Category Archives: light

Vitamin D Day of Seasonal Change

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SunWinter in the northern latitudes can be daunting. It is a time when there are more colds and flu. Also, there are many other diseases that take advantage of our reduced immunity during the winter. Chronic disease can make you very painful during the winter. Of course, going into the sun always makes us feel better. But why?

There are so many reactions of our body to the sun. However, since the 1960s, dermatologists have been tricked into constantly screaming about the dangers of the sun. We know that it makes us feel better, but what about our medical industry telling us otherwise? It is a difficult problem to sort out. Do the advantages of sun exposure outweigh the dangers. The answer is a resounding yes.

November second has been declared Vitamin D Day by the Vitamin D Council, Grassroots Health, and the Vitamin D Society. This has been done to promote the understanding of vitamin D and to encourage the use of supplementation during the winter months in the northern hemisphere. Also, to use exposure to full spectrum sunlight when possible. Here is a link to an informational page: http://www.vitamindday.net/

The question of whether to enjoy the sun without fear of causing cancer has become a ridiculous sidetrack in modern medicine. All the energy that is beneficial to our wellbeing comes from the sun. Whether it is the food we eat, products made from plants that are useful like furniture, or the chemical and thermal reactions in our body. Overexposure to anything can be dangerous, but are you going to stop driving your car because you might die in a car accident? Are you going to stop drinking water because overconsumption can dilute out your electrolytes and cause your heart to stop? Wear your seat belt, don’t spend time in the sun without sunscreen, and don’t drink too much water are all the same ilk. It is about the benefit of action versus the risk. Unfortunately, fear can make you have a very unhealthy life if it is over expressed.

Dermatologists are medical professionals specializing in the largest organ of the body. You would think that they would encourage the benefits as well as tell us about the dangers. The dangers have been overexpressed and the benefits not expressed enough regarding sun exposure. So, what are the benefits of sun exposure? There are many healing compounds that are made in the skin. Vitamin D is just the beginning as there are a host of sterols produced with ultraviolet light (UV) exposure that have significant action in our body. Not only was vitamin D discovered from UV exposure, there are many intermediate molecules that are generated. I suspect there are compounds that are beneficial to health from full spectrum sunlight that have not been identified. One area that does not have much study is the conversion of molecular sulfate esters and sterols during sun exposure (If health researchers want an exciting area of study, this is it).

On the other side of the visual spectrum from UV is near infrared light. The science being discovered about how near infrared light improves our health is amazing. To understand, think how good the warmth of sunlight makes you feel on a cold autumn day. It is not just the heat. It is the biological action that takes place in our body. We have discovered that near infrared improves wound healing, shrinks tumors, improves neurological health, increases cellular energy, detoxifies our bodies, and reduces pain.

With so many health benefits, why would you not want to go into sunlight? Is the increase of melanoma that parallels the increase of sunscreen a coincidence? Have our professionals created unintended consequences by inducing fear of cancer from sun exposure? Am I a voice in the wilderness telling you there is health in the sunlight? Medical science changes more than the seasons as it is an art. Let’s celebrate more than vitamin D Day. Let’s celebrate health from the sun. As for me, I’m going to spend time in the sun on this beautiful autumn day. –Pandemic Survivor

Healing with Infrared Light

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SunI have truly been amazed at the healing power of infrared light. It is not that I have some special coherent light device made with the technology of LEDs. It is just a plain ole heat lamp otherwise known as a brooder lamp for raising chicks. I wrote about the use of near infrared for healing back pain. In that article, I gave you links to the science of how it works and how to use the light. I believe the major benefit is adding cellular energy (ATP) to allow the natural healing processes to take place quicker. Here are three brief stories that I have seen firsthand with use infrared.

I had sprained my right wrist very severally.  I was not able to bend my hand passed vertical to my arm.  Normally a sprain like this would take days or weeks to heal.  I exposed the hand and wrist to the infrared light for about twenty minutes.  I held it close enough that I could feel the heat but not close enough to burn. During the exposure, a bright red line developed between my hand and wrist where the tissue had torn.  There was also a red spot that developed further up my wrist that was about an inch in diameter. I assumed this was injured tissue. The next morning I was able to have full use of my hand, but the wrist was still sore. By the second day, there was no indication of injury at all or the use of my hand had returned to normal.

I regularly have coffee in the morning, after spending an hour at the gym, with the folks at McDonalds. A welder sometimes joins us before he goes out for his work day.  He came in one morning with a limp. I asked what was wrong.  He described a knee injury. His doctor told him to stay out of work for two weeks to allow it to heal.  I suggested that he try the light.  ir-light-setuprHe told me that he had lots of this type of heat lamp as sometimes he used it to preheat the metal before welding. Two days later, he came in for coffee and was very excited. He said he was going back to work. He described his knee as no pain and normal function.

A family member had hernia surgery several months ago. He did not rest after the surgery to allow the wound to properly heal. He has a significant amount of scar tissue. If he stays on his feet for any length of time, he starts having severe pain. This happen recently during a visit with him. He had come back from our event for the afternoon and retired to his easy chair with a blanket pulled over this body. I went to the local Ace Hardware store and got a 250-watt heat lamp. I was amazed at the selection of sizes–farm country. The bulb was a GE. GE has caught on to the use of the lamp. It had directions on the side of the box that said normal exposure for personal body use was 20 to 30 minutes.

He exposed the scar tissue for about twenty minutes. A couple of hours later, I noticed he was down in the floor playing with his children. I asked if his pain was better. I was amazed at his description. Now understand, he has had this pain problem for months. He described his pain as a seven before using the heat lamp. At two hours later, he described his pain as a one–amazing.

I really don’t have a clue as to how this works other than what I described in my opening. However, you can bet that I will have an infrared light for my aches, pains, and injuries.  Scaring us from the sun over the last fifty years has been a serious health error.  –Pandemic Survivor

LED Blue Light’s Cumulative Effect

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Damage to the eyes has a cumulative effect from light exposure. This has been demonstrated in the modern error by airplane pilots. After years of high altitude flight, it is not unusual for pilots to have eye damage. With constant exposure to welding arcs, eye damage to welders is also a concern. As we age, phototoxic exposure incidences accumulate.  Ultra-violet (UV) light damages the front of the eye and blue light damages the back of the eye.  The reason many of the names of eye diseases have the word age in them, like age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is from the cumulative effect over time.  Phototoxicity has several components: intensity, wavelength, and accumulated exposure.  One event of looking at an arc welder or one time in a tanning bed without any eye protection can be very damaging to the eyes. horse

Long term exposure to any toxicity can be damaging to health. Too much fluorine in the water over time, eating too much sugar and flour, drinking too much alcohol, not wearing your seat belt, teasing the neighbors pit bull, and other seemingly innocent behaviors will kill you given enough exposure. It is the identification of the exposure and risk versus reward that is difficult.  In the case of LEDs, there is such an advantage of power consumption; the people with control to make societal changes took the risk. After several decades of exposure to the Trojan Horse emitter of blue light, phototoxicity will eventually take your vision. The eye docs will tell you that it is just old age.  They have not considered the risk with the introduction of the pale blue horse. It is such a great thing to reduce power consumption and save you from sea level rise as the planet warms.  I say this is that stinky stuff falling out the back of the horse and money is king. 

It turns out that we have known about the dangers of too much exposure to blue light since the 1960s. Of course, we have known about too much exposure to UV light for much longer.  The electromagnetic spectrum is so interesting.  All the way from gamma-ray radiation to long radio waves for communication, the spectrum provides us many opportunities.  If you want to know more about light, I would suggest this lengthy article, Blue Light and Health. (You should just ignore his recipe of making blue blockers, but if you have the skill, enjoy.) Light is everywhere and does not appear to be an immediate threat, so just ignore the dangers, and ride the pale blue horse. After all, the LED has reduced the lighting cost of your monthly electric bill by ninety percent.  Surely that is worth the risk of blindness.  Our leaders seem to think that the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions to prevent sea level rise is more important than your eye sight. 

There are computer screens, cell phones, TVs, street lights, and now our general house lighting; all provides us with exposure to high energy blue light.  You should note here that many cities have reduced the amount of new LED street lights because it was affecting the sleep of its residents. Only by controlling your exposure will you be successful in protecting your eyes.  Of course, the simple thing to do is to wear blue blockers when inside.  However, with no blue light or too much blue light at the correct times of day, you may upset your circadian rhythms because of the lack of or over production of melatonin.  –Pandemic Survivor

Other Articles on Blue Light and Eye Damage (You must make up your own mind. When huge economic advantages are involved; individual health takes a back seat.)

Review of Optometry—The Low Down on Blue Light  https://www.reviewofoptometry.com/ce/the-lowdown-on-blue-light-good-vs-bad-and-its-connection-to-amd-109744
Prevent Blindness—Blue Light and Your Eyes  http://www.preventblindness.org/blue-light-and-your-eyes
Blue Light Exposed  http://www.bluelightexposed.com/#blue-light-and-macular-degeneration
UAB News—Debunking Digital Eyestrain and Blue Light Myths (of course, a university professor’s take) https://www.uab.edu/news/youcanuse/item/7258-debunking-digital-eyestrain-and-blue-light-myths