Ari Whitten wrote a great review of the mechanisms of action and the therapeutic benefits of red light therapy. His book is titled "The Ultimate Guide To Red Light Therapy".

It turns out that our mitochondria have photoreceptors that absorb specific frequencies of red and near-infrared light. This helps the body by a variety of mechanisms, including knocking nitric oxide (think of it as a blanket smothering a fire) off the mitochondria walls, which allows oxygen to rush in, and thus allowing the mitochondria to burn fuel more efficiently to make more ATP energy for the cell.

There are many studies showing strong evidence that using specific frequencies of red and near-infrared light can help with a multitude of conditions, including medical problems such as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, diabetes, hypothyroidism and infertility. It may also help with weight loss, decrease wrinkles and hair loss, reduce cellulite and scars, speed wound healing, reduce muscle and joint pain, reduce inflammation, improve eye health, combat depression and anxiety, improve cognitive performance, increase immunity etc.

It seems almost too good to be true, but when you think of how it helps your cells make more energy, it's easy to understand how that might translate into everything working better.

Treatment Recommendations

• To treat a spot that is bothering you (such as a joint like your knee, and organ like your liver or perhaps your scalp if there's hair loss), sit/lay/stand 6-12 inches away, starting with 1 minute every other day or every day, increasing to a max of 3.5 minutes 3-7 days a week.
• To treat your whole body, step back 24-36 inches away from the red light and allow it to shine on the majority of your unclothed body for 3-4 minutes on front and 3-4 minutes on back, again doing this 3-7 days a week. You can work up to 5-6 minutes per side if you tolerate it well. You can do this in a standing or lying position.

Very Important Warning

There is a sweet spot for treatment with red light. The maximum amount of time you should expose your body to this concentrated red light is 15-20 minutes a day. MORE IS NOT BETTER! There is a bell curve to the effect of light therapy - too little of a dose, and you get little to no results; however on the other hand if you get too much, it also seems to negate the positive effects.

Not all red light devices are created equal. If the specific frequency of light is off or if the intensity is too low, you will not get any benefit. For significant systemic issues such as profound fatigue or advanced Lyme, we offer medical grade light therapy at the office using our Photonx device, which delivers specific frequencies to the bloodstream through special probes that sit under the tongue.

For less advanced concerns, you can purchase your own home red light device, but be careful to choose a well made unit that has good research behind it. Ari Whitten examined a number of home red light units, and found 3 that rose to the top. They are:

• Red Rush360 by Red Therapy Co (https://redtherapy.co)
• Platinum Therapy Lights BIO-600 or BIO-300 (https://platinumtherapylights.com)
• Joovv Original or Joove Mini (https://joovv.com)

I checked with each company to see if they offer discounts for our patients. Red Therapy company does offer an affiliate program - our patients get $25 off the basic unit (and a little bit more off for the larger units), and our clinic receives a small remuneration for the time we take to educate our patients. Win, win! Go to https://bit.ly/2Pdf0yp and use coupon code Spero25 at checkout. :-)

We will be getting a unit at the clinic so you can try it out for free! You will not have immediate miracle with one treatment, but will at least know what to expect.