Light. March 2021 Newsletter
Light.
Being well into my 50’s has its advantages. One thing I’ve noticed is an increasing inability to care about what other people think, hence my willingness to share the following 2 photos. Yes, I am a health nerd.
The first photo is my portable full spectrum light that I wear around most mornings. I’ve found it to be hazardous at times. Most notably, it can be a problem if I wear it in a poorly lit room, as it makes it difficult to see where I’m going. The second is a picture of a sun reflector that I built a few years ago. A T-shirt and shorts are all you need to stay warm even on a 20 degree day!
(Pictured on the right) That’s my son, Jackson soaking up some rays on Christmas Day.
There’s some confusion going on about how much light we need and what it’s good for. The first bit of information to clear up is the difference between full spectrum (full spectrum means light from the sun or from a light generating device) light exposure and vitamin D production. To my knowledge, the only time you can generate significant amounts of vitamin D from sunlight is during the summer months. Spring and fall will provide a small amount of UV rays sufficient to help produce a little vitamin D, and winter very little to none. These guidelines change somewhat of course, if you’re lucky enough to head south for the winter. Now, I recommend that everyone use a full spectrum light like the one pictured below, any time of year that you are not outside for 30 to 60 minutes a day, especially in the morning.
Click to view a full spectrum light that Doc recommends (TaoTronics UV-Free 10000 Lux Therapy Light)
To be clear, putting yourself in front of one of these lights will NOT help you produce vitamin D. It will, however, help keep your mood and energy up AND help you sleep better at night. So, what do I do? First, no matter how cold it is, I try to get outside for at least a half hour in the morning on sunny days year round. I take 5000 IU vitamin D3 from September through May. On cloudy days I use a full spectrum light that attaches to my hat. (See dorky picture above).
If you purchase a light that goes on your desk (similar to the one pictured above), be sure to have it directly in front of you and above your eye-line so it mimics the angle of the rays from the sun. The light from the sun or an artificial light generator needs to be unfiltered as well, so take off your glasses and wait to put your contacts in until after you’ve gotten your dose of light. Lastly, I advise that everyone get their blood levels of Vitamin D tested annually. One should never go below a level of 50 ng/ml.
I get mine tested at home using this group.
Click the image above to be taken to the Grassroots Health Nutrient Research Institute
While we’re on the subject of light, I want to remind you of the incredible new tool we have to help you with healing many types of chronic pain. Infrared light has been shown to jump start healing of many types of chronic pain. We use it for neck and back pain, and any type of extremity pain you can name, including carpal tunnel syndrome and plantar fasciitis. In 4-8 sessions we’ve seen some near miracle results in many of our patients. There are no side effects or risks and it is very minimally time consuming. We’re offering $5 off per session for the month of March so be sure to ask us if the pain you are experiencing would be a good fit for this amazing device.
