Ep 038: Circadian Scientist Dr. Martin Moore-Ede Explains How Artificial Light At Night Leads To Diabetes, Obesity and Cancer

"I don't think it's an exaggeration to say the majority of breast cancer cases today in the Westernized world are related to light exposure, seeing the wrong light at the wrong time, which is huge." - Dr. Martin Moor-Ede

In this episode of the Quantum Biology Collective podcast, host Meredith Oke interviews Dr. Martin Moor-Ede, a leading expert on circadian clocks and the health problems caused by artificial light at night. Dr. Moor-Ede, a former professor at Harvard Medical School, shares his journey into circadian medicine and the groundbreaking discoveries he made about the impact of light on our bodies. 

Dr. Moor-Ede explains how exposure to blue-rich light at night disrupts our circadian rhythms, leading to a range of health issues including sleep disorders, fatigue, obesity, diabetes, and even cancer. He emphasizes the importance of regulated circadian rhythms for overall health and highlights the need for greater awareness and education on this topic. He also discusses the challenges in the lighting industry and the urgent need for better lighting solutions that prioritize our health. This conversation sheds light on the practical strategies and feasible actions we can adopt to protect our circadian rhythms and improve our human health.

Quotes:

• "The trouble is the people who know this stuff and know the science already, and maybe in the lighting industry, you know, all talk to each other. But the rest of the world is pretty unaware of some of this and it’s really important for everybody to understand." (01:53 | Dr. Martin Moor-Ede)
• “And around 2007, the World Health Organization came out with this finding that was stunning. The conclusion was, looking at all the research, including the work I mentioned, it was pretty clear that that light at night was a carcinogen. And that it was related to exposure to light at night and it suppressed melatonin and it precipitated or accelerated cancer.” (15:36 | Dr. Martin Moor-Ede)
• "Blue light during the day - you are sitting outside there with a beautiful daylight coming in. You're getting bathed in a lot of blue. That is critical to keeping the circadian clock synchronized today. As soon as it is dusk, you want to get rid of all the blue." (23:45 | Dr. Martin Moor-Ede)
• "Blue light does a number of things. It interferes with our glucose metabolism. We developed something called insulin resistance. That was the body does not respond to insulin and hence insulin has to be pumped out more. And this is an effect you can get immediately the first night you expose to blue light." (29:03 | Dr. Martin Moor-Ede) 
• "I don't think it's an exaggeration to say the majority of breast cancer cases today in the Westernized world are related to light exposure and seeing the wrong light at the wrong time."(38:31 | Dr. Martin Moor-Ede)

Links:

Connect with Dr. Martin Moore-Ede:

Website: https://thelightdoctor.com 

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