Optimizing Your Health & Longevity
“I'm the Founder and CEO of BioLight. I got my doctor of Physical Therapy in 2016. Shortly after that, I started my own private cash-based practice in Missoula, Montana, which I have quite a holistic approach as compared to an allopathic physical therapist. I am an expert in dry needling, I utilized cupping blood flow restriction training hyperbaric oxygen therapy, so it was during this process of picking up these holistic approaches that I read and came up on red light therapy. I read a couple books and I was pretty intrigued by the mechanisms of how Red Light therapy works, because there's a lot of parallels with dry needling as far as reducing inflammation improving circulation and I was just blown away at the research, because as you'll soon learn here, Red Light therapy can potentially help with a lot and during this presentation. I'll kind of explain how that's possible. What's important, is this is just a sampling of what is backed by research as far as the potential of Red Light therapy to heal pain, relief skin, exercise women's health and on and on.”
“When we're talking about Red Light therapy we've got to start with the mitochondria. The mitochondria are the powerhouses of our cells, they produce ATP which is our token of energy. There can be anywhere from hundreds to thousands to potentially tens of thousands of mitochondria per cell based on how much energy that cell has to take in. For example the most energy hungry organs or tissues are going to be most mitochondrial dense, such as the brain, the heart, skeletal, muscles, liver and the eyes. Interestingly you get your mitochondria from your mom from your grandma. If you want to know your potential health and longevity mitochondrial wise that you look at your mom, look at your grandma - that will give you a decent indication of your mitochondrial capacity, which can be changed for better or worse depending on your habits. The mitochondria produces about 95% of the body's energy, so darn near all of it and it comprises about 10 percent of your body weight. So we can say that tissue specific diseases can result from systemic energy deficits and that's important because the energy deficits are due to mitochondrial dysfunction. Said another way by Dr. Doug Wallace, who's considered the top mitochondrial researcher in the world, he's done over four decades worth so far he simply says that the more energy present in a cell the less disease state you have. Dr. Wallace: “About 80% of all diseases can be tied to mitochondrial dysfunction”
If you keep your mitochondria as healthy as possible, then you'll have healthy cells, healthy tissues, healthy organs and a healthy system. You know the little phrase of aging is dysfunctional mitochondria. On the flip side, if you have a healthier mitochondria, you have a healthier lifespan.
“On the mitochondria there's something called Cytochrome C Oxidase which is a chromophore or a photo acceptor. It's what takes in the light and gets excited and when that happens it dissociates nitric oxide which is typically bound so you get exposed to red and near infrared light, the nitric oxide is disassociated, meaning it's floating around in your blood which is how you get that vasodilation improvement in circulation. But maybe more importantly, when the nitric oxide dissociates from the Cytochrome C Oxidase, oxygen can now come in and help the mitochondria produce ATP whereas in a modern lifestyle without exposure to enough red and near infrared light and we're illuminated now the nitric oxide is staying bound to the Cytochrome C Oxidase, oxygen can thus not get in and help the mitochondria produce energy. And again back to Dr. Doug Wallace the more energy per cell the less disease state in that cell”
“Now we're going inside of the mitochondria, and this is extremely important if people want to understand how the Red Light therapy works. The electron transport chain inside of the mitochondria has five respiratory proteins. The entire purpose is to tunnel electrons through the electron transport chain because at the end of the tunnel you produce ATP and water.”
Electron Transport chain:
- Comprised of five respiratory proteins
- Entire purpose is to be electron tunnelers
- More electrons tunneled = more efficient ATP production
“There's something called The Mitochondrial Theory Of Aging which clearly states that while the mitochondria are the body's main source as a free radical, having excessive production of free radicals is linked to aging. Because those extra free radicals can damage the mitochondrial DNA which is much more vulnerable and easy to damage than our nuclear DNA. In that sense the mitochondria are our biological clock, the more functional, the more healthy you can keep them again should lead to a longer life span and health span. So it's that leakage that we're talking about with the respiratory proteins, that's going to cause that excessive increase in free radical production linked to aging. One last thing about science before we dig into the research, is redox potential and this is important because again we're going to talk about electrons everyone wants to have as robust of a net negative charge, or as robust of a redox potential as possible. The more redox potential you have, the more affinity for electrons you have because you want as many electrons running through that electron transport chain as possible to produce as much energy as possible. And when I'm talking about energy I'm not talking about caffeine, it's just the energy that biohacking your body requires to maintain homeostasis and stay healthy.”
Google Scholar Search of “PhotoBioModulation”:
- 1900 - 1950 = 7 research articles
- 1950 - 2000 = 370 research articles
- 2000 - 2010 = 2070 research articles
- 2010 - today = 11,500 research articles
Researches:
Anxiety & Depression:
“There is evidence of the existence of mitochondrial dysfunction in many psychological disorders and the importance of oxygenation for the correct functioning of the organism… PBM could be used in cases of autism, OCD, ADHD, panic attacks and claustrophobia.”
Eye Health:
“Taken as a whole, these studies in experimental models of retinal and optic nerve injury and disease show that far-red and near-infrared RLT improves mitochondrial function, reduces oxidative stress and modulates inflammatory mediators, leading to decreased apoptosis and neuroprotection.”
Fat Loss:
"A group of 20 women riding stationary bicycles three times per week for four weeks while being exposed to near-infrared (NIR) lost an average of 444% more fat as compared to 20 women doing the same exercise without NIR.”
Gut Health:
“PBM (red & NIR light) delivered to the abdomen in mice, can alter the gut microbiome in a potentially beneficial way. This has also now been demonstrated in human subjects.”
“Our data indicate that gf-targeted PBM regulates the diversity of intestinal flora, which may improve damage caused by AD. Gf-targeted PBM has the potential to be a noninvasive microflora regulation method for AD patients.”
Oral Health:
“This study compared low level laser and fluoride therapy and observed complete resolution of pain achieved in 86.67% of the laser-treated group, compared to 26.67% of the control group with topical fluoride treatment.”
“Researchers have shown that the use of the diode lasers at wavelengths in the visible & NIR regions may lead to an increase in the resistance of teeth against demineralization (enamel erosion).”
"LLLT has an inhibitory effect on typical oral microbial biofilms, and this capacity can be altered according to the interactions between different species."
“Based on the results of the current systematic review, it may be suggested that the application of PBM is a beneficial adjunct to promote secondary intention wound healing in periodontal soft tissue surgeries.”
Pain:
"This meta-analysis presents evidence that LLLT is an effective treatment modality to reduce pain in adult patients with musculoskeletal disorders."
"The overall positive short-term clinical studies in addition to strong laboratory studies should give the clinical confidence that LLLT may be beneficial for many individuals suffering from musculoskeletal pain, regardless of the cause."
“Everything on that little honeycomb is backed by research and that's not comprehensive, that's just what I could throw on the screen, but Red Light therapy is backed by research, to help with all those types of things: headache and migraines, osteoarthritis, neck pain, plantar fasciitis, low back pain, rotator cuff. Red Light therapy can help the jaw tendinopathy, post surgical pain that did not work, knee pain, hip pain acute and chronic. That's pretty interesting because again chronic is notoriously difficult to treat but Red Light therapy can do this.”
Skin Health:
"LED (lights)…has been shown to be effective for improving wrinkles and skin laxity… Among patients who received LED photo-rejuvenation, 90% reported that they observed a softening of skin texture and a reduction in roughness and fine lines...”
Sleep:
"A review of the literature suggests that not only retinal, but also whole body and intranasal irradiation with red light leads to a notable increase in serum melatonin levels in humans."
“Extrapineal tissues include: the brain, retina, lens, cochlea, Harderian gland, airway epithelium, skin, gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidney, thyroid, pancreas, thymus, spleen, immune system cells, carotid body, reproductive tract, and endothelial cells.”
Thyroid Health:
“A 2014 study with 347 women with subclinical hypothyroidism received 10 RLT sessions. At baseline, the average TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was 9.1mIU/L (higher TSH = hypothyroidism). The TSH normalized in 97% of the women in the study, with an average TSH of 2.2 mIU/L, after only ten RLT sessions.”
“A 2013 RCT demonstrated that hypothyroid patients who received infrared light therapy had a dramatic improvement in their thyroid function and an immense reduction in the thyroid antibody TPOAb. Shockingly, 47% of the patients were able to stop medication completely!”
How To Use Red Light therapy To Optimize Health & Longevity
- Use 5 - 20 min. most days of the week
- More frequently during days or times of the year where you don’t get as much sunlight exposure
- Full-body treatments are superior
Stack with:
- Exercise, fasting or exercise + fasting
- Breathing/meditation
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
- Vibration plate
Boost with:
- α-lipoic acid
- Astaxanthin
- Carnosine
- Chlorophyll
- CoQ10
- Curcumin
- NAD+/NMN/NR
- Quercetin
- Resveratrol/Pterostilbene
Considering everything we just talked about about the mitochondria, how they produce all the energy 95 % of the energy in the body.
If you want to dig a little deeper or just learn more about the potential of Red Light therapy, I developed an e-book which the first half of the e-book it's about 100 pages now, but the first half is just more information about Red Light therapy some global information, some good tips on how to treat with RLT then the second half of the book is more digging into individual topics like anxiety boosting your immune system, exercise, each section has some nice information research and then a specific protocol I've developed based on the research that's out there so for people looking for specific protocols for skin health or if they're treating pain that's a pretty decent resource. I also started a podcast earlier this year where I try to talk about Red Light therapy whether it's with my solos or I bring on experts in the health wellness and longevity biohacking arenas, and we talk about a lot of fun topics including Red Light therapy.
But just remember, treat your mitochondria well, get electrons by feeding them with some light whether it's the sunlight or Red Light therapy treat your mitochondria well and you'll be doing pretty well so appreciate your time.
BiohackingCongress Team is very grateful to Dr. Mike Belkowski, PT, DPT, CIDN, CMP, CSCS, Founder and CEO BioLight for joining the biohacking conference and giving an incredible lecture.
If you want to try Red Light Therapy by BioLight with a discount, go to the Top Biohacks section
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Based on the lecture by Dr. Mike Belkowski, PT, DPT, CIDN, CMP, CSCS
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