By Dr. Mercola
Can light affect your health? In this interview, Dr. Alexander
Wunsch, a world class expert on photobiology, shares the hidden dangers
of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting that most people are completely
unaware of.
In fact, this could potentially be one of the most important video
interviews I've done, as it has enormous impacts — not only on
preventing blindness as you age but it is also a pervasive hidden risk
factor for sabotaging your health.
Largely as a result of energy efficiency, there's been a major
transition to using LED as a primary indoor light source. In this
regard, it worked like a charm, reducing energy requirements by as much
as 95 percent compared to incandescent thermal analog sources of
lighting.
However, the heat generated by incandescent light bulbs, which is
infrared radiation, is actually beneficial to your health, and hence
worth the extra cost.
There are major downsides to LEDs that are not fully appreciated. LED
lighting may actually be one of the most important, non-native EMF
radiation exposures you're exposed to on a daily basis.
If you chose to ignore these new insights, it can have very serious long-term ramifications. It could lead to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is the leading cause of blindness in the United States and elsewhere.
Other health problems rooted in mitochondrial dysfunction may also be
exacerbated, and these run the gamut from metabolic disorder to cancer.
What Is Light?
The definition of light, as applied to artificial light sources, is
rather distinct. Visible light is only between 400 nanometers (nm) and
780 nm, but "light" is actually more than just what your eye can
perceive. As explained by Wunsch:
"When we look at sunlight, we have a much broader spectral range,
from somewhere around 300 nm up to 2,000 nm or so. For our energy
efficiency calculation, it makes a big difference if we are talking
about this broad natural range or if we are only talking about … vision
performance
[T]he definition that we are only looking at the visible part of the spectrum [given in the 1930s] …
led to the development of energy-efficient light sources like the
fluorescent lamps or what we have nowadays, the LED light sources,
because they are only energy efficient as long as you take the visible
part of the spectrum [into account] … [F]or example, [lamps providing] phototherapy
with red light can be used in medical therapy to increase blood
circulation, and this is a part we are taking away as long as we only
look at the visible part.
Physicists think that infrared radiation is just thermal waste.
But from the viewpoint of a physician, this is absolutely not true; in
the last 30 years there have been hundreds of scientific papers
published on the beneficial aspects of a certain part in the spectrum,
which is called near-infrared or infrared-A."
What Makes Near-Infrared so Special?
You cannot feel near-infrared as heat, and you cannot see it, but it'
has a major beneficial impact in terms of health. Near-infrared is
what's missing in non-thermal artificial light sources like LED.
There's also a difference between analog and digital forms of light
sources, and this difference is another part of the complexity. In
essence, there are two separate but related issues: The analog versus
digital light source problem, and the spectral wavelength differences.
Starting with the latter, when you look at the rainbow spectrum, the
visible part of light ends in red. Infrared-A or near-infrared is the
beginning of the invisible light spectrum following red. This in turn is
followed by infrared-B (mid-infrared) and infrared-C (far-infrared).
While they cannot be seen, the mid- and far-infrared range can be
felt as heat. This does not apply to infrared-A, however, which has a
wavelength between 700 and 1,500 nm.
"Here you have only very low absorption by water molecules, and
this is the reason why radiation has a very high transmittance," Wunsch says. "In other words, it penetrates very deeply into your tissue, so
the energy distributes in a large tissue volume. This near-infrared A is
not heating up the tissue so you will not feel directly any effect of
heat. This significantly changes when we increase the wavelength, let's
say, to 2,000 nm. Here we are in the infrared-B range and this already
is felt as heat. And from 3,000 nm on to the longer wavelength, we have
almost full absorption, mainly by the water molecule, and this is [felt
as] heating."
Near-Infrared Is Critical for Mitochondrial and Eye Health
The near-infrared range affects your health in a number of important
ways. For example, it helps prime the cells in your retina for repair
and regenerate.
Since LEDs have virtually no infrared and an excess of blue light
that generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), this explains why LEDs are
so harmful for your eyes and overall health.
Chromophores are molecules that absorb light. There's an optical
tissue window that ranges from 600 to 1,400 nm, which means it is almost
completely covered by the infrared-A part of the spectrum. This optical
tissue window allows the radiation to penetrate several centimeters or
at least an inch or more into the tissue.
Chromophores are found in your mitochondria and in activated water
molecules. In your mitochondria, there's also a specific molecule called
cytochrome c oxidase, which is involved in the energy production within
the mitochondria. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) — cellular energy — is
the end product.
ATP is the fuel your cells need for all of their varied functions,
including ion transport, synthesizing and metabolism. Remarkably, your
body produces your body weight in ATP every day. And, while you can
survive for several minutes without oxygen, were all ATP production to
suddenly stop, you'd die within 15 seconds.
Lighting Plays an Important Role in Biological Energy Production
This is why this issue of lighting is so important. Light is a
sorely misunderstood and overlooked part of the equation for biological
energy production, specifically at the mitochondrial ATP level. As further explained by Wunsch:
"The cytochrome c oxidase, which is this [light] absorbing molecule, is
the last step before the ATP is finally produced in the mitochondria.
Here we have this tipping point where light in a wavelength range
between 570 nm and 850 nm is able to boost energy production, especially
in cells when energy production is depleted … We know today that many signs of aging, for example, are the
consequence of hampered mitochondrial functioning, and so we have a very
interesting … tool to enhance the energy status in our cells, in the
mitochondria in our cells, and not only on the surface but also in the
depths … of the tissue. This is one important aspect and there are
hundreds of papers published on these positive effects …
Infrared saunas are another magnificent way to nourish your body with
near-infrared light. But not just ANY infrared sauna. Most offer only
FAR-infrared and are not full spectrum. Most also emit dangerous
non-native EMFs. So you need one that emits low or no non-native EMFs.
After searching for a long time I finally found a near perfect one
and hope to have it made to my customized specs in a few months. And it
should be significantly less than $1,000. So stay tuned for this
exciting development.
Wound Healing and Anti-Aging Procedures Make Use of Near-Infrared
These beneficial effects can be seen in wound healing and anti-aging
procedures where near-infrared is employed. Since the cytochrome c
oxidase is responsible for an increased production of ATP, the cell has a
better supply of energy, which allows it to perform better, and this is
true no matter where the cell resides.
This means liver cells with more ATP will be able to detoxify your
body more efficiently; fibroblasts in your skin will be able to
synthesize more collagen fibers and so on, because ATP is crucial for
all cellular functions. Wunsch expands on this even more in the lecture
above.
According to Wunsch, as little as one-third of the energy your body
requires for maintaining the thermal equilibrium comes from the food you
eat. The electrons transferred from the food, primarily the fats and
the carbohydrates, are ultimately transferred to oxygen and generate
ATP. The more near infrared you get, the less nutritional energy is
required for maintaining thermal homeostasis.
That said, a differentiation is in order. Most of the METABOLICALLY
USED energy does come from food. But there is a thermodynamic aspect to
it as well. Maintaining a normal body temperature (37 C or 98.6 F)
involves two mechanisms: Energy production in your mitochondria from
food, and photonic energy (near-infrared radiation from sunlight and
incandescent light bulbs) that is able to penetrate deeply into your
tissue, even through clothing.
"The radiation can enter your body and then be transformed into
longer wavelengths in the infrared part. They are very important for
supporting the temperature level, the thermal energy level, of our body
which is … a very crucial aspect. A lot of energy comes in the form of
radiation and this is supporting our thermal balance," Wunsch explains.
The key take-home message here is that your body's energy production
involves not just food intake. You also need exposure to certain
wavelengths of light in order for your metabolism to function optimally.
This is yet another reason why sun exposure is so vitally important for optimal health.
Analog Versus Digital Lighting
LED lamps are a form of digital non-thermal lighting whereas
incandescent light bulbs and halogens are analog thermal light sources.
"For a color changing system you have three different LEDs, a
red, a green and a blue LED, and the intensity of these three colored
channels has to be changed in order to achieve different color use,
which is perceived by the eye in the end. The control of the intensity
output of an LED is realized in a digital manner because it's very
difficult to have a low intensity in many different steps. The dimming of LEDs is realized by a so-called pulse-width
modulation, which means the LEDs switch on to the full intensity and
then they fully switch off, and then they switch on again. So we have
the constant on and off in frequencies, which are higher than our eyes
are able to discriminate. But on the cellular level, it is still
perceivable for the cells … [T]his causes a flicker, which is not perceivable for let's say
90 percent of the population. But it's still biologically active. And
flicker is something that is very harmful to your [biology]."
You've likely experienced this if you're old enough to recall the
older TVs that had a very visible and intense flicker. Modern flat
screens do not have this perceptible flicker, but they're still
switching on and off. Scientists are now trying to develop systems
capable of transmitting information via high-frequency flicker in the
LED lighting to replace the wireless LAN system. According to Wunsch,
this is a very bad idea, from a health perspective.
"I call these LEDs Trojan horses because they appear so practical
to us. They appear to have so many advantages. They save energy; are
solid state and very robust,. So we invited them into our homes. But we
are not aware that they have many stealth health-robbing properties,
which are harmful to your biology, harmful to your mental health,
harmful to your retinal health, and also harmful to your hormonal or
endocrine health," he says.
Unfortunately, the use of LEDs has been mandated by federal policy in
both the U.S. and much of Europe, in an attempt to conserve energy.
While inarguably effective in that regard, the biological impact of
these bulbs has been completely ignored, and by mandating them, options
have been restricted.
Understanding the Dangers of LEDs
Understanding how LEDs can harm your health begins with the
recognition that light emitted from an LED bulb is of a different
quality than a natural light source. Normally, a natural light source is
a black body radiator that gives off all kinds of wavelengths in a more
or less continuous manner.
LEDs are fluorescent lamps, consisting of a blue LED, a driver LED,
and a fluorescent sheet that covers the blue LED, transforming part of
the blue light into longer wavelengths, thereby creating a yellowish
light. The yellowish light from the fluorescent layer combines together
with the residual blue light to a kind of whitish light, a large portion
of which is an aggressive blue light.
"Blue has the highest energy in the visible part of the spectrum
and produces, infuses, the production of ROS, of oxidative stress," he says. "The blue light causes ROS in your tissue, and this stress needs
to be balanced with near-infrared that is not present in LEDs. We need
even more regeneration from blue light, but the regenerative part of the
spectrum is not found in the blue, in the short wavelength, part. It's
found in the long wavelength part, in the red and the near-infrared. So
tissue regeneration and tissue repair results from the wavelengths that
are not present in an LED spectrum. We have increased stress on the short wavelength part and we have
reduced regeneration and repair on the long wavelength part. This is
the primary problem … [W]e don't have this kind of light quality in
nature. This has consequences. The stress has consequences in the
retina; it has consequences in our endocrine system."
You probably know by now that blue light in the evening reduces
melatonin production in your pineal gland. But you also have cells in
your retina that are responsible for producing melatonin in order to
regenerate the retina during the night.
If you use LED lights after sunset, you reduce the regenerative and
restoring capacities of your eyes. Needless to say, with less
regeneration you end up with degeneration. In this case, the
degeneration can lead to AMD, which is the primary cause of blindness
among the elderly. However, and this is that most fail to appreciate,
LED light exposure that is not balanced with full sunlight loaded with
the red parts of the spectrum is always damaging to your biology. Just
more so at night.
So, to summarize, the main problem with LEDs is the fact that they
emit primarily blue wavelengths and lack the counterbalancing healing
and regenerative near-infrared frequencies. They have very little red in
them, and no infrared, which is the wavelength required for repair and
regeneration.
When you use these aggressive lower frequencies — blue light — it
creates ROS that, when generated in excess, causes damage. So when using
LEDs, you end up with increased damage and decreased repair and
regeneration.
Are There Any Healthy LEDs?
There's a wide range of LED lights on the market these days. Some are
cool white, others are warm white, for example. The former emits higher
amounts of harmful blue light. The warm LEDs can be deceptive, as they
give out a warm-appearing light but do not actually have the red
wavelength. The warmth comes from masking the blue with high amounts of
yellow and orange.
There are also LEDs available with less blue, which are closer to the
spectral distribution of incandescent lamps with regard to the blue
part of the spectrum. Unfortunately, without tools to measure it, you
won't know exactly what you're getting. This is in sharp contrast to an
incandescent light bulb, where you know exactly what kind of light
spectrum you're getting.
"With LED, the layman is not able to tell if it's a tailored
spectrum where you have the blue part only masked by excessive parts of
other spectral regions," Wunsch says. "There are different
technologies … Soraa, for example, have violet driver LED, not blue … By
their technology, the red is a little bit more emphasized compared to
the standard white light fluorescent LEDs. So there are in fact better and worse LED types around. But the
spectral distribution is just one thing … We are interested in the R9,
which represents the full reds. This information is sometimes given on
the package. You have, for example, CRI, which is the color rendering
index of 95 with an R9 of 97 or so. This is the only sign for the
customer that you have a high level or a high index for the R9."
How to Identify a Healthier LED
So, when buying LEDs, one way to get a healthier light is to look at
the CRI. Sunlight is the gold standard and has a CRI of 100. So do
incandescent light bulbs and candles. What you're looking for is a light
that has an R9 (full red spectrum) CRI of about 97, which is the
closest you'll ever get to a natural light with an LED. Another factor
to look at is the color temperature. There are two different kinds of
color temperature:
Physical color temperature, which means the
temperature of your light in degrees Kelvin (K). This applies to
sunlight, candlelight, incandescent lamp light and halogens. What this
means is that the source itself is as hot to the touch as the color
temperature given.
The sun, for example, which has a color temperature of 5,500 K, has a
temperature of 5,500 K at its surface, were you to actually touch the
sun. Incandescent lamps have a maximum of 3,000 K, as the filament would
melt if the temperature got any higher.
Correlated color temperature. This is a measurement
that tells you how the light source appears to the human eye. In other
words, it is a comparative measurement. A correlated color temperature
of 2,700 K means it looks the same as a natural light source with a
physical color temperature of 2,700 K.
The problem here is that while such a light LOOKS the same as a
natural light, it does not actually have the same quality, and your
body, on the cellular level, is not fooled by what your eye sees. On a
cellular level, and on the level of the retina, the majority of the
light is still cold, bluish white, despite its apparent, visible warmth.
Incandescent light bulbs have a color temperature of 2,700 K whereas
LEDs can go up to 6,500 K — the really bright white LED. In this case,
the closer you are to incandescent, the better. Lastly, there's the
digital component, which is virtually unavoidable no matter what. To
determine how good or bad a particular LED is:
"You would have to measure somehow if the LED produces flicker or
not. Two, three years ago, it would have been much easier because the
camera of an older smartphone was not as high-tech equipped as they are
today. With an old smartphone camera, when you look into the light
source, you can see these wandering lines, so you can detect if the
light source is flickering," Wunsch explains.
A simpler way would be to purchase a flicker detector, which are
available fairly inexpensively. Another way to determine the flicker
rate would be to use the slow motion mode on your camera. Record the
light source in slow motion mode and check it for visible flickering.
Unfortunately, it doesn't always work. Some newer cameras and
smartphones have a built in algorithm that will detect the flicker
frequency and change the shutter speed accordingly to improve the
recording, thereby eliminating the interference. If your camera has this
algorithm, it will not record a visible flicker even if it's there.
Healthier Solutions
I like being on the cutting edge of technology and I quickly switched
out all my incandescent bulbs for LED lighting. I now realize the
enormity of my mistake, but at the time — going back almost 10 years now
— I was completely unaware that it could have health consequences.
Before that, I used full-spectrum fluorescents, which is equally
deceptive, as it is full spectrum in name only.
I'm now convinced LED light exposure is a very serious danger,
especially if you are in a room without natural light. The biological
risks are somewhat mitigated if you have plenty of sunlight streaming
through windows. At night, LEDs become a greater danger no matter
whether you're in a windowless room or not, as there is no
counterbalancing near-infrared light.
Personally, I've not swapped all my lights back to incandescent
because they're such energy hogs. But all the lights I have on at night
have been switched to clear incandescent bulbs without any coating that
changes their beneficial wavelengths. So the take-home message of this
interview is to grab a supply of the old incandescents if you can and
switch back to incandescent light bulbs.
Just remember to get incandescents that are crystal clear and not
coated with white to give off a cool white light. You want a 2,700 K
incandescent, thermal analog light source. Actually, fragrance-free
candles would be even better. Be particularly mindful to only use this
type of light at night. After sunset, I also use blue-blocking glasses.
"It is definitely a good idea to keep away the short wavelengths
in the evening, so after sunset. It's also a good idea not to intoxicate
your environment with too much light. We know that artificial light
levels at night have reached insane intensity. The candle, the intensity
of the candle for example, is absolutely sufficient for orientation. If you have to read in the evening or at night time, my personal
favorite light source for reading tasks is a low-voltage incandescent
halogen lamp, which is operated on a DC transformer. Direct current will
eliminate all the dirty electricity and it will eliminate all the
flicker. There are transformers available where you can adjust the output
between 6 volts and 12 volts. As long as it's direct current, there is
no flicker, there is no dirty electricity, and you are able to dim the
halogen lamp into a color temperature that is comparable to candle light
even. This is the softest, the healthiest electric light you can get at
the moment," Wunsch notes.
Low-voltage halogen lights are also very energy efficient — up to 100
percent more energy efficient than the standard incandescent lamp. Just
be sure to operate it on DC. Incandescent lights, including halogen,
can be operated at both AC and DC, but when operating on AC, you end up
generating dirty electricity, Wunsch explains. On DC, you get no
electrosmog with a low-voltage halogen.
Light Comparisons
The following graphic illustrates the differences in color spectrum
between an incandescent light, which has very little blue, compared to
fluorescent light and white LED.
This next graph illustrates the differences between daylight,
incandescent, fluorescent, halogen, cool white LED and warm white LED.
As you can see, there's a tremendous difference between incandescent and
warm LED. While they may look the same to the naked eye, there's no
comparison when it comes to their actual light qualities.
Looking at the spectral differences between incandescent and halogen
lamps, there seems to be no difference at all. In order to elucidate the
disparity,
Wunsch did some measurements of incandescent and halogen lamps using his
UPRtek MK350S spectrometer. The differences are almost imperceptible,
indeed.
Spectrum of a standard incandescent lamp: Correlated color temperature (CCT) = 2890 K.
Spectrum of a energy saving halogen lamp: Correlated color temperature (CCT) = 2842 K.
How to Make Digital Screens Healthier
When it comes to computer screens, Wunsch suggests reducing the
correlated color temperature down to 2,700 K — even during the day, not
just at night. Many use f.lux to do this, but I have a great surprise
for you as I have found a FAR better alternative that was created by
Daniel, a 22 year old Bulgarian programmer that Ben Greenfield
introduced to me.
He is one of the rare people that already knew most of the
information in this article. So he was using f.lux but was very
frustrated with the controls. He attempted to contact them but they
never got back to him. So he created a massively superior alternative
called Iris. It is free, but you'll want to pay the $2 and reward
Daniel with the donation. You can purchase the $2 Iris software here. OLED screen technology is another development that may be better than conventional screens.
"[With] the OLEDs technology, I'm not sure if the color is really stable in every angle you can look at the display," Wunsch says.
"But definitely, if you have the screen technology where black is
really black, then you have less radiation coming into your eyes and the
OLEDs technology is able to provide this. So the high contrasts between the black and white, all the black
areas in the thin-film-transistor (TFT) screen or the standard screen
are not really black. They are also emitting shortwave radiation. The
OLED screen only emits where you see light, where there is black on the
screen, there is no light. This might be preferable as long as you have
no problems with the [viewing] angle."
To Protect Your Health and Vision, Stick to Incandescent Lights
LEDs are a perfect example of how we're sabotaging our health with
otherwise useful technology. However, with knowledge, we can proactively
prevent the harm from occurring. In summary, we really need to limit
our exposure to blue light, both during the daytime and at night. So for
nighttime use, swap out your LEDs for clear bulb incandescents, or
low-voltage incandescent halogen lights that are run on DC power.
I also strongly recommend using blue-blocking glasses after sundown,
even if you use incandescent light bulbs. Without these modifications,
the excessive blue light from LEDs and electronic screens will trigger
your body to overproduce ROS and decrease production of melatonin,
both in your pineal gland and your retina, the latter of which will
prevent repair and regeneration, thereby speeding up the degeneration
of your eyesight.
"One thing to emphasize again, it's not the blue light coming
from the sun itself which we should be concerned about. It's the blue
light, the singular high energy visual light (HEV), which comes from
cold energy-efficient non-thermal light sources. This is what causes the
problem, not the blue light which comes together with longer
wavelengths in a kind of natural cocktail that has the beneficial
near-infrared spectrum … The light surrogates from non-thermal light sources, these are
[what cause] problems, and you have to be clever to avoid these Trojan
horses. If you want to make it [safe], stay with the candles, stay with
the incandescents," Wunsch says.
Another Healthy Light Alternative
Candles are even a better light source than incandescent bulbs, as
there is no electricity involved and is the light that our ancestors
have used for many millennia so our bodies are already adapted to it.
The only problem is that you need to be very careful about using just
any old candle as most are toxic.
As you may or may not know, many candles available today are riddled
with toxins, especially paraffin candles. Did you know that paraffin is a
petroleum by-product created when crude oil is refined into gasoline?
Further, a number of known carcinogens and toxins are added to the
paraffin to increase burn stability, not including the potential for
lead added to wicks, and soot invading your lungs.
To complicate matters, a lot of candles, both paraffin and soy, are
corrupted with toxic dyes and fragrances; some soy candles are only
partially soy with many other additives and/or use GMO soy. There seems
to be a strange mind-set that exposure to small amounts of toxins is OK,
even though the exposure is exponential over time!
The soy is non-GMO, is clean burning without harmful fumes or soot, is
grown in the U.S., and is both sustainable and renewable. Also, my
candles are completely free of dyes. The soy in these candles is not
tested on animals, is free of herbicides and pesticides.
It's also kosher, 100 percent natural and bio-degradable. All of my
fragrances are body safe, phthalate- and paraben-free, and contain no
California prop 65 ingredients. The wicks are simply flat braided cotton
coated in a natural vegetable wax and self-trimming, which reduces
carbon build up.
Enjoying a Circle of Life Farms naturally good soy candle and following
the simple burn instructions — located inside the candle lid — will give
approximately 70+ hours of burn time. Every candle is hand-poured with
love for you to enjoy a cooler, cleaner burn, all while being kind to
the both the environment and yourself.
You can search online healthy candles, but if you like, you can use the ones I found at www.circleoflifefarms.com.
This is not an affiliate link and I earn no commissions on these
candles; I just thought you might benefit from the ones I now use in my
home.
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