.png)
Do you frequently experience fatigue and tiredness? Do you struggle with mental fog and fuzzy memories? Are you concerned about your recovery after physical activity or outdoor adventures? How is your mental well-being? Do you perceive the world through a lens of depression and anxiety? Are you yearning for a change in your life but unsure how to achieve it? This blog aims to explore various supplements that can be combined with red light therapy to boost your energy levels, enhance your well-being, and promote overall flourishing.
Vitamins and supplements are an important part of our everyday lives, since they help provide nutrients our bodies need to function properly. It starts with a balanced diet, but vitamins and supplements can fill the gaps in areas that are deficient. Vitamins and supplements each have their own set of specific health benefits, including their ability to boost immunity, increase our energy, improve brain function, and support joint health.
Our team at The Wellness Center is committed to providing full body, red and near-infrared light therapy that contributes to improving physical and emotional wellness, including optimizing brain function. Vitamins and supplements also play a supportive role in enhancing brain health when used in combination with a consistent red light therapy program. In this blog post, we will explore the top 10 vitamins and supplements for optimal brain function and how they can complement Red Light Therapy as adjunctive care.
1. Omega-3 Fatty Acids:
Role: Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), support brain health by reducing inflammation and promoting clear communication between brain cells.
Benefits with red light: Red Light Therapy enhances blood flow. Improved blood flow is needed for certain fats like Omega-3s to reach the brain more effectively, maximizing their positive impact on your brain's ability to work. Combining Red Light Therapy with Omega-3 supplements can create a tag-team effect that supports your overall well-being, as well as the health of your brain. Imagine two little people wrestlers fighting a solo wrestler. They are going to be way more effective together.
2. Vitamin B Complex:
Role: B-vitamins (B6, B9, and B12) are water soluble and not stored in the body, but necessary for neurotransmitter production and optimal brain function.
Adjunctive Benefits: Red Light Therapy can help improve the absorption of these vitamins with the increase of blood flow. Your enhanced blood flow promotes better delivery of nutrients throughout the body, allowing vitamins to be absorbed more efficiently. Imagine putting a rocket engine on a delivery service.
3. Vitamin D:
Role: Vitamin D plays a very important role in the body by regulating calcium and phosphorus levels, which are essential for maintaining healthy bones and teeth. It supports the immune system, reduces inflammation, and supports muscle function. Vitamin D is also involved in cell growth, neuromuscular function, and the reduction of inflammation.
Adjunctive Benefits: When exposed to red light, the skin responds by producing vitamin D similar to what happens when exposed to sunlight. This can be beneficial when you have limited exposure to the sun or are worried about getting cancer from the suns harmful UV rays. Red Light Therapy combined with vitamin D supplements can help improve vitamin D levels, which supports brain health by reducing the risk of brain decline and making you happier. This approach helps your body’s ability to receive the nutrients it needs, despite environmental factors. Imagine having a gentle, sun-powered energy drink for your skin, ensuring your brain stays happy and sharp without the risk of sunburn.
4. Vitamin E:
Role: Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant, which can protect brain cells from oxidative stress.
Adjunctive Benefits: Red Light Therapy, is the best at giving your cells more energy, and making your blood circulate better. This helps in the process of removing garbage in your cells called free radicals, that cause oxidative stress. This, in combination with vitamin E supplementation, creates a powerful defense against oxidative stress, ensuring better protection for your brain cells and overall brain health. Imagine a superhero called The Great VitaminE gaining the power of the sun.
5. Curcumin (Turmeric Extract):
Role: Curcumin is found in Turmeric, and is known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, which have protective effects on your brain. It has also been reported that Alzheimer’s patients taking curcumin have experienced improvements in memory and attention.
Adjunctive Benefits: Red Light Therapy enhances the absorption of curcumin, making it more effective. The increased blood flow and improved circulation resulting from Red Light Therapy can aid in the distribution of curcumin to various tissues, including the brain. Just like the Vitamin B Complex, It's a rocket engine on your delivery service.
6. Lion's Mane Mushroom:
Role: Lion's Mane mushroom contains compounds called hericenones and erinacines, which are known to stimulate the growth of brain cells and improve brain function. These compounds promote the production of nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein that plays a crucial role in the growth, maintenance, and survival of neurons..
Adjunctive Benefits: Red light therapy supports the circulation of hericenones and erinacines by improving blood flow and cellular activity. Red light therapy increases the production of nitric oxide, which dilates blood vessels, improving overall circulation. This boosted blood flow ensures that the compounds in lion's mane are more efficiently transported throughout the body, including to the brain, where they can begin using their neuroprotective and neurotrophic effects.
7. Ginkgo Biloba:
Role: Ginkgo Biloba improves circulation and blood flow to the brain through several mechanisms. It contains flavonoids and terpenoids, which are powerful antioxidants that protect blood vessels from potential damage and helps them remain flexible. Ginkgo also inhibits platelet-activating factor (PAF), reducing blood clot formation and improving blood flow. Additionally, it enhances the release of nitric oxide, a compound that relaxes blood vessels, leading to better blood circulation. By increasing cerebral blood flow, Ginkgo Biloba enhances oxygen and nutrient delivery to brain cells, which supports memory, cognitive function, and overall brain health.
Adjunctive Benefits: Red light therapy boosts cellular energy production (ATP), enhancing the cells' ability to utilize oxygen and nutrients delivered by improved blood flow. Together, these therapies optimize cerebral blood flow, leading to better oxygen and nutrient delivery, which supports memory, brain function, and overall brain health more effectively than either therapy alone. Imagine your brain being able to flex it's much more powerful muscles
8. Phosphatidylserine:
Role: Phosphatidylserine is a key component of brain cell membranes, protecting them and keeping them healthy. It helps brain cells communicate by supporting the release of neurotransmitters, which are vital for memory, learning, and focus. By maintaining cell structure and promoting efficient signal transmission, phosphatidylserine supports overall cognitive function..
Adjunctive Benefits: Red Light Therapy helps increase cell membrane flexibility, making phosphatidylserine more effective. The Wellness Center has protocols in place that work to improve these symptoms as well. Imagine pig mail carriers that are way more effective.
9. Acetyl-L-Carnitine:
Role: Acetyl-L-carnitine helps with energy production in the brain by transporting fatty acids into the mitochondria, the cell's powerhouses, where they are converted into energy. This process boosts overall brain energy levels, enhancing cognitive function and mental clarity. Additionally, Acetyl-L-carnitine has neuroprotective effects by reducing oxidative stress, protecting brain cells from damage, and promoting the repair of damaged neurons, thereby supporting brain health and function.
Adjunctive Benefits: Red Light Therapy has been shown to enhance cellular energy production in the brain. This is achieved by stimulating the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, to produce more adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the primary source of energy for cells, including brain cells. A study published in the journal "Frontiers in Neuroscience" in 2019 titled "Near-Infrared Photobiomodulation in Cognitive Decline: A Comparative Review" discusses how near-infrared light therapy (a part of Red Light Therapy) can positively impact mitochondrial function and enhance cellular energy production in the brain. This, in combination with Acetyl-L-Carnitine supplementation, can create a powerful synergy, supporting not only brain energy production but also potentially offering neuroprotective effects. Imagine a supper effective lunch landy giving you all the best foods you need.
10. Magnesium:
Role: Magnesium is essential for neurotransmitter function because it helps regulate the release of neurotransmitters, which are crucial for communication between brain cells. It supports the synthesis of serotonin, a neurotransmitter linked to mood regulation. Magnesium also plays a role in reducing stress and anxiety by modulating the body's stress response, helping to calm the nervous system and promote relaxation. By stabilizing nerve cell membranes and preventing excessive excitability, magnesium contributes to a balanced mood and overall mental well-being.
Adjunctive Benefits: Red light therapy supports magnesium's role in neurotransmitter function and stress reduction by enhancing cellular energy production and improving circulation. By increasing ATP (adenosine triphosphate) levels, red light therapy helps brain cells function more efficiently, promoting optimal neurotransmitter release. Additionally, it improves blood flow, ensuring better delivery of oxygen and nutrients, including magnesium, to brain cells. This combination helps stabilize mood, reduces stress, and supports overall cognitive function, amplifying the benefits of magnesium for mental well-being. Imagine having a super hero as a crossing guard.
Optimizing brain function with the combination of Red Light Therapy and the right vitamins and supplements can contribute greatly to your overall wellness by reducing inflammation, and enhancing circulation. It is possible to achieve a healthier and sharper mind with Red Light Therapy, and these supplements work in harmony to promote your overall well-being.
Originally created by A.J. Harewood. Revamped and updated by Chase and Laura Warburton.
It's important to note that while vitamins and supplements can be beneficial, we always recommend consulting your healthcare provider before starting any new regimen to ensure there are no contraindications in taking these supplements with other medications you might be taking currently and adding red light therapy to your wellness regimen.
Contact The Wellness Center today to explore your options to start feeling better! We’re here to help!
Visit our YouTube Channel to see our Podcasts, Testimonials, and more information on Red Light Therapy today!
The information contained in this article, and information curated from third-party links are for informational purposes only and should not be used or interpreted as a diagnosis or medical advice. It is your sole responsibility to consult with your medical doctor regarding any therapy plans or complementary care you might be considering for your personal medical care.
Source(s):
Study with 60 participants over an eight week period. Damir Nizamutdinov , Xiaoming Qi , Marvin H Berman , Gordon Dougal , Samantha Dayawansa , Erxi Wu , S. Stephen Yi , Alan B Stevens , Jason H Huang. Transcranial Near Infrared Light Stimulations Improve Cognition in Patients with Dementia. Aging and disease. 2021, 12(4): 954-963 https://doi.org/10.14336/AD.2021.0229
Lee KH, Cha M, Lee BH. Neuroprotective Effect of Antioxidants in the Brain. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Sep 28;21(19):7152. doi: 10.3390/ijms21197152. PMID: 32998277; PMCID: PMC7582347.
Cleveland Clinic: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/drugs/25129-phosphatidylserine
Maryland Center for Brain Health: https://mdbrainhealth.com/red-light-therapy
Most images created through Wix AI image generator with the help of Chase
Commentaires