“Breast cancer as an example. A very rare disease, back before Edison invented the light bulb”
“We live in, junk light, essentially. It’s just like junk food.”
Breast and prostate cancer are linked to the LED lighting that constantly flood our homes and office spaces. So are heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
Dr. Martin Moore-Ede has spent his career understanding how different lighting affects us, and in particular how LED lighting harms human health. He discovered the master clock in the human brain, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the tiny structure that tells every cell in our body whether it’s day or night, and he has studied circadian systems for 50 years. He says LED lighting is the "tobacco of our time, and that we now live in “junk light, just like junk food.”
LED lighting couldn’t be further removed from sunlight, which humans evolved under for millions of years. LEDs are also very different from their previous counterpart, the incandescent bulb, which was much closer in spectrum to sunlight.
The problem worsens when we use LEDs at night, because they suppress melatonin, which is not just a sleep hormone but a powerful antioxidant and repair signal.
Dr. Moore-Ede also argues we have the sun backwards. Fear of skin cancer has driven us indoors at a cost of roughly one hundred other deaths for every one it prevents. Avoiding the sun is worse than getting skin cancer!
I feel strongly about this episode because getting more sunlight and switching my lighting were the cheapest health intervention I have ever made, and have had the biggest impact on my health, sleep, and mood.
“This is time to take lighting into your own hands, and it’s a huge thing you can do for your health.” — Dr. Martin Moore-Ede
What we discuss in this episode:
Why breast cancer, prostate cancer, heart disease, and diabetes all track with how much LED light we’re exposed to, especially at night.
Why melatonin isn’t the sleep hormone we think it is, and how it hunts down cancer cells while we sleep.
Why the people who got the most sun lived the longest, despite getting more skin cancer.
Why the type of blue in our LED bulbs is the exact wrong one for our body clock.
The red and infrared our mitochondria need for energy, and how LEDs contain none of it.
How living on the wrong side of a time zone raises our risk of cancer and heart disease.
Why wearing sunglasses on our morning walk defeats the whole purpose.
Which blue-light-blocking glasses actually work, and why most block the wrong blue.
See below for timestamps and products I use for better circadian lighting.
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Check out my health stack of the exact non-toxic health products I use. For the full collection of 500+ health products curated by me, see Health Stacked.
All other platforms: here
Products I use for better circadian rhythm
VivaRays 4 in 1 Blue Blockers and UV transmitters: VivaRays makes 3 in 1 blue blockers that you can easily switch from day to evening to night. As we discussed in the episode, blocking blue at night is critical for preventing cancer risk.
Use my link https://vivarays.com/livelongerworld or discount code LIVELONGERWORLD for 10% off
Healthy Home Shop Circadian Bulbs: The Circadian bulbs have 3 light settings that easily switch spectrum from daylight (full-spectrum) to evening to night (blue-light free). This is exactly what you want for mimicking the sun’s wavelengths indoors. And no WiFi required.
Use my link https://thehealthyhome.shop/livelongerworld for 10% off
Daylight Computer No-blue screen: I love reading on my Daylight! They have zero blue light and are flicker-free. It’s such a peaceful reading experience, without causing you any eye strain.
Use my link https://buy.daylightcomputer.com/livelongerworld for $25 off
Chroma Circadian-Aligned Desk Lamp: The Sky portal desk lamp is a great circadian lamp for your workspace. It delivers bright light during the day, and red light as evening sets in.
Use my link https://getchroma.co/photonsfromaastha and code LIVELONGERWORLD for 10% off
For all the Lighting & EMF products I use, see my health stack
For the full collection of Lighting & EMF products I’ve curated, see Health Stacked
Timestamps:
00:00 LED Light Is the Tobacco of Our Time
01:33 The Connection Between Cancer and LED Lighting
04:05 Why Hormone-Driven Cancers Are Hit the Hardest
07:49 Is There a Link to Glioblastoma?
08:14 Why Melatonin Is Not the Sleep Hormone
11:40 There Is No Blue Light in Nature After Sunset
15:58 We Live in Junk Light, Just Like Junk Food
17:21 What Wavelengths Are LEDs Actually Missing?
20:44 The Infrared We Lost When We Banned Incandescents
22:52 The Two Ways LEDs Are Harming You
30:05 Health Stacked
30:56 White vs Yellow Light: Why It's the Wrong Question
33:59 Lux, Lumens, and a 100-Year-Old Mistake
38:27 What LED Light Does to Your Heart and Immune System
40:44 Why Regularity Matters as Much as the Light Itself
43:07 The Camping Study That Reset Everyone's Body Clock
45:26 The Longevity Data Is Mind-Blowing
49:56 Sunlight vs Skin Cancer: We Have It Backwards
53:03 The 450 vs 480 Spike Almost No One Gets Right
57:38 The Ancient Greeks Had No Word for Blue
59:52 Why Life Evolved to Run on Blue Light
01:03:13 Melanopsin: Your Body's Blue Detector
01:08:28 Do Melatonin Supplements Actually Do Anything?
01:10:42 The Hidden Clocks in Every Cell of Your Body
01:12:19 Why the Wrong Side of a Time Zone Can Kill You
01:15:37 Is There Something Special About Dawn?
01:17:12 Light and the Early Onset of Puberty
01:20:53 The Aggressive Kid Who Changed When the Lights Did
01:21:51 Should You Replace Your Windows?
01:24:00 Do not wear sunglasses in the morning!
01:26:44 What About Daytime Lighting?
01:27:41 Do Blue-Light-Blocking Glasses Work at Night?
01:29:33 Why Regulators Refuse to Look at the Evidence
01:31:20 Take Your Lighting Into Your Own Hands
For paid subscribers, I will be releasing highlights and practical takeaways from this conversation with Dr. Moore-Ede, so if you want those, please consider upgrading.
