What is light therapy?

Light therapy is the use of light to promote healing or maintain optimum health and balance. Light therapy is not new, but has been used in the medical practice of just about all cultures since the beginning or recorded history. In fact, light therapy of all kinds was used in the medical practice of modern societies until the advent of antibiotics, when most natural remedies were put aside in favor of medical “advancements.” Today, light is once again being recognized as the most advanced form of treatment for an ever growing list of conditions.

What is light and how is it used?

Whether it comes from the Sun or a light bulb of any type, light is actually powerful electromagnetic energy traveling at 186,000 miles per second. It is no wonder, then, that light has a powerful effect on living things. There are at least three important ways that light is used for healing and maintaining balance:

1. Light through the eyes.

Natural daylight light is a basic human nutrient, just like food or water. Light travels through the eyes directly into the hypothalamus in the brain to effect our total hormone balance. Light through the eyes is used to treat mood disorders, SAD, PMS, sleep disorders, and host of circadian rhythm disorders.

2. Light on the Skin

Natural sunlight striking the skin is our body’s best way of natural Vitamin D3 production. Because of our indoor lifestyles and the widespread fear of the sun, Vitamin D Deficiency is now a pandemic.

Natural sunlight exposure (always avoid sunburn) is the best way to maintain optimum Vitamin D levels and help to prevent a host of catastrophic diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, autism, and many more.

3. Light of specific colors.

Light of specific colors, or wavelengths, are used to treat specific conditions. For example, consider just the color blue. Blue light is now being used to treat the following conditions:

• Neonatal Jaundice
• Mild-Severe Inflammatory Acne
• Crigler-Najjar Syndrome
• Periodontitis
• SAD & a host of circadian rhythm disorders.

The most significant use of blue light in the near future will likely be the treatment and prevention of the MRSA superbug.

Each of the other colors of the visible spectrum have other beneficial effects on us as human beings.

How You Can Benefit from Light Therapy

If you are suffering from any medical condition, syndrome, or disorder, it is likely that you can benefit from light therapy one or all of the above mentioned ways. Here’s what you can do:

1. Go outside and get some light – without your glasses. If you fear the sun, just sit in the shade. The most important thing is to get 100% natural daylight through your eyes for awhile every day. If you are forced to spend most of the daylight hours inside, change the lighting you are under to full-spectrum (artificial daylight) bulbs. If you are the activist sort, push to have the lighting in your children’s schools changed to full-spectrum lighting.To learn more about this subject, I highly recommended that you read: Light: Medicine of the Future: How We Can Use It to Heal Ourselves NOW
   
2. Have your vitamin D level tested. If you don’t get regular sun exposure without sunscreen, begin supplementing with 2000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily. (1000 IU/ 50lbs body weight.) Read up the recommended dosages for every member of your family. Educate yourself about the relationship between the sun and your health.

   Start your research online at The Vitamin D Council and GrassRootsHealth.

   Recommended Reading: The UV Advantage: The Medical Breakthrough that Shows How to Harness the Power of the Sun for Your Health and, most recently, Vitamin D3 and Solar Power for Optimum Health.

3. If you are suffering from any specific disease or condition, find out if light of a specific color or used in a specific way can help. You may follow links below or, just Google your condition with the word “light” and see what you find.

   Helpful Links:
   ColorAnalysis.com – Color and the Human Being – explores the healing and therapeutic use of each color.

   HolisticOnline.com – organizes their color therapy section so you can search by disease/disorder.