4.6 • 5.2K Ratings
🗓️ 21 September 2019
⏱️ 154 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
See, the last time I was in Malibu, myself, music producer Rick Rubin and today's guest - Matt Maruca of RA Optics - spent plenty of time geeking out on all things light.
I've known Matt for two years now, and consider him to be one of the world's leading authorities on what is called "photobiomodulation" - or the use of specific wavelengths of light therapy to cause some very beneficial health effects, and also a guy who knows more about blue-light blocking glasses and limiting the harmful effects of artificial light than just about anyone I know.
Today's episode is a special two-parter.
The first section is yours truly filling you in on how sunlight makes you skinny and blue light makes you fat.
The second part is a special solosode from Matt, in which he fills you in on the some little-known aspects of how to use light and how to block light in a way that will affect your energy, sleep, mitochondrial health, and much more, including history of the use of sunlight for health, why the sun and skin cancer isn’t black and white, lots of research on how light affects human biology and the benefits of sunlight, how artificial light affects the body and much more.
Just to give you a "taste" of what you're about to hear: after preparing this episode, I asked Matt: "can you point me to a post or research on "best time of day to cheat if you are going to cheat" based on circadian rhythm/sun exposure? You alluded to it in the audio." He replied:
"I think it would be morning/mid-day. One of the factors leading me to say this is Ayurveda which I imagine you're familiar with. An Ayurvedic doctor I started working with explained this to me in their terms.
Basically, in the middle of the day as the sun is stronger, the metabolism is more active. They call this energy "pitta", or fire. So, we can burn through stuff pretty well. This is why they generally suggest eating "heavier" food in the middle of the day for lunch.
And, it's a no brainer to me to fast through dinner because then the body can completely burn through everything you've consumed.
As for the Western Research, Satchin Panda from the Salk Institute leads the way. I recommend watching his TED talk where he explains their experiments on mice.
They basically found that mice eating healthy food when their metabolism is turning off had way more problems than mice eating unhealthy food when their engines are running full force. Because they are nocturnal the times are reversed for them relative to us. So for us the best time would be late morning to mid-day. To me, when eating this way I wouldn't even consider it a cheat because the body can move through stuff so well.
If you are comparing to someone who is usually eating a "healthy" dinner at 7 or 8 PM, I am 100% convinced that it would be healthier to "cheat" every day in the middle of the day and fast through dinner then to do what that person is doing. Based on the research, there really is no such thing as "healthy food" after 5 PM or within 4 hours of sleep.
Resources from this episode:
-RA Optics (Matt Maruca's blue light blocking glasses company. Use code BEN10 for 10% off)
-Ben's new book at BoundlessBook.com - which has a whole chapter on light and other hidden environmental variables that affect your health
-Uvex blue light blocking glasses
-The Circadian Code by Dr. Satchin Panda
-Blue Light Has a Dark Side (Harvard Health)
-Vintage Edison incandescent light bulbs
-The Fourth Phase of Water by Gerald Pollack
-BGF podcast on cold thermogenesis w/ Dr. Jack Kruse
-Ben's newest book: Pre-order Ben's new book Boundless or receive updates on its release via email
-Kion Coffee: Carefully selected and roasted for taste, purity, high antioxidants and health. Ben Greenfield Fitness listeners, receive a 10% discount off your entire order when you use discount code: BGF10.
-JOOVV: After using the Joovv for close to 2 years, it's the only light therapy device I'd ever recommend. Give it a try: you won't be disappointed. Order using my link and receive a nice bonus gift with your order!
-Vuori: Activewear and athletic clothing for ultimate performance. Vuori is built to move and sweat in, yet designed with a West Coast aesthetic that transitions effortlessly into everyday life. Receive 25% off your first order when you use discount code: "ben25"
-Harry's Razors: Try the shaving company that’s fixing shaving. Get a $13 value trial set that comes with everything you need for a close, comfortable shave when you go to harrys.com/greenfield
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wrP78K1objc
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0:00.0 | On this episode of the Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast. |
0:05.0 | I had spent an entire year trying to solve my health issues by focusing on the fuel going |
0:09.3 | into my engines without considering that the issues I was having could be the result |
0:13.9 | of dysfunction of the engines themselves. |
0:16.7 | It baffles me when people say, oh, the blue light blockers are for biohackers. |
0:20.9 | Those are for anybody who lives in a modern situation where you don't have control. |
0:25.4 | Something that motivates me is the fact that so many people at young ages are sick. |
0:32.4 | Health, performance, nutrition, longevity, ancestral living, biohacking, and much more. |
0:43.2 | My name is Ben Greenfield. |
0:45.2 | Welcome to the show. |
0:52.5 | So in today's episode, which I'll give you the intro on later on, the full meal deal |
0:56.4 | should be along later on, I do want to mention that there's a pretty big discussion on light |
1:01.2 | and how light affects your biology. |
1:03.0 | Light is one of those visible yet sometimes invisible variables that drastically affects |
1:08.0 | things like your mitochondria, your ATP production, your sleep, even things like wound |
1:13.8 | healing and skin health and collagen and elastin production. |
1:17.4 | Well light is just one of the hidden variables that I discuss in chapter 26. |
1:24.8 | Chapter 26 is about an 80 page chapter in my new book, Boundless, Upgrade Your Brain, |
1:31.6 | Optimize Your Body, and Defy Aging. |
1:34.0 | So if you dig what you hear, go to boundlessbook.com and you can get on the list for pre-order as |
1:39.5 | soon as this book goes live and it's big. |
1:43.1 | It's a 600 page book jam pack with the kind of stuff you're about to discover. |
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