How could we view the effects of Red Light and Blue light thru the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine? Yin & Yang!
Dr. Jack Kruse’s website focuses on optimal health through a blend of quantum biology, neuroscience, and biohacking strategies. One of his primary areas of research highlights the impact of light exposure on human health, specifically contrasting red and blue light. Red light, aligned with natural sunlight, is said to enhance mitochondrial function, promoting energy and healing. Conversely, blue light from artificial sources disrupts circadian rhythms, causes oxidative stress, and contributes to conditions like hypoxia.
With this understanding, we can relate these findings to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principles of yin and yang.
Presentation: The Benefits of Red Light and Blue Light Harm Through the Lens of Chinese Medicine
Introduction: Dr. Jack Kruse’s Discoveries
– Focus: Impact of light frequencies on human health.
– Key Findings:
– Red Light (Sunlight): Enhances mitochondrial function, promotes healing and energy.
– Blue Light (Artificial sources): Disrupts circadian rhythm, increases oxidative stress, and leads to hypoxia and metabolic issues.
TCM Perspective on Light Spectrum: Yin and Yang
– Yin (Blue Light):
– Represents cold, darkness, and entropy.
– Linked to stagnation and accumulation of masses, such as tumors or phlegm.
– Excess exposure (blue light from devices) is akin to yin pathology—causing metabolic slow-down and stress on the body’s organs (especially the liver and kidneys), corresponding with Kruse’s findings of increased oxidative stress and disrupted metabolism.
– Yang (Red Light):
– Represents warmth, activity, and transformation.
– Powers fluid movement, energy, and metabolic processes.
– Red light promotes **mitochondrial energy production**—aligning with yang in Chinese Medicine, which sustains vitality and keeps the body in motion, preventing stagnation.
Benefits of Red Light (Yang) in TCM
– Promotes Qi and Blood Flow: Red light stimulates mitochondrial function, echoing TCM’s emphasis on proper circulation of qi (vital energy) and blood.
– Supports Organ Function: Yang keeps the digestive and cardiovascular systems running efficiently. Red light promotes these through enhanced cellular repair and regeneration, similar to how yang transforms and moves fluids, preventing metabolic blockages.
– Immunity: Yang energy fights off cold (yin pathogens). Red light’s role in immune system optimization mirrors the function of yang in resisting disease.
Harm of Blue Light (Yin Excess) in TCM
– Creates Stagnation: Blue light correlates with increased yin, leading to the stagnation of bodily fluids, qi, and blood. This can manifest as:
– *hronic fatigue (qi deficiency)
– Depression (stagnant liver qi)
– Metabolic disorders like diabetes (from yang depletion and excess cold).
– Promotes Cold and Damp Conditions: Excess blue light worsens yin pathologies, fostering cold-damp accumulation in the body, which can manifest as conditions like obesity, water retention, and tumor growth.
Linking Circadian Rhythms and TCM Meridians
– Circadian Disruption (Blue Light): In TCM, organ meridians follow a clock-like system. Blue light disrupts these cycles, impairing liver function at night (when the liver is supposed to detoxify) and affecting sleep (heart shen disturbance).
– Red Light and Rhythms: By harmonizing circadian rhythms, red light restores the body’s natural yang energy flow, promoting balance between the organs’ cycles.
Conclusion: Balancing Light for Health
– To maintain health, modern lifestyle must reduce blue light exposure and embrace natural red light from the sun. This aligns with the TCM approach of harmonizing yin and yang, ensuring that the body’s metabolic processes are functioning efficiently, fluids are moving, and qi is abundant.
By merging Dr. Kruse’s modern understanding of light and circadian biology with TCM’s yin-yang principles, healthcare providers can offer a holistic approach to improving metabolic health, longevity, and overall well-being.
