This is a bold statement coming from a nutritionist!
After my own health crisis as a result of cancer, I chose to let go of everything I’d been taught and/or believed and with a healthy dose of curiosity and open-mindedness I spent six months digging for truth and searching for the most impactful things we should know for health. In the end, I had no choice but to come to this conclusion.
In this article I explain why food isn’t the #1 input for health. Don’t get me wrong, nutrition is VERY important, but it doesn’t hold that top spot like so many in the alternative, functional, and nutrition spaces like to claim.
For any who are striving to achieve wellness, it can feel extremely confusing and often overwhelming when searching for answers or a way forward, and this is especially true in the world of nutrition.
Why do so many struggle to achieve health through nutrition? There are several reasons – some of which may include:
The individual’s inner beliefs, thoughts, mindset, past trauma, and/or willpower
Trying a fad diet that works for someone else but will not work for them
Budget, time, and/or not knowing how to cook healthy foods
Not understanding the key principles of healthy nutrition
Confusion around the often-conflicting information that is out there
All of the above reasons are challenging enough, yet there is another reason that most don’t consider, and it is one that most aren’t even aware that they should consider – and that is that the root of their issue may be primarily due to something else in their environment – and today I will be focusing on the most important of these – the light environment.
Our environment determines our biological function – and quantum science is now showing that light is one of the most important environmental factors for determining our success or failure in achieving wellness and the life of vitality most are seeking.
I’ll say that again in a simpler fashion:
Light is one of the most fundamental environmental inputs we need to consider for our health.
Imbalanced light environments and inputs have been implicated in mitochondrial dysfunction, metabolic disorders, obesity, neurodegeneration, and even cancer.
Science is finally beginning to scratch the surface of what Nature has always known – and there is still much we don’t know, but all we can do is work with what we have in any given moment.
This article will provide:
A brief introduction to the different light sources in your environment – both natural and artificial.
A few of the many ways that light interacts with your biology and how it can impact your health.
Action steps you can take to bring more balance into your light environment for healing and protection against the more damaging aspects of artificial lighting.
What is light?
Light is a form of electromagnetic energy, and we typically think of visible light (the light we can see) when we describe light.
There are also wavelengths of light we can’t see, and these fall outside of the visible spectrum. These different wavelengths of light (visible and invisible) have different levels of energy and different wavelengths – which changes how the light interacts with matter and with our biology.
The balance of the different light frequencies we receive as inputs, and when we receive those specific frequencies is critical to the optimal functioning of our hormonal, metabolic, neurological, immune, and mental systems.
The sun and the changing frequencies it emits throughout the day all serve a biological function for us… balanced light exposure is one of the most fundamental laws of Nature. It is when we break this law that things become imbalanced in our system.
Artificial lighting is a key driver in this imbalance because it emits too much light in certain frequencies, which we can become exposed to at the wrong times of day.
The average American spends 93% of their time indoors behind glass windows and under artificial lighting – 87% in buildings and 6% in vehicles. Additionally, we spend a lot of time actively doing things to prevent sun exposure when we are outdoors (sunglasses, clothing, sunscreens). These behaviors cause a mismatch in our biological clock and prevent us from receiving most of the beneficial and healing aspects of sunlight. We’ll get into this later, but it isn’t just about Vitamin D – in fact that isn’t even the most important aspect of sunlight.
Our bodies are beautifully designed to thrive and live harmoniously in and with Nature – as long as we follow Nature’s Laws. We humans are the only mammals on the planet who consistently break many of these laws… and we suffer for it. ~ Amy Stafford
Just like everything else in nature, we are designed to incorporate sunlight in a balanced way. Too much or too little sun can be harmful, just as it is with water, exercise, stress, food, etc.
There is a healthy way to get sunlight, and an unhealthy way. The healthy approach involves getting AM (sunrise) and PM (sunset) sunlight while being mindful of your exposure to midday sun – which you need, just in moderate doses. Animals in nature know this. You will frequently see them most active at dawn and dusk, while during the hottest parts of the day they can be found in the shade.
Nature’s light is dynamic and the different frequencies shift throughout the day and through the seasons. Our biology is designed to respond to and utilize those frequencies in the balance provided, when they are provided.
The light in our environment.
Sunlight.
This is the most obvious light source in our world, and most may understand its importance to life on earth – whether for photosynthesis, warming our atmosphere, or creating light during the day.
The sun provides all of the frequencies of light that we need, WHEN we need them, and these wavelengths of light trigger key rhythms and systems in our body.
Natural sunlight contains different wavelengths: UV, Visible, and Infrared.
Ultraviolet (UV) – only approximately 3-7% of the light emitted from the sun reaches earth, and thus us.
UVC – stays up in atmosphere and doesn’t reach earth; harmful to humans and life on earth
UVB – only when sun is directly overhead, and not present during winter at higher latitudes unless you are above 5000 feet elevation; can be harmful when isolated or if we receive too much to where we burn. Any DNA changes or oxidative stress (all necessary aspects of its biological influence) are mitigated with the exposure to infrared light and by the creation of several compounds which include vitamin D, melanin, melatonin, and other protective and essential compounds.
UVA – available from mid to late morning through to early evening. Releases nitric oxide into blood stream. This becomes problematic when you don’t also receive enough infrared light because NO blocks the mitochondrial respiration from occurring (metabolism) – but infrared light will release it and free up ATP production.
Visible (VIS) – 39 to 43% of the light emitted from the sun – the colors of violet, blue, green, yellow, red, etc. The primary colors of note are blue light and red light – which are both very biologically active.
Near and Far Infrared (NIR and FIR) - 52-55% of the light emitted from the sun. IR light is a very healing light and this is why it is present in such a high amount in sunlight.
Glass windows block sunlight. Visible light can get through (so blue and green light with some yellow and red), but the glass blocks UV and most infrared light. Ambient light (sunlight through glass windows), even though imbalanced, is still the best option for indoor lighting during the day.
Artificial indoor lighting.
This lighting is very imbalanced because it emits a very concentrated amount of blue and green light, Some emit UV, yet most emit zero infrared light. Only incandescent bulbs or red bulbs emit light in the IR spectrum.
Not all indoor lighting is the same, so I will break it down by key types (and the different wavelengths of light they provide).
Incandescent light bulb. These offer a fuller spectrum of warm light which does provide some IR light, but they also emit some UV. Used at the wrong time of day they will interfere with your biology, especially when used at night. Although they are better than LED or fluorescent lights due to the fuller spectrum of light they emit, they should still be used primarily during the daytime when needed.
Fluorescent light. This is the worst for your health with its focused blue and green wavelengths on top of the flickering it does when on. Some fluorescent bulbs have also been known to emit appreciable levels of UV wavelengths as well. These are harmful even during the day, and even more so in the evening and at night.
CFL – energy saving bulbs, and commonly found in stores today. In addition to blue and green light waves, they have been found to emit appreciable levels of UVA, UVB and even some UVC. Additionally, they contain mercury creating a dangerous situation were they to break. They also emit a lot of EMF radiation which has other biological effects. These are harmful even during the day, and even more so in the evening and at night.
LED lighting – LED comes in different “tones” or “temperatures” of light – from warm to cool. While they are all too heavily concentrated with blue light, it is worse in LED bulbs in the cooler tones. These are harmful even during the day, and even more so in the evening and at night. Try to find bulbs in the warmer tones and use sparingly.
Halogen. This is the most harmful light when not covered with glass. These bulbs emit significant levels of UVA, UVB, and even UVC (which isn’t found down here close to earth and is very harmful). At a distance of 10 cm, a 100 Watt quartz halogen bulb can cause a sunburn in just fifteen minutes.
Candlelight or gas lanterns. This is a warm light that doesn’t interfere with our biology, and in some ways can help it.
Firelight from a fireplace or camp fire. This is a warm natural light that doesn’t interfere with our biology and can be helpful with its red and infrared wavelengths of light.
Red Himalayan Salt lamps also tend to give off a very warm color in the reddish tones, which will not interfere with your biology and are a good option for evening lighting in your home or office. They also come with other benefits which is a bonus.
Light from the screen on our phones, tablets and computers.
We all use cell phones and computers these days. The light that these devices emit when in standard daytime mode are heavily concentrated in the blue and green light spectrum. As I will show in the next section, this concentration of blue and green light can cause a cascade of damage, and lead to what is known as blue light toxicity. This not only damages the eyes (especially in children), but also has been correlated with weight gain and obesity, thyroid issues, mitochondrial dysfunction, cancer, brain dysfunction, and more. Use of these at night cause even further damage by disrupting our circadian rhythms and also interfering with sleep.
There are steps you can take on your devices in your workplace and home to mitigate and prevent these from having such a powerful impact, and I go into this at the end of the article.
How light dictates our biology.
Photobiomodulation, photoendocrinology, chromofores, light antennas, opsins, and more … these are likely terms that very few have heard of, much less understand. This is the world of quantum physics and quantum biology – where light, water, and electromagnetic fields intersect and drive our biological functions. (Notice food is missing from this list? That is because food in this world is simply a donor of electrons, protons, and photons needed to drive energy creation and movement – and it is the quality of those electrons, protons, and photons that ultimately matter – more on this in a future course.)
For the sake of brevity, in this article I will only touch on five of the ways in which light frequencies impact our biology:
1. Circadian Rhythm and our Master Clock.
The different frequencies of sunlight hitting our eye calibrate our Master Clock to our environment. This clock, the SCN found in the hypothalamus, drives the peripheral clocks found within each of our cells, and coordinates the complicated symphony of hormones, neurotransmitters, and biochemical actions in our body. This is also known as our Circadian Rhythm. This drives how our body chooses to utilize the food we eat (which is in part why I have concluded that food isn’t the primary input for health).
This rhythm is linked to metabolism regulating hormones, energy regulating hormones, appetite regulating hormones, sleep and rejuvenation, autophagy (which helps prevent cancer), alertness, mood, mental acuity, stress and youth hormones, and mitochondrial health.
Our sleep/awake cycles are driven primarily by exposing our eyes to bright light in the morning. Natural sunlight is more intense than any light coming through windows – by a factor of at least 20. We need this intense light hitting our eyes in the morning and throughout the day to establish in our system that it is time to wake up and get moving. This increases our cortisol (action hormone) and turns off secretion of melatonin (sleep hormone). When sunlight becomes more red in the evening, our body receives the signal that it is time to begin the process of releasing melatonin (among other things) in preparation for sleeping and the healing and regeneration that happens at night.
Blue light exposure in the evening from indoor lighting or our screens significantly lowers circulatory melatonin (by up to 80%!) and creates a mismatch in our master clock which will cause issues with sleep (insomnia or lack of quality rest) and drastically disrupt our circadian biology which drives inflammation, oxidative stress, and metabolic dysfunction. Blue light also raises cortisol and ACTH (hormones that tell your body it’s time for action – not something we want at night).
2. The UVB wavelength of sunlight uses the cholesterol in our skin to synthesize sulfated Vitamin D – which not only enters our circulatory system to become the standard 25(OH)D that everyone is familiar with on blood tests, but some of this vitamin D also stays on location and protects the skin from UV damage. Without the sun, our skin doesn’t make this sulfated form of vitamin D, and supplements do very little to provide skin protection from UV damage, if any at all. Additionally, relying too heavily on vitamin D supplementation can drive up your LDL numbers which is bad for your heart health…
3. UVA light releases Nitric Oxide (NO) into our bloodstream – this increases blood flow to the surface of your skin preparing it for UVB exposure; NO also protects your heart and lowers your blood pressure; and also benefits metabolism, immunity, cellular function, and has antimicrobial and anticancer effects. A problem occurs when we receive this UVA light from indoor lighting (such as a halogen, CFL or a fluorescent bulb) on a consistent basis without any infrared light from the sun – or when we receive it from the sun without getting that AM sun exposure full of infrared light. This imbalance will disturb cellular metabolism by shunting ATP production, causing oxidative stress, and more.
4. Infrared Light:
The Near Infrared (NIR) wavelengths in sunlight trigger production of melatonin in our mitochondria. This is different than the melatonin created in our pineal gland that enters our circulation at night to help us sleep, and is a newer scientific discovery. Supplementing with melatonin does not do a good job of helping protect the mitochondria – it mostly increases and replaces the circulatory levels that our cells grab when we don’t get enough sunlight.
Melatonin is THE MOST POWERFUL antioxidant in our body – it drives another critical antioxidant, glutathione and also plays a critical role in keeping our mitochondria healthy – and since mitochondrial function is at the root of ALL disease this is critical to well-being. No amount of supplementation of any antioxidant can match the power of what this hormone does for our health, and we need infrared wavelengths to do this – ideally from sunlight.
Far Infrared Light (FIR) has been shown to help regulate blood pressure, improve depression, help with microcirculation, help with formation of new blood vessels, wound healing, and more.
5. Concentrated blue light exposure
This is toxic to our eyes and is a known cause of myopia (needing glasses), cataracts, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. It damages the retina, the cornea, and the Muller cells in the eye. (Children are more susceptible to this)
It also has the capacity to damage mitochondrial DNA when the other light frequencies (specifically infrared) are not present or if we get too much of a concentrated dose.
It lowers our dopamine levels driving up depression and anxiety - and can also drive addiction to screen use.
It lowers the amount of gray matter in children (brain).
It causes an increase in our stress hormones (since it is seen as an environmental stressor).
Things I did not go into here are the many ways that sunlight drives our metabolism, our appetite, many of our neurotransmitters in the brain, our reproductive hormones, and more. These will be covered in depth in an upcoming course on our Circadian Rhythm.
Action steps you can take to balance your light exposure which will protect your Circadian Rhythm and Mitochondria.
Get AM sunlight within 30 minutes of waking (ideally as close to sunrise as possible). On a bright sunny day, you only need about a minute of exposure (bright light hitting your eyes and skin – DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN) to trigger your master clock. On very cloudy days you may need 20-30 minutes for this to take effect. (Trying this indoors behind glass windows doesn’t work – it will take up to 50x longer for you to get the same affect). For full benefit of this AM exposure – 30+ minutes while grounding (barefoot on the earth) is ideal.
Do not wear sunglasses, glasses, or contacts during this exposure. Expose as much of your skin as possible for the blue light to kick start your circadian clock. NIR light waves can penetrate through clothing and deep into your body (which is how it interacts within cellular mitochondria).
Biohack for when you can't get actual sunsine: Sunbox exposure within 12-18” of the box for 15-20 minutes in the morning will work. The downside of this approach is that you won’t be getting any of that extremely beneficial and protective infrared light that comes with AM sunlight. To get that you need a red light device – either a Space Sauna lamp or a JOOVV box - both of which are mentioned later in this article.
Manage light during the day.
Set all of your screens to be at least partially in nighttime mode (even during the day) to balance out the toxic exposure to intense blue light (which remember damages your eyes and increases cortisol).
Get blue light screen blockers for monitors and device screens. EyeJust Blue Light Blocking Screen Protectors
Avoid working under bright fluorescent or LED lighting during the day. Ideal would be ambient lighting coming through the windows, and if you need some light at your desk than a smaller lamp with incandescent or a warm LED light would be best.
Wear daytime blue light blocking glasses when working on your computer.
Get outside into the sunlight (without sunglasses) at least twice during the day for 10 minutes or so. If you can do this and expose skin as well that is even better. We need to use the summer sun (safely) to build up our vitamin D store in preparation for winter. Sunscreens and clothing block the UV rays we need for our body to do this. Working inside all day also doesn’t allow us to do this – and supplements aren’t an ideal solution.
Manage PM light exposures. Knowing how critical our circadian rhythm and sleep are to our health and how tech-heavy our world is today, this step is not only challenging, but critical.
Taking a sunset walk is ideal (within an hour or so of sunset).
Do not use any overhead LED, compact fluorescent, or bright incandescent bulbs after sunset. If you do need to light your space, choose dimmer incandescent bulbs that are lower to the ground (put a table lamp on the floor, use nightlight, etc), use candlelight style lighting, Himalayan salt lamps, or firelight.
Have a nightlight in your bathrooms so you can avoid turning on the lights when needing to use them in the evening or during the night. Same goes for your kitchen. Avoid turning on any overhead lighting in the evening if possible.
Ideally, you would discontinue use of screens after sunset and/or within 2 hours of bedtime (4 is more ideal but not practical for most).
If you need to work late or use screens in the evening, this is when it is critical to block that blue light with glasses (and these will be more deep yellow or red when using in the evening to ensure more complete blockage). It takes VERY LITTLE exposure to blue light in the evening to drastically reduce melatonin – even a small little LED power light can be enough to have an impact. Blue and Green Light Blocking Safety Glasses for Deep Sleep – SafetyBlue™ (safetyblueblockers.com) (no affiliation or financial incentive)
If you want to read at night, a book with a small booklight is best and has very little impact on your melatonin levels. If you prefer an e-reader, use blue light blocking glasses and keep the screen as dim as possible and set to night mode, but understand you are still getting some exposure and if you struggle with insomnia this will have a negative impact on your ability to get to sleep.
Get near-infrared light to drive melatonin production in your mitochondria:
Ideally it comes from the sun, but we all know this isn’t always possible. There are other ways we can bring this light into our life:
Infrared Sauna use (need to be sure it is full spectrum – many on the market are far-infrared only which does nothing for melatonin production in our mitochondria)
Red light therapy –
The key with red light therapy is that the benefits come in a u-shaped curved. Optimal exposure (total time) is about 15-20 minutes. Any more than this and you lose effectiveness. Too much and you can begin to cause harm.
Ideal times to use it are in the morning and in the evening. Evening use helps to contribute to better sleep.
Don’t use every day.
If using twice on the days you’re using it, you will need at least 6 hours in-between the two sessions.
You will typically move the light around to focus on different areas of your body. Definitely want some focus on your abdomen, chest and neck areas. Infrared light benefits the microbiome in your gut, heals the mitochondria around your heart, and is beneficial for your thyroid. Other than that, you can also use on any areas where it is sore or needs healing.
More information and recommended red light therapy products (we have no affiliation nor financial incentive for sharing):
SAUNASPACE VS JOOVV – Brian Richards Blog "The WaveLength" Powered by SaunaSpace
Sauna Space has a full spectrum bulb you can purchase separately, Photon Infrared Therapy Light | EMF-Free | SaunaSpace. (I have this one and can say without a doubt that it is effective).
This is a complex topic, and impossible to describe in depth in a single article, yet I hope I was able to describe why this environmental input is so important to health. I wasn't able to touch on all of the relevant reasons - how it interacts with our hormones and neurotransmitters being a couple of bigger ones, but these will be touched on in later articles and/or in upcoming courses.
Below is a brief list of a few of the reasons why I believe it to be in the #1 spot, above nutrition:
The light we are exposed to drives our metabolic hormones and biochemical energy producing systems - which means that it is light that determines HOW our food will be used. Light exposures play a huge role in weight management, diabetes and blood sugar management, our thyroid, and more. Could it be that your light environment is why you struggle to lose weight? It probably plays a significant role.
One well-known reason for eating is so that we can have energy - yet our energy producing engines (our mitochondria) can only function optimally when we are receiving proper sunlight exposures. When we aren't receiving proper levels of healthy sunlight, the food we eat can cause oxidative damage at a cellular level - even if it is healthy food.
Melatonin being the most powerful antioxidant in our body, and the fact that it's production is driven by NIR wavelengths in sunlight, speaks volumes. We sit here and try to get optimal antioxidants through diet and supplementation - but when we don't address this key antioxidant in our mitochondria, we will still be at risk for diseases like cancer.
Food isn't a primary driver of our biological clock (the conductor of our complex systems) - light is.
We often are driven to eat more by stress or emotion (which are often caused by neurotransmitter imbalances). Imbalanced light causes these neurotransmitter imbalances, which has an enormous impact on how well we can commit to a healthier lifestyle.
If you want to learn more on this topic, here are a few videos I can recommend that do a decent job of explaining some of the concepts:
Stay tuned for more on this topic in our upcoming courses where we will dive deep into our Circadian Rhythm, our mitochondria, and more.
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