The light bulb above your head right now may be quietly STARVING every cell in your body. Scientists just gave it a name: 21st century SCURVY. In less than one generation we deleted 95% of the natural light spectrum from human life, and almost nobody noticed.
Press your finger over your phone’s flashlight and you’ll see a deep red glow. That’s near-infrared light passing straight through your hand – the exact wavelength band that LED bulbs and energy-efficient windows have almost completely erased from the places where we spend 90% of our lives.
In this video I break down one of the most unsettling new ideas: light isn’t just something you see, it’s something your mitochondria consume like a NUTRIENT. Remove it and blood sugar rises, energy drops, and the aging brain loses protection it evolved over billions of years to depend on.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
• Why researchers call LED lighting “ultra-processed light”
• How red and near-infrared photons pass through skin and muscle to reach your mitochondria
• The UCL / City St George’s trial where 15 minutes of 670nm red light cut the glucose rise after a sugar drink by 27.7%
• The 2026 Cell Metabolism daylight study that improved glucose control in type 2 diabetes – without changing a pill or a meal
• Why blue-heavy LED light may slow mitochondrial respiration while red light speeds it up
• What an 87,577-person study found about daytime light and dementia risk
• Why a London hospital just put ICU beds on its roof
• A 4-step, low-cost protocol – no $1,000 red light panel required
CHAPTERS:
00:00 The red glow hiding inside your hand
01:16 What scientists mean by “21st century scurvy”
02:09 How we deleted 95% of the light spectrum
03:42 “Ultra-processed light” explained
04:24 Light as a nutrient: the photometabolism idea
05:45 Inside your mitochondria: ATP and the electron chain
07:21 Tina Karu’s forgotten Soviet discovery
09:03 Why red light travels deep into your body
09:49 The 0.75 electron volt coincidence
10:54 How infrared light unsticks the ATP engine
12:11 Light as an “optical vitamin”
13:17 The double whammy: blue light on the brakes
13:53 Blood sugar, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
15:05 The 670nm red light glucose trial
16:32 The 2026 daylight vs. LED clinical study
18:11 Red light, memory loss and the aging brain
20:45 Daylight, dementia and all-cause mortality data
22:02 The hospital that put ICU beds on the roof
23:58 Step 1: The dimmed incandescent lamp
25:39 Step 2: Morning and midday daylight
26:44 Step 3: Cutting the evening blue light
27:47 Step 4: The nutritional foundation
28:36 Every technology comes with a biological bill
COMMON QUESTIONS:
Is red light proven to lower blood sugar?
One randomized trial (Powner & Jeffery, Journal of Biophotonics, 2024) found a 27.7% reduction in glucose elevation in 30 healthy adults. Promising and early, but not a diabetes treatment.
Do I need an expensive red light panel?
No. The researcher behind that trial recommends a dimmed incandescent or halogen bulb on a desk lamp, since many commercial panels are overpowered.
Does sunlight through a window count?
Largely not for near-infrared, modern low-emissivity glazing is engineered to block it. You have to step outside.
Is sunscreen a problem?
Sunscreen filters ultraviolet. Red and near-infrared pass through it.
What about skin cancer risk?
Excessive UV and sunburn are genuinely harmful. This isn’t about sunbathing but short, regular daylight exposure.
ABOUT:
Neal K. Shah is a Johns Hopkins- and NIH-funded caregiving researcher and CEO of CareYaya, and has helped thousands of families navigate aging, dementia, and serious illness. This channel breaks down the health and caregiving news that actually affects older adults and the people who care for them.
I try to read every comment, so please tell me below: what bulbs are in your home right now, and how many minutes of real outdoor daylight do you get on a typical day?
If this helped you see your living room differently, please share it with a caregiver, a parent, or anyone managing diabetes or cognitive decline.
DISCLAIMER: Educational and informational only – not medical advice. I’m a caregiving researcher and innovator, not a physician. Nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, or replace guidance from your doctor. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before changing any treatment, medication, or light routine – especially with diabetes, an eye condition, or photosensitizing medication.
#LEDLights #BrainHealth #RedLightTherapy #DementiaPrevention #HealthyAging
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I have resisted upgrading my windows! I resisted the led and fluorescent bulbs for as long as I could because I felt they weren’t good for the body- but I never knew why. It was just a hunch. Thank you for validating my concerns. Sadly, all the schools we teach and learn in are still all fluorescent. I keep my lights off and open the shades- for all day natural light. Im going to go search out more incandescent bulbs- they aren’t as easy to find these days.
Government regulations, because they care about you.
lol
Now I'm wondering about the moon light, does it also have some effect?
The light on your phone is LED
You need lights in your house, no? What do you do when governments ban incandescent bulbs and all that's in the store are LED's.
I suppose it's back to kerosene lamps.
, Thank you very much for your priceless advice . Because the Apartment I'm living in is like I'm walking through a 10 foot under water pool of magnets . Maybe is what's this wrong with so much social unrests .❤🌺🌻
I didn't know that dimming an incandescent bulb would preserve the red light while reducing the watts. Good idea.
I'm going to seriously reconsider including the always-recommended "Low-e" (low emissivity) film when I order replacement windows.
May be this is why Hindus or Sanathanis worshipped SUN as Bhagawan❤
Sorry boss, I'm not able to come into work anymore because the office lighting is giving me diabetes and killing my brain, I'll have to work remote.
You've given me lots to think about. Thx!
Im sitting under led lights that are to replicate natural day light. I'm not able to see at night and in dark hallways, corners, etc. I'm going to replace them as soon as I can find some irredestant light bulbs. I truly wonder if these led bulbs have contributed to my loss of vision amongst other things. Thank you for this video . I'm watching this from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Does anyone know where to get incandescent bulbs?
You CAN purchase incandescent bulbs-they are APPLIANCE BULBS- they are 40watt I switched all mine out they aren’t noticeably dimmer
what about sunglasses with red glass? could that be of any use? i immagine looking tv… maybe someone knows.
Thanks
That's why I get in a infrared near and far red light sauna every day for the health benefits
I’ve seen a ton of anti-LED videos, and only a few acknowledge that there are full spectrum LED bulbs available, which provide warm wavelengths close to sunlight. So these need to be publicized better. Nothing beats real sunlight, but we need some artificial light in any case.
Thank you for more important news! I’m ordering incandescent lights right now.
I think I saw Count Binface having an idea in the introductory picture.
Your the best
What about Warm LED Lights which gives Light at 3500 degree Kelvin
Thank you. Now I know why I am outdoor person.
Do red LED lights have the same healthy effects?
I question the data. At what power levels does this phenomena happen? Quite a difference between a laser at 5 Watts of I.R. light vs. 5 uW or I.R. light produced by an LED lamp.
Post the lightbulbs I should buy at the top of comments.
I see 670 nm red light.
A dimmed incandescent or halogen bulb screwed into a desk lamp.
Is that it?
This was a great one. I noticed that since I placed a low watt incandescent lightbulb into the lighted ceiling fan in my autistic daughter's room that it's effected her mood. In the evening I unscrew the LED bulbs so the rooms bathes in that beautiful warm light. She smiles every time I do it.
LEDs can be tuned as to their output so I am sure they can fix this. I'm sure you might remember that the first LEDs on alarm clocks etc. WERE red. Most likely they eliminated the red light because it is closer to infrared and causes quicker heat build up….. just a guess.
With better heat sinks built into the bulbs this shouldn't be a problem.
This information really needs to get out to the public. My good friend heads the emergency room at our cities largest hospital, and he looked at me like a crazy person when I shared these ideas with him..
I somehow never liked these LED lights .
Now I know I was right , without much knowing about them .
With all that knowledge you still think the sun is a star and that humans evloved over billions of years? Please see past the idoctrination of the profession and industries of science becasue this one elementary truth will change how you view everything else. We were all created along with the earth, sun, moon and stars and our Creator knows exactly what He's doing and how to keep us living long healthy lives. There is a fimament above your head that nobody may pass thru and the sun, moon and stars are fixated inside the firmament where they travel along their courses according to His direction. A red hot light for the day and a white cooling light for the night. Yahuah is amazing and you won't undermine His majesty with falsehoods sir.
STAY IN THE DARK
What are the light makers going to do?
Amazon has what you need!
How many people hoarded incandescent light bulbs when LED showed up on store shelves?
Near-infared radiation from an incandescent light bulb is not sufficient for health benefits unless you're physically a few inches from it.
are Warm white floresent compact bulbs a good choice?
And now US governments and elected officials completely disregard environmental concerns by forcing AI data centers on their constituents that do NOT want them.
So a massive state ordered change, led by climate ideology, to take place pretty much overnight, had unforeseen consequences? You don't say.
I have himalayan rock salt lamps and only use those.
Ultraviolet or red light does not prevent or cause or have anything to do with scurvy. Period. Scurvy is caused by vitamin C deficiency
I still have a few of the old 'energy saving' bulbs which are basically, I believe, mini fluorescent bulbs. Do these emit the infrared rays?
No sunscreen, unless its zinc & natural minerals,,,its the sunscreen that causes cancer!
glass windows block vitamin d
Protocol :
23:58 Step 1: The dimmed incandescent lamp
25:39 Step 2: Morning and midday daylight
26:44 Step 3: Cutting the evening blue light
27:47 Step 4: The nutritional foundation
28:36 Every technology comes with a biological bill
Is that why I am tired by 9 30 pm?
I can, t thank you enough for this fascinating info…. I never trusted or felt well when we were pushed on to LED, s. when aging and no family left, alone in life… nothing from doctors/NHS… finding well researched, from the heart, advice is invaluable to me, will put into practice 😊🙏🙏🙏
Is this why we use infrared lamps to heal pain? Is it worth sitting under infrared light then for a set period of time a day?
@@ I do not believe this guy. I found no evidence of such research results using AI Google. The red light claim is not backed by research. However, it has long been known about excessive blue causing insomnia when using LED lighted computer screens. New displays corrected this problem.
I used to suffer from SAD, from winters being too dark where I lived. I was prescribed a plant grow-light to sti in front of for 20 minutes a day. I moved, and no dark winters here, so no crashing in winter.