🛑 Weekly Newsletter: More Thyroid & Light Therapy Science

Another week, and more publications. The light therapy space keeps growing faster than the speed of light, it seems, sometimes.

This week we're considering a newly published study on thyroid autoimmune issues.

We've also added Bart and Alex's new content on Light Therapy certifications, cellulite and light therapy, and more!

Let's go:

Weekly Study: Thyroid Autoimmune Condition & Red Light Therapy

So this review study just came out in March 2026. Here's the conclusion of that study:

"Across studies, [red light therapy] was associated with reductions in thyroid autoantibodies, improvements in thyroid hormone indices, and decreases in LT4 dose requirements."

So, there's:

Fewer antibodies, meaning that the immune system no longer attacks the thyroid gland in your neck
Thyroid hormone improvement - remember that the thyroid is the "furnace" or the "master controller" of your metabolism
Lower pharmaceutical requirements ("LT4"). Many people with hypothyroidism use T4 or (more ideally) T3 medication due to an inability to produce suffiicent thyroid hormone.

Check the full study HERE. I've also created very extensive content on thyroid health and light therapy, which you can check below, by the way:

But back to the March 2026 review. "Review" here means that earlier studies on a topic were analyzed and integrated - thyroid health and light therapy, to be precise.

Keep in mind, I'm talking about "Chronic Autoimmune Thyroiditis (CAT)". CAT is literally an autoimmune condition where the thyroid cells are attacked by your own immune system. Thyroid function goes down, naturally, as the result of CAT.

The good news here is the great conclusion that the researchers write, which I'll break down into detail below:

"Longer follow-up studies reported ultrasonographic changes, while one sham-controlled trial demonstrated improvements in oxidative stress markers and quality of life (QoL) without short-term endocrine changes. However, current evidence is limited by the small number of human studies, heterogeneous [red light therapy] protocols, and the frequent use of concomitant interventions such as selenium or vitamin D. Overall, PBM may represent a promising adjunctive approach in CAT, although randomized sham-controlled trials are required before clinical implementation."

So, as a result of the red light therapy, there are changes at the cellular level ("ultrasonographic changes"). Oxidative stress, which potentially leads to damage in cells, cell function, and can speed up aging, also goes down, and quality of life goes up. However, there are few studies available right now, and often these studies use other nutrients that counter thyroid problems such as selenium and vitamin D.

Nevertheless, Figure 1 of the study nevertheless showcases the effects of light therapy really well - you'll see how widespread the effects are on human physiology:

So those are the different mechanisms listed above, in Figure 1.

Moreover, this review included 6 earlier studies published on CAT. Overall, researchers also talk positively about selenium and vitamin D as primary nutrients, which I'd wholeheartedly agree with.

Nevertheless, light therapy, either combined with these aforementioned nutrients or on its own, has very strong effects. Here's a short description of these effects:

"The results of this systematic narrative review suggest that [red light therapy] has the potential to act as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of CAT. All of the clinical studies in the present review reported decreases in antibody levels against the thyroid (anti-TPO and/or anti-TG) and, similarly, many of the studies showed decreases in the dose required of exogenous LT4. These findings suggest a greater contribution of endogenously produced thyroid hormones compared to solely symptomatic control."

So you should be able to boost thyroid function big time. However, replicating the protocols of these studies is often not easy, as most of them use high-powered lasers.

So, what should you do when you have CAT, or even plain hypothyroidism? Consider my viewpoint on this: Want to know the recommended devices that I prefer? Or how to treat your thyroid? Then check out my deep dive article from 2025, that also consider nutrients, and other health strategies, as well as the best consumer-based devices for red light therapy.

Also, we put this out recenty, if you want a summary on the red light therapy for thyroid health device selections and the basics of the science:

Red Light Therapy Poll:

We just posted a few polls this week. Here's one poll on cellulite and light therapy, on which we just released a video (video included below)

After you join our Facebook group, you can read all the answers and comments in the thread of the poll as well.

The outcome here is surprising as almost no-one reports positive benefits for cellulite with light therapy. Despite the science that we've posted below!

And then, there's this poll about whether people have ever experienced side effects from light therapy:

Again, great outcome as 95% of people have never had any issues!

Also, Check Out Some Of Our Other Content:

Below you'll find some of our best content that you shouldn't miss:

Red Light Therapy Certifications Explained: FDA, CE, UL & What They Really Mean - Should you really buy products based on certifications? Alex makes the case that most certifications don't focus on the most important essentials, and helps you understand what to really look out for when getting a product...
Red Light Therapy For Cellulite: Why Adding Green Helps - Bart makes the case that red light therapy, and green light, help reduce cellulite mainly in women, but also if you target other lifestyle & nutrition strategies as well!
Weber Medical Laser Watch: REVOLUTIONARY Endolight®? - This is an awesome wearable device that's really unique and exposes your bloodstream to different types of visible and NIR light!
Red Light Therapy for Epilepsy: My Son’s Story + The Science - This is a very very personal video by Alex on red light therapy for epilepsy, because his son was affected by this horrible health condition. Alex fixed it, however, with a specialized protocol and medical guidance of professionals, and this video showcases his journey.
Vielight's Brain Photobiomodulation: Unique Application Method! - Here's Alex's breakdown of the Vielight science and why it's unique in transcranial and intranasal light therapy

Light Therapy Advanced Science Course - Contains Content On Exercise Performance Too:

Join Bart's 100% free advanced science light therapy course above, where he takes deep dives into many different topics, such as mechanisms, neurology (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, etc), exercise recovery, skin beauty & rejuvenation, and much more.

Some of the topics are only published in that course, such as UV light risks and benefits, addiction, anxiety, depression, and more. So join HERE!