In this article, we'll explore how red light therapy can help boost the immune system.
The BIOMAX panels provide robust red light treatment with the added benefits of new blue light traces that work together synergistically.
The SaunaMAX Pro is also available, with the same therapeutic wavelengths.
Read on to learn more about how the immune systems works and how red light therapy may be able to help.
Supporting the Immune System with Light Therapy
Much like a plant, the human body reacts positively to light. When the skin comes into contact with light, it absorbs energy, providing your body with a variety of benefits.
Red light at specific wavelengths can provide supplementary deep tissue benefits as a result of stimulating the mitochondria. The specific impact of light in general varies greatly, depending on the wavelength of light that is absorbed.
Direct sunlight exposure may be highly therapeutic for the skin and body in general. However, excessive exposure to the sun's UV rays can cause accelerated aging and even cancer. Other alternatives, such as green light, are not harmful, but also don’t provide any substantial benefit.
The trick to taking advantage of light exposure is to isolate the most helpful, but least harmful wavelengths. And that’s where red light therapy comes into play.
Red Light Therapy for The Immune System
One of the best things to boost your immune system is by staying at home and being shimmered on by red light therapy.
The body responds beneficially to red light by creating more energy at the cellular level (much like photosynthesis in plants). Red light therapy uses high-power LEDs to saturate your body with specific wavelengths of light between 630 and 700 nanometers.
The wavelength you use is important, because each one penetrates your body to a different degree. Green or blue light, for example, only penetrate the uppermost layers of your skin, while infrared can reach all the way to internal organs. Blue light therapy, nonetheless, has important applications like the treatment of acne.
LLLT penetrates the skin to a depth of 8-10 millimeters (⅓”). There, it interacts with mitochondria, which is the power generator of the human cell. This leads to a chain reaction and creates an abundance of benefits for the body, including:
Stimulation of the production of Adenosine Triphosphate. Typically, mitochondria convert food molecules into energy in the form of ATP. But red light boosts this performance, allowing cells to function more optimally, replicate successfully, and fight any infections.
Increase in the creation of new capillaries. Creating more capillaries improves blood flow throughout the body, which helps to bring nutrients to cells and remove cell-damaging toxic waste.
Reduction of cell apoptosis and improvement of cell proliferation and migration. Reduction of apoptosis means that more cells are available to educate immune cells in the thymus and the bone marrow. In effect teaching them to differentiate between the 'self' and foreign bodies.
Improvement of thyroid health. The thyroid hormones, specifically T(3) and T(4), are modulators of the immune response. Hypo hyperthyroid disorders adversely affect the activity of macrophages, leukocytes, natural killer cells, and lymphocytes. Restoring normal thyroid activity will positively affect the activity of these immune cells.
Red Light Therapy and Liver. Red light can help with liver regeneration, enabling the liver to 'sort' nutrients and toxins and determine which should be absorbed or eliminated.
Stimulation of the lymphatic system, which is critical for a strong immune system.
Activation of stem cells, which are then mobilized to become active in the immune response.
Decreased inflammation, which is a leading cause of autoimmune diseases.
Increased melatonin production to promote restful sleep.
Better moods. Depression, anxiety, and stress have been linked with low immune responses.
Coupled with these red light therapy benefits, and a few positive lifestyle changes, one can easily boost general health, and more specifically, the immune system.
How Does the Immune System Work?
The immune system’s job is to keep you healthy by preventing or limiting infection.
It does this by identifying and destroying harmful pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and more.
The key to this process is a cell’s ability to distinguish between normal, healthy cells and harmful microorganisms.
When harmful cells are identified, the body gets to work dispatching them using the warriors of the immune system. These are the white blood cells.
The Immune System Starts With White Blood Cells
White blood cells keep your body healthy and eliminate disease by attacking hostile and foreign pathogens in the body. A few of the most important varieties include the following:
NK cells target tumor cells and viruses by inserting a protein into them, destroying them completely. B cells create antibodies that bind to antigens to signal to other immune cells to destroy them.
T cells automatically destroy foreign or damaged cells. Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cells, which engulf and digest pathogens and cellular debris. Macrophages attack foreign substances, cancer cells, and infectious microbes.
Together, these cells create a formidable barrier against any disease or internal threat to your body. All other parts of your immune system--including the thymus, spleen, lymphatic system, and more--support the body by helping white blood cells function optimally.
The takeaway then is that in order for your immune system to stay strong, the body has to get healthy on a cellular level. Using red light therapy is a great way to support your cells.
There are so many things to boost up your immune system with, including diet and exercise.
There are a few key points laid out below to consider, that are really basic and can be implemented into your lifestyle without ease.
Start With a Healthy Lifestyle
Creating and living a healthy lifestyle starts with the basics: diet, exercise, sleep, and exercise. Of course, it’s also a good idea to avoid smoking, watch alcohol consumption, and wash your hands often. You can even take immune-boosting vitamins like Vitamin C.
Overall, it’s important to make sure your body has everything it needs to stay healthy. Once you have this solid base in place, consider giving your immune system a boost using cutting edge technology, such as red light therapy.
The Power of Near-Infrared Wavelengths
Red light therapy becomes especially potent when aided by near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. NIR includes light above 780nm and is powerful because it penetrates the body more deeply than alternatives. So while red light provides benefits at the deepest layers of your skin and muscle, near- and full-infrared rays can penetrate all the way to your inner organs, providing countless additional benefits.
At this deeper level, the same cellular regeneration process happens that is typical of red light, but with increased benefits for your liver, spleen, kidneys, and more. When you combine the two sets of wavelengths, the entire body is affected, not just the first few layers of skin, muscle, and organ tissue.
That’s why every light array at PlatinumLED is available with optional 830nm and 850nm wavelengths, depending on the specific model selected. Of all NIR wavelengths, these are the two with the most scientific research backing their use for a variety of applications, including immune system support.
LLLT Causes a Positive Chain Reaction
The immune system isn’t an isolated system. In fact, all bodily systems are closely interrelated and interdependent. Improvement in one will positively affect others, creating a chain reaction of beneficial activity.
Daily exposure to red light will help all of these interconnected systems by giving your body continued support on a cellular level. And when your cells are functioning optimally, your body can fight disease more effectively.
Other Benefits of Red Light
Red light affects the body from inside out. This means it starts in your cells, but quickly expands to all levels of your body, quite literally from your head to your toes.
For example, LLLT is rapidly becoming the go-to for many skin conditions including wrinkles, sun damage, acne, rosacea, psoriasis, hair loss, and other chronic and acute skin conditions. It can even be used to minimize the appearance of scars and to accelerate skin wound healing.
It’s helpful for athletes and chronic pain or arthritis sufferers, who need to recover quickly or boost the body’s natural healing process. Studies have shown red light therapy to be an effective aid for back pain, chronic pain, joint pain, and muscle recovery.
Better Health Through Red Light and Near-Infrared Light
On a final note, it’s worth mentioning that red light is even better when combined with near-infrared rays. The latter has amazing therapeutic effects on the immune system, and all layers of your skin, while near-infrared uses longer wavelengths of light to penetrate deeper into the body. This provides for more systemic healing throughout the body, effectively amplifying the effects of red light.
The combination of red light and NIR may be the best for boosting immune function, since it can penetrate to the liver as well as other organs. Again, facilitating an upward spiral of positive effects between the body’s systems.
The BIOMAX Series for Red Light Therapy
At PlatinumLED, we offer high quality LED devices with the highest power output and most advanced spectrum on the market.
The BIOMAX Series panels offer N+ and NIR+ red lights, as well as a new 480nm blue light trace that provides further synergistic benefits from treatment. Users can now also turn on and off specific wavelengths, for targeted treatment using panel controls or the professional touchscreen remote.
Take a closer look at the red light therapy panels for more information!