This week on On the way with Chom, we’re going to get to know red light, a miraculous light that doesn’t just slow down aging, but also revitalizes brain cells and stimulates life force! Discover the world of Red Light Therapy with “Dr. Dear Thoranas,” an internist passionate about future medical innovations, who will take you to understand every dimension of light therapy innovation, a health trend that is changing lives around the world.
Light Therapy (Light Therapy) History?
Dr. Dear: It has a long history of use since the Egyptian-Roman period. It began in the 1900s when light therapy was first introduced. It was discovered that UV light could stimulate the creation of vitamins and treat disease. It was developed continuously. In the 1960s, it began to be written about in more serious books. In the 2000s, Western scientists began to take more and more interest because they found that it could be used to treat many diseases.
Examples of using Light Therapy in Thailand?
Dr. Dear: Light Therapy has been used in Thailand for a long time. For example, about 50-60 years ago, the Tuberculosis Association used to treat tuberculosis by having patients lie in the sun and open windows to let in sunlight to receive UV light to stimulate the body to create vitamin D, which helps with treatment and makes patients stronger.
How was Red Light Therapy developed?
Dr. Dear: NASA, the United States, has developed Red Light Therapy since 1990. They studied using red light with plants in space and found that the plants grew. They also used red light to treat astronauts and found that wounds healed faster and tissues recovered better. They found that red light is useful in treating, healing, and restoring cells. The red light we are interested in is in the Visible Light group. In medicine, 5 main colors of light are used: blue, green, yellow, red, and infrared. Red Light Therapy currently has 2 main sources: lasers, which are amplified light, have direction, and can determine the intensity and depth, and LEDs, which are less intense and the light spreads out.
How is Red Light Therapy used in beauty and health care?
Dr. Dear: Red Light Therapy is used in many forms of beauty and health, such as using LED masks to nourish the face and using red light hats to stimulate new hair cell growth and reduce hair loss. The appropriate wavelength of Red Light Therapy is between 620-700 nanometers. If it exceeds 700 nanometers, it is classified as Near Infrared, which can penetrate deeper than other colors of light, approximately 5 centimeters from the skin layer. This deep penetration allows Near Infrared to be used to stimulate the brain. The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has approved approximately 5 uses: acne, muscle inflammation and arthritis, hair loss, and increasing blood flow to the treated organ, such as helping wounds heal faster.
What are the properties of each color of light used in therapy?
Dr. Dear: Blue light helps kill germs and reduce inflammation. Green light helps create Nitric oxide, which may help reduce blood pressure. Red light helps with anti-aging. White light and yellow light, similar to sunlight, help stimulate the body’s production of vitamin D. Infrared can reach a depth of about 5 centimeters, penetrating the brain. Therefore, it is used with Alzheimer’s patients, forgetfulness, and depression, to stimulate and restore inflamed or atrophied brain cells.
How does red light stimulate cell and mitochondria regeneration?
Dr. Dear: Mitochondria are responsible for creating energy called ATP. We eat food and it goes into the cell, synthesizing it from the mitochondria, creating energy. Red light causes it to release energy, similar to photosynthesis in plants where chlorophyll absorbs light. In humans, hemoglobin in red blood cells absorbs red light and sends it to every cell, making the mitochondria’s respiration process complete and creating more ATP energy.
How does this affect red light exposure today?
Dr. Dear: Currently, we don’t get enough red light because when we wake up in the morning and drive to the office, we don’t get sunlight, but we get blue light, which doesn’t help our health.
Can red light protect against UV damage?
Dr. Dear: Red Light Therapy can protect against UV light that can damage skin cells. Research has found that red light can stimulate skin cells to create energy and become stronger. Sunscreen will protect against UV but not red light.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of UV light?
Dr. Dear: UV light consists of both UVA and UVB, with UVB being the main cause of skin damage. When exposed to the right amount, UVB can help stimulate the production of vitamin D3 in the body.
How does light affect sleep and circadian rhythm?
Dr. Dear: Exposure to sunlight in the morning stimulates the pineal gland in the brain to produce the neurotransmitter serotonin, which causes a good mood and good mental health. Serotonin produced in the morning is stored and converted to melatonin at night, a hormone that helps with sleep.
How does it affect the amount of natural light received today?
Dr. Dear: Many people wake up early and tend to grab their phones and be exposed to blue light before getting sunlight. For those who cannot get enough natural sunlight, such as those who wake up early in the morning, there are synthetic sunlight devices that can help stimulate the body to be alert and create Serotonin. The best way is to open the window to receive sunlight in the morning for 10-20 minutes.
New research on Red Light Therapy?
Dr. Dear: Research on Longevity Medicine uses red light to delay aging and increase longevity. Currently, research abroad and medical studies are focusing on the cellular and molecular levels. Mitochondria Metabolic Therapy uses mitochondria as an important factor in maintaining our bodies. If our mitochondria are strong, it allows us to produce our energy even as we age.
What is the future trend of Red Light Therapy and the Anti-aging industry?
Dr. Dear: In the future, Red Light Therapy will become a household device that everyone can use. It will not be limited to clinics or spas. It will become a necessary gadget in our daily lives, like air purifiers or robot vacuum cleaners, to improve our quality of life. It depends on us being smart and choosing a reliable manufacturer that is right for us.
