Light As Medicine: The Untold Science Behind Sunlight and Light Therapy for Disease Prevention and Total Body Health with Roger Seheult, MD

Dhru Purohit Show

Dhru Purohit

Medicine, Health & Fitness, Alternative Health

4.7 • 3.4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2025

⏱️ 90 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode is brought to you by Bon Charge, Maui Nui, and Momentous. Light isn’t just something we see; it’s a nutrient our bodies depend on. New research shows that sunlight and infrared light boost mitochondrial function, support brain health, and may even influence obesity and seasonal illness. Today’s guest breaks down why modern life leaves so many of us light-deficient and shares simple steps to bring this essential pillar of health back into their daily routine. Today on The Dhru Purohit Show, Dhru sits down with quadruple board-certified physician Dr. Roger Seheult to explore the often-overlooked role of light, especially infrared light, as a vital nutrient for our health. Dr. Seheult breaks down how modern lifestyles have led to a widespread deficiency in natural sunlight, contributing to issues like cognitive decline, obesity, and chronic disease. He shares insights from his clinical experience, the latest research on light therapy, and practical steps anyone can take to increase healthy light exposure. Dr. Seheult also outlines the eight laws of health, highlighting how nutrition, exercise, sunlight, and rest work together to support long-term well-being. Dr. Roger Seheult is a quadruple board-certified physician in internal medicine, pulmonary diseases, critical care, and sleep medicine. He serves as an Associate Clinical Professor at UC Riverside and an Assistant Clinical Professor at Loma Linda University. He practices at Optum California as a critical care, pulmonary, and sleep specialist, directs a sleep lab, and serves as Medical Director for the Crafton Hills College Respiratory Care Program. He is also the co-founder of MedCram, whose CME-accredited medical education videos are used by hospitals, medical schools, and millions of clinicians worldwide. In this episode, Dhru and Dr. Seheult dive into: The overlooked “nutrient” your body is starving for (00:32) How infrared light supercharges your mitochondria (4:40) The hidden link between light and cognitive decline (8:47) COVID-19 treatment with light therapy (15:23) Healing power of sunlight (21:41) Why low sunlight may drive weight gain and obesity (28:40) The surprising reason flu season even exists (41:16) Eight Laws of Health (59:56) Morning light hacks when you can’t get outside (01:04:37) Benefits of leaving windows open (1:07:50) Beating the afternoon slump (1:11:05) Red light devices and their limitations (1:16:13) Light Deficiency: The Modern Scurvy (1:24:15) Final takeaways to reboot your relationship with light (1:26:34) Also mentioned in this episode: Higher ultraviolet light exposure is associated with lower mortality Brighter nights and darker days predict higher mortality risk For more on Dr. Seheult, follow him on Facebook, X/Twitter, LinkedIn, or visit his Website. This episode is brought to you by Bon Charge, Maui Nui, and Momentous. Right now, Bon Charge is having their holiday sale and offering my community 25% off. Just go to boncharge.com/DHRU and use code DHRU to save 25% today. Right now, Maui Nui Venison is offering my listeners a limited collection of my favorite cuts and products and a FREE 12-pack of venison jerky sticks with your first order of $79 or more! Just go to mauinuivenison.com/dhru to secure your access now, but hurry, supply is limited! Optimize your energy and mental clarity with the purest form of creatine, made by and used by the best, now available in convenient and tasty lemon lime chews. Head to livemomentous.com and use code DHRU for 35% off your first subscription. Sign up for Dhru’s Try This Newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Roger, a pleasure to have you on the podcast.
0:02.6	I've shared you before, but I'm a huge fan,
0:05.2	and I want to jump right in.
0:06.8	You know, we spend so much time obsessing,
0:10.2	and I've been guilty of this too,
0:11.8	about the food we put in our mouths, the supplements we're taking,
0:15.8	but you've essentially said that we are starving
0:18.4	for a different type of nutrient, one that we can actually absorb
0:22.8	through our skin and ice. Talk to us about this nutrient. And more importantly, why the lack of it
0:28.5	in our modern society is making us super sick. Yeah, this is a big topic. You know, we have assumed
0:35.0	for a long time that, and I have, even as a health care provider,
0:39.3	I'm a physician, sleep specialist, pulmonary, that's lungs and critical care.
0:44.1	That light is really for the eyes and for the skin, because that's where we interact with light.
0:49.8	It's on the outside of our body and had to be educated, really really on how that worked. So light in general is
0:57.5	a continuum. And we've all seen that, you know, the rainbow or we've seen white light going into
1:03.8	a prism and it's being divided up into the colors of the rainbow. That's just a small microcosm
1:09.5	of the full spectrum that's out there. There's stuff to the left of red and to the right of violet. And we call that infrared and ultraviolet respectively. And those have actual implications for our body as well. So the problem is, is that, you know, that term that we use, like I have to see it to believe it, right?
1:28.5	So we all completely understand what red light is,
1:32.0	what orange light is with green, blue.
1:35.4	There are other colors that you cannot see
1:38.3	that have an impact and behave differently
1:41.6	than visible light.
	...

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