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While diabetes in the UK is fairly uncommon, around 4.4 million people have this condition, with 1.2 million more yet to be diagnosed.
Good news, though! Emerging studies have examined the use of red light therapy (RLT) to influence one's sugar levels, and the results came back positive.
In this article, we'll review what has been discovered so far, and discuss the potential red light therapy benefits for diabetics – particularly focusing on blood sugar control and weight management.
It has been established that blood sugar levels tend to rise as a response after meals, especially when it contains large amounts of carbohydrates.
As this happens, you may experience brain fog, inability to focus clearly, and even low mood and energy. Thankfully, recent research sheds light on the possibilities of red light therapy in controlling blood sugar levels, and the results are positive.
To test its effects, the researchers split 30 people into two groups: one group received red light treatment, while the other was given a placebo treatment. All the participants were healthy, weren't under any treatment methods, and had no health conditions, including diabetes.
To establish a baseline blood glucose level, the participants were asked to do an oral glucose test. Both groups only took water for 10 hours and drank 75 grams (g) of sugar dissolved in water. Blood sugar levels were also recorded every 15 minutes for two hours.
After this, another test was conducted within seven days. This time, however, one group received 15 minutes of RLT (670 nanometres) on the bare skin of their upper back 45 minutes before consumption. The placebo group was also subjected to the exact treatment, but the light was purposely turned off.
Results were generally favourable as the RLT group had a 28% reduction in blood glucose after intake, and reduced maximum glucose spiking. This overall resulted in the RLT group showing a 12% reduction in peak blood glucose levels when compared to the placebo group.
Interestingly, the researchers observed that RLT's effect started working around 1.5 hours later, and worked systematically even though light was applied to one specific area.
However, while these results are certainly promising, it's important to remember that these tests were done with the help of healthy subjects. We still have yet to evaluate its effect on diabetics, but we are excited about its future applications in the near future.
On top of its potential applications for managing glucose levels, RLT is also being closely observed by researchers and various health platforms such as Diabetes UK as a potential tool for weight loss.
This is relevant as weight can significantly impact one's insulin resistance. Excess glucose from eating can cause your muscles to improperly respond to insulin, which is supposed to help them absorb glucose from the bloodstream.
Since the body can't efficiently absorb glucose, your body will increase insulin production to keep up with high glucose levels in the bloodstream.
The excess glucose that is not absorbed by the muscles gets converted into fat in the liver, which can increase free fatty acids (FFA) in the bloodstream.
This leads to fat buildup in our muscles and organs and impairs the ability of insulin to stop the liver from producing more glucose after a meal. Furthermore, some of the fat can end up as visceral fat, which is notoriously hard to get rid of.
This also starts a vicious cycle that could lead to higher insulin levels and more inflammation due to increased FFAs, ultimately worsening your insulin resistance.
Since RLT can help boost the mitochondria, which in turn boosts cellular metabolism and calorie burning, this would result in a better metabolism since mitochondria use glucose and oxygen to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), or energy.
While the research is certainly promising, we have to take all these findings with a grain of salt as further research is needed to form a definitive stance.
Furthermore, red light therapy may help with glucose control and even weight management, but we highly suggest using it only as a supplementary treatment alongside proven-and-tested wellness methods such as a healthy diet and exercise.
As always, feel free to contact the ROJO team for questions, inquiries, and opinions on the latest findings on red light therapy benefits.
