if we do not get enough of this light during the day, it can have consequences.
It is important to note that oxidative stress is not always bad. Like for example, it is very important for white blood cells to have oxidative bursts to kill bacteria. And in small amounts oxidative stress, like in exercise has a hormesis effect which means simply a little bit of stress strengthens the body. But certainly too much can cause damage and in the case of the mitochondria, oxidative stress can break down the proteins of the electron transport chain.

Mitochondria - All of the cells in your body have things called mitochondria, and the mitochondria are these powerhouses or power plants inside the cell that make energy and a product of that metabolism is something called ATP and ATP is the molecule of energy for the cell.
Let's take a look at the mitochondria in more detail because this is where all the magic of red light therapy happens. If we look at the mitochondria, there is an outer membrane and an inner membrane, the center we call the matrix and the space around it we call the inter-membrane space. In the matrix we have something called Krebs cycle. The Krebs cycle is where carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are metabolized. And they enter the Krebs cycle from various different pathways and they come from obviously the outside of the cell. The major byproduct of the Krebs cycle is something called NADH. NADH is a way of packaging very powerfully reduced electrons. So the mitochondria then takes these very reduced electrons and convert them into energy. And that is done with something called the electron transport chain (ETC).
The electron transport chain is basically a series of drops like a damn that goes through this electron transport chain. Every step along this process or path the energy from those reduced electrons in NADH is coupled with a pump that pumps protons out into the inner membrane space so that the amount of protons in the inner membrane space start to increase. And this occurs successfully as electrons are passed down step by step by step, until finally all the energy is extracted from these electrons and the final electron acceptor is something that we all need which is oxygen. And THIS is the reason we need oxygen when we breathe, we need an acceptor of those electrons. This is where oxygen is required. Finally, at the very end of this electron transport chain there is an enzyme known as Cytochrome C Oxidase or CCO for short. That takes this oxygen molecule and makes a water molecule out of it, by passing on electrons to this oxygen molecule.
The problem is when this stuff starts to go and these wheels start to turn, and these electrons start to be passed down the chain, it's not perfect and sometimes you can have these electrons getting caught up with other oxygen molecules, and something called reactive oxygen species being made. The most common one here being superoxide, but there are other common ones as well such as hydrogen peroxide and also hydroxy radicals. All of these are very dangerous substrates that can interact with the proteins around them and can cause severe damage. And the more damage they cause, the more likely there is to be more reactive oxygen species made. So it is very important that if and when these reactive oxygen species are made as a result of metabolism and this electron transport chain, that they mopped up or quenched.
Now lets go back and talk about what happens with all these protons that get pumped up. These protons start to build up and then what occurs is finally there is a protein that sits in the inner membrane space known as the F-ATPase and simply what happens here is the protons go down their concentration gradient back into the matrix and what you have is ADP becoming ATP as the protons go down their electron gradient. And here you have the product of this whole thing which is ATP which again is the high energy product of this entire process of metabolism. So you go from carbohydrates, proteins and fats into making ATP.
In the process you additionally use up oxygen AND you cannot help but make reactive oxygen species. Fortunately the body has a way of mopping this up and making sure these things go away is through melatonin.
There is melatonin outside the cell that can come in very quickly and mop these things up because melatonin is a very powerful antioxidant. But NOW we are finding out thatspecifically this last enzyme, CCO which takes this oxygen molecule and makes it into water and makes this process go well, when this enzyme CCO is excited with a certain wavelength of light, specifically near infrared light, it actually increases melatonin production inside of the mitochondria. That's right, melatonin is produced INSIDE the mitochondria as a result of the activation of this electron transport chain, which can then neutralize the product of this electron transport chain which is not only water, but oxygen mixes with these electrons inadvertently making these ROS. They have to be dealt with on site, because they react very quickly to products on site and can oxidize them and damage them (like rust to a car), which leads to a downward spiral... Certain diseases associated with this.
Let's take a look at the mitochondria in more detail because this is where all the magic of red light therapy happens. If we look at the mitochondria, there is an outer membrane and an inner membrane, the center we call the matrix and the space around it we call the inter-membrane space. In the matrix we have something called Krebs cycle. The Krebs cycle is where carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are metabolized. And they enter the Krebs cycle from various different pathways and they come from obviously the outside of the cell. The major byproduct of the Krebs cycle is something called NADH. NADH is a way of packaging very powerfully reduced electrons. So the mitochondria then takes these very reduced electrons and convert them into energy. And that is done with something called the electron transport chain (ETC).
The electron transport chain is basically a series of drops like a damn that goes through this electron transport chain. Every step along this process or path the energy from those reduced electrons in NADH is coupled with a pump that pumps protons out into the inner membrane space so that the amount of protons in the inner membrane space start to increase. And this occurs successfully as electrons are passed down step by step by step, until finally all the energy is extracted from these electrons and the final electron acceptor is something that we all need which is oxygen. And THIS is the reason we need oxygen when we breathe, we need an acceptor of those electrons. This is where oxygen is required. Finally, at the very end of this electron transport chain there is an enzyme known as Cytochrome C Oxidase or CCO for short. That takes this oxygen molecule and makes a water molecule out of it, by passing on electrons to this oxygen molecule.
The problem is when this stuff starts to go and these wheels start to turn, and these electrons start to be passed down the chain, it's not perfect and sometimes you can have these electrons getting caught up with other oxygen molecules, and something called reactive oxygen species being made. The most common one here being superoxide, but there are other common ones as well such as hydrogen peroxide and also hydroxy radicals. All of these are very dangerous substrates that can interact with the proteins around them and can cause severe damage. And the more damage they cause, the more likely there is to be more reactive oxygen species made. So it is very important that if and when these reactive oxygen species are made as a result of metabolism and this electron transport chain, that they mopped up or quenched.
Now lets go back and talk about what happens with all these protons that get pumped up. These protons start to build up and then what occurs is finally there is a protein that sits in the inner membrane space known as the F-ATPase and simply what happens here is the protons go down their concentration gradient back into the matrix and what you have is ADP becoming ATP as the protons go down their electron gradient. And here you have the product of this whole thing which is ATP which again is the high energy product of this entire process of metabolism. So you go from carbohydrates, proteins and fats into making ATP.
In the process you additionally use up oxygen AND you cannot help but make reactive oxygen species. Fortunately the body has a way of mopping this up and making sure these things go away is through melatonin.
There is melatonin outside the cell that can come in very quickly and mop these things up because melatonin is a very powerful antioxidant. But NOW we are finding out thatspecifically this last enzyme, CCO which takes this oxygen molecule and makes it into water and makes this process go well, when this enzyme CCO is excited with a certain wavelength of light, specifically near infrared light, it actually increases melatonin production inside of the mitochondria. That's right, melatonin is produced INSIDE the mitochondria as a result of the activation of this electron transport chain, which can then neutralize the product of this electron transport chain which is not only water, but oxygen mixes with these electrons inadvertently making these ROS. They have to be dealt with on site, because they react very quickly to products on site and can oxidize them and damage them (like rust to a car), which leads to a downward spiral... Certain diseases associated with this.
Melatonin production in the mitochondria is the front line cooling system for the mitochondria. Less than 5% of the body's melatonin is produced in the pineal gland.
Zimmerman!
Zimmerman!
NIR experienced as warmth - Stimulate heat receptors in the skin. Warmth of sun is this near infrared speaking to you. Penetrates deep. Like when teens pull up you hear the boom boom boom base, because low frequency or long wavelength energy can penetrate through things very easily. It can penetrate through the atmosphere all the way down through your clothes and into your skin.

Majority of energy coming from the is infrared.
If I can feel the warmth, you are receiving it.
Zimmerman Study showed regardless of Melanin, the near infrared light was penetrating up to 8cm!!
Can find veins.
Near Infrared light deeply penetrating, large amount of cells in human body accessible to near infrared.
Near Infrared can even penetrate bone.
Sunlight can penetrate the skull and fills the caverns.
If I can feel the warmth, you are receiving it.
Zimmerman Study showed regardless of Melanin, the near infrared light was penetrating up to 8cm!!
Can find veins.
Near Infrared light deeply penetrating, large amount of cells in human body accessible to near infrared.
Near Infrared can even penetrate bone.
Sunlight can penetrate the skull and fills the caverns.
Greenery is very rich in NIR.
Highly reflect near infrared light.
Green spaces much healthier than concrete jungles.
1:12:32
Green Spaces good at reflecting Near infrared radiation
Highly reflect near infrared light.
Green spaces much healthier than concrete jungles.
1:12:32
Green Spaces good at reflecting Near infrared radiation
CCO is reacting
Chemical studies
Enzyme that produces
Vasodilation
Improved Oxygenation.
Study showing sunlight
Working in glucose and lipid metabolism
Study mainly UVA harmful.
The idea of exposing people to sunlight when they are sick is not a new idea. For many years TB was treated with sunlight.
Go out into the light and WARMTH!! 1800s quote.
New Bulbs have no near infrared (Incandescent does
Low E glass... Blocks Near Infrared.
We are not getting the same near infrared radiation that we once did.
Specific to developed countries.
How humans interact with light
1) Sleep, circadian rhythm and mood
2) Mitochondrial -
Daytime - 4000K
Sleep - warmer cooler 2700 - 3000K
Melatonin supplement only going into bloodstream.
Good before bed but that is al
LINKS / REFERENCES:
The Relationship Between Lux, Lumen and Watt (Tachyon) | https://tachyonlight.com/the-relation...
Infrared and skin: Friend or foe (J of Photochemistry...) | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...
Melatonin as a potential anticarcinogen for non-small-cell lung cancer (Oncotarget) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27102...
The efficacy of light therapy in the treatment of mood disorders (AJP) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15800...
Adj. Bright Light Therapy for Bipolar Depression (AJP) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28969...
Effects of artificial dawn on subjective ratings of sleep inertia and dim light melatonin onset (Chronobiology Int) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20653...
Effects of Artificial Dawn and Morning Blue Light... (Chronobiology Int) | https://www.researchgate.net/publicat...
Circadian rhythms in the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (MCE) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21782...
Reduced cancer incidence among the blind (Epidem) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9730026/
Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep (PNAS) | https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/112...
Ocular input for human melatonin regulation (NEL) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12163...
Melatonin and the Optics of the Human Body (Melatonin) | https://www.melatonin-research.net/in...
Melatonin in Mitochondria (APS) | https://journals.physiology.org/doi/f...
Opportunities.. of Fluorescent Carbon Dots (CPD) | https://www.researchgate.net/publicat...
The health benefits of the great outdoors (Environ) | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Interplay between up-regulation of cytochrome-c-oxidase (Nature) | https://www.nature.com/articles/srep3...
Red/Near Infrared Light Stimulates Release of an Endothelium Dependent Vasodilator (FRBM) | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Effect of daylighting on student health (CMSE) | http://www.wseas.us/e-library/confere...
Shining the Light on Sunshine (Clinical Endo) | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/f...
Associations of Outdoor Temperature (JCEM) | https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article...
Relationship between sun exposure and melanoma risk (EJC) | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...l.
Chemical studies
Enzyme that produces
Vasodilation
Improved Oxygenation.
Study showing sunlight
Working in glucose and lipid metabolism
Study mainly UVA harmful.
The idea of exposing people to sunlight when they are sick is not a new idea. For many years TB was treated with sunlight.
Go out into the light and WARMTH!! 1800s quote.
New Bulbs have no near infrared (Incandescent does
Low E glass... Blocks Near Infrared.
We are not getting the same near infrared radiation that we once did.
Specific to developed countries.
How humans interact with light
1) Sleep, circadian rhythm and mood
2) Mitochondrial -
Daytime - 4000K
Sleep - warmer cooler 2700 - 3000K
Melatonin supplement only going into bloodstream.
Good before bed but that is al
LINKS / REFERENCES:
The Relationship Between Lux, Lumen and Watt (Tachyon) | https://tachyonlight.com/the-relation...
Infrared and skin: Friend or foe (J of Photochemistry...) | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...
Melatonin as a potential anticarcinogen for non-small-cell lung cancer (Oncotarget) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27102...
The efficacy of light therapy in the treatment of mood disorders (AJP) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15800...
Adj. Bright Light Therapy for Bipolar Depression (AJP) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28969...
Effects of artificial dawn on subjective ratings of sleep inertia and dim light melatonin onset (Chronobiology Int) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20653...
Effects of Artificial Dawn and Morning Blue Light... (Chronobiology Int) | https://www.researchgate.net/publicat...
Circadian rhythms in the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (MCE) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21782...
Reduced cancer incidence among the blind (Epidem) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9730026/
Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep (PNAS) | https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/112...
Ocular input for human melatonin regulation (NEL) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12163...
Melatonin and the Optics of the Human Body (Melatonin) | https://www.melatonin-research.net/in...
Melatonin in Mitochondria (APS) | https://journals.physiology.org/doi/f...
Opportunities.. of Fluorescent Carbon Dots (CPD) | https://www.researchgate.net/publicat...
The health benefits of the great outdoors (Environ) | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Interplay between up-regulation of cytochrome-c-oxidase (Nature) | https://www.nature.com/articles/srep3...
Red/Near Infrared Light Stimulates Release of an Endothelium Dependent Vasodilator (FRBM) | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Effect of daylighting on student health (CMSE) | http://www.wseas.us/e-library/confere...
Shining the Light on Sunshine (Clinical Endo) | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/f...
Associations of Outdoor Temperature (JCEM) | https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article...
Relationship between sun exposure and melanoma risk (EJC) | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...l.
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