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Researchers have found that red light therapy has dual benefits for blood sugar control. A single dose lowers overall blood sugar levels and is how much the peak blood sugar level after a glucose tolerance test, which mimics the body’s response to a meal, is lowered.
Although the study was conducted in healthy people without diabetes, the lead author said the treatment, which does not involve injections or pills, could be used to manage diabetes after meals. Dr. Michael Powner, Senior Lecturer in Neurobiology, School of Health and Psychological Sciences, City University of London. “This is important because very high blood sugar levels can damage tissues around the body,” Dr. Powner says. Such fluctuations in blood sugar spikes also contribute to aging, he added.
The healing powers of red light have been studied in cancer, depression, and many other health conditions
To investigate the impact of 670 To measure the nanometers (nm) of red light on blood sugar levels, the researchers recruited 30 healthy participants who were not taking any medications and had no known metabolic diseases such as diabetes. They were randomly divided into two groups of 15 people each.
At the beginning of the study, both groups underwent a fasting oral glucose test to establish baseline. Participants consumed only water for at least 10 hours, then drank 5 ounces of a syrupy drink containing 75 grams (g) of sugar on an empty stomach. We then recorded his blood sugar levels every 15 minutes over the next 2 hours.
Another blood sugar test was conducted within a week, this time in which one group was exposed to 670 nm red light for 15 minutes on the bare skin of their upper back. Participants in the placebo group sat in the same position for 15 minutes, but no lights were turned on.
Red light group had 12% reduction in peak blood sugar levels compared to placebo
The researchers found that compared to baseline, those in the red light group had nearly 28% lower blood sugar levels after glucose ingestion and a 7.5% reduction in peak glucose spikes. Compared to the placebo group, peak blood sugar levels decreased by 12% in the red light group.
“This study showed that in healthy participants without diabetes, short-term photobiomodulation reduced peak blood glucose levels after an oral glucose tolerance test.” Dr. Marilyn TanHe is an associate professor of medicine and endocrinologist at Stanford Health Care in California, but was not involved in the study. The study results suggest that red light therapy improves glucose tolerance in people without diabetes, but it is unclear what this means for people with diabetes or what the long-term effects are. Dr. Tan added that it is not clear whether the
How red light therapy can improve blood sugar control
Previous research has shown that long-wavelength light of about 650 to 900 nm (ranging from visible light to near-infrared light) stimulates mitochondrial production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a nucleotide that provides energy for important cellular processes. It has been proven that it can increase production.
Researchers suspect that increased ATP production may trigger changes in signaling throughout the body, leading to improvements through a phenomenon known as the “abscopal effect.” Powner explains that this effect means that treatment in one area of the body can cause cellular changes in another part of the body.
“Chemical messages are sent to our blood. Previous studies have reported changes in these chemical messages after red light exposure, which may lead to lower glucose levels throughout the body after red light exposure. “This could be driving a change in the way it’s used,” he says.
Can red light therapy be used to treat diabetes and reduce the need for insulin and medications?
“Large studies in pre-diabetic or diabetic patients verify the positive effects of red light on blood sugar levels, suggesting that using red light for a few minutes before a meal can reduce the subsequent rise in blood sugar levels. Our findings suggest that this is highly likely to be the case.” Owner.
Tan agrees that further research is needed to expand on these findings. “This was a small study of 30 patients, but again, they were healthy and did not have diabetes at baseline,” she says. Tan said she needs to conduct long-term, large-scale studies in diabetic patients, including long-term follow-up to better understand how long this glucose response lasts. She says she can.
“We also don’t know how it affects glucose response in the setting of other diabetes medications, such as insulin. We also don’t know the long-term effects of repeated exposure to photobiomodulation.” she says.
A positive result in these types of trials in diabetic patients could mean that red light therapy has the potential to lower postprandial blood sugar levels, which could affect the insulin used by these people. It may be possible to reduce the amount of diabetes drugs used, Tan said.
