Exposure to red light can help diabetics lower blood sugar levels after meals, a new study has proven.
A new study found that shining a red light on a diabetic’s back for 15 minutes can lower blood sugar levels by nearly 30%.
Additionally, 15 minutes of exposure to red light reduces the maximum glucose spike by nearly 8%.
A blood sugar spike is a sudden increase in blood sugar levels that often occurs when you eat too many carbohydrate-containing foods.
Studies have shown that prolonged exposure to blue light can have a negative effect on blood sugar levels.
Researchers say LED lights are “blue-dominant” and could be a “ticking time bomb for extending healthy lifespans”.
Experts believe that prolonged exposure to blue light can lead to the development of diabetes and other health complications. However, researchers note that this may be due to more time spent in sunlight.
Lead author Dr. Michael Powner said: “It is clear that light affects mitochondrial function, which affects our bodies at a cellular and physiological level.
“Our study found that just 15 minutes of exposure to red light can lower postprandial blood sugar levels.”
He added: “Although this is only done in healthy people in this paper, it may help reduce potentially harmful glucose spikes in the body after meals, so it could be useful in future diabetes management.” “It may have an impact,” he added.
Co-author Professor Glenn Jeffrey said: “Sunlight has a balance of red and blue, but we currently live in a world where blue light is dominant. This is because there is almost no red in it.”
“This reduces mitochondrial function and ATP production. Our internal environment is therefore red-starved.”
He continued: “Long-term exposure to blue light can be toxic in the absence of red light. Blue light itself has negative effects on physiology, causing disturbances in blood sugar levels, which in the long run can lead to diabetes and harm your health. It may damage the lifespan.
“Before 1990, we used incandescent lamps, which were fine because they had a balance of blue and red similar to sunlight, but changing to LEDs in an aging society requires a long healthy lifespan. There may be a time bomb that shrinks the population, which can be partially corrected by spending more time in the sun.”
The results showed that the increase in glucose consumption was caused by the 670 nanometer (nm) frequency of red light-stimulated energy production within mitochondria, tiny power plants within cells.
During the study, a team of scientists divided 30 healthy participants into two groups, with half exposed to 670nm red light and the other half exposed to no light.
Each participant was then instructed to drink glucose dissolved in water and record their blood sugar levels every 15 minutes for two hours.
Researchers found that participants who were exposed to red light 45 minutes before drinking a drink experienced a decrease in peak blood sugar levels and a decrease in total blood sugar levels over a two-hour period.
Keith Frayn, from the University of Oxford, said: “If later confirmed in people with diabetes, this could form the basis for useful interventions. However, these interesting findings should not be considered entirely preliminary. should be done.
“Further research will be needed to fully assess this effect. The key question is whether this is a true metabolic effect, or whether the warming effect of exposure to red light, for example, changes blood flow patterns. , what we need to know is whether it can change the properties of blood taken from a finger prick.”
He added: “We also need more information about what happens to glucose that doesn’t appear in the blood.”
The study was published in the Journal of Biophotonics.
