Red Light Therapy for Colds and Flu

Transformation Wellness clients reflect the growing interest in red light therapy as part of a self-care routine during cold and flu season. And their timing could not be better.

The Center for Disease Control issued its US Influenza Surveillance Report, showing that 3.8% of visits to a healthcare provider for the week ending December 14, 2024, were for respiratory illness. In other words, cold and flu season is in full swing.

Pittsburgh’s cold winter climate poses real risks — which can be alleviated with regular red light therapy. Harvard Medical School researchers at Mass Eye and Ear, with colleagues at Northeastern University, discovered a previously unidentified immune response inside the nose that fights off viruses responsible for upper respiratory infections. The study revealed this protective response becomes inhibited in colder temperatures, increasing infection risk.

How Does Medical-Grade Red Light Therapy Help During Flu Season?

Why add red light therapy to your health regime?

At its most basic, red light therapy stimulates mitochondria, the energy-producing organelles in our cells, increasing ATP production. This boost in cellular energy can help support overall cellular function and repair processes that may be impaired in any inflammatory or infectious disease condition, including colds and flu.

One of the central players is the lymphatic system — which supports circulation, nutrition, and the immune system overall. Lymphatic nodes and vessels clear waste and act as a “pipeline” for immune cells. It’s thought that red light therapy increases the body’s supply of nitric oxide, inducing vasodilation and relaxing lymphatic vessels.  When lymphatic vessels relax, lymph flow increases throughout the body — including the brain's glymphatic system.

A person’s lymphatic fluid composition reflects the functions of the lymphatic system. These include defending against invading cold and flu pathogens), transporting and absorbing fats and fat-soluble vitamins, maintaining fluid balance, and removing cellular waste. These functions are essential to maintaining health, and impairment of lymphatic system function can cause a wide range of problems, including (but not limited to) susceptibility to colds and viral diseases such as flu.

“As someone who battled chronic Lyme, I know the power of a strong immune system,” says Dr. Annette Cronauer, founder of Transformation Weight Loss and Wellness, home to Pittsburgh’s only medical-grade red light therapy.

Clients choose Transformation Weight Loss and Wellness for its Max Miracle 9600 – Doctor Professional Edition red light therapy beds. The Max Miracle 9600 features 3200 LEDs and delivers over 9600 watts of total power. This bed is considered, by far, to be the highest medical-grade red light therapy device available in Pittsburgh.

Studies have shown that red light therapy can be a particularly effective, drug-free way to navigate cold and flu season. While more research is needed, the existing evidence suggests that adding red light therapy to your health regime — along with adequate nutrition and regular lymph and sinus health routines — offers a promising option for preventing colds and flu.

FAQs: Red/NIR light (photobiomodulation), mitochondria, lymphatics, and cold/flu defense.

1) What is photobiomodulation (red / near-infrared light) in simple terms?

Red light therapy or photobiomodulation (PBM) is the therapeutic use of red and near-infrared (NIR) light to stimulate biological responses in tissue. It’s non-thermal (does not significantly heat tissue at therapeutic doses) and is used clinically and experimentally for wound healing, modulation of pain and inflammation, and recovery. Frontiers+1

2) How does Red light therapy affect mitochondria and cellular energy?

One of the best-supported mechanisms is mitochondrial stimulation. Red light therapy photons are absorbed by chromophores (notably cytochrome c oxidase) in mitochondria, which can increase mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP production, and modify reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling. Those changes can temporarily boost cellular energy and trigger downstream protective and reparative signaling pathways. Multiple lab and animal studies show increases in ATP and mitochondrial activity after appropriate Red light therapy dosing. PMC+

Bottom line: Red light therapy can enhance cellular energy production in many cell types when dosed correctly, which is central to how it may support immune cells and tissue repair.

3) How does mitochondrial “health and energy” support the immune system?

Immune cells — especially activated neutrophils, macrophages, NK cells, and T cells — need energy (ATP) and healthy mitochondria for migration, phagocytosis, cytokine production, and pathogen killing. When mitochondria function well:

• Immune cells respond faster and more effectively,

• Antiviral signaling pathways (for example, some interferon responses) are better supported,

• Tissue repair and resolution of inflammation are improved.

Conversely, mitochondrial dysfunction (from age, metabolic stress, or illness) can blunt immune responsiveness. So interventions that support mitochondrial energy can plausibly improve immune cell performance. (This is a general physiological principle supported by immunometabolism research; Red light therapy's mitochondrial effects are one way to influence that.) PMC

4) What role does nutrition play in mitochondrial health, energy, and immunity?

Nutrition is foundational:

• Macronutrients: Adequate protein supplies amino acids for immune cell proliferation and enzymes. Carbohydrates and fats are fuel for mitochondria.

• Micronutrients & cofactors: B-vitamins, magnesium, iron, coenzyme Q, and others are essential for mitochondrial electron transport and ATP synthesis.

• Antioxidants: Vitamins C, E, selenium and polyphenols help manage oxidative stress; mitochondria need balanced redox signaling.

• Overall energy balance: Under-nutrition or extreme energy deficit impairs immune responses; metabolic health (insulin sensitivity, low chronic inflammation) supports immune competence.

So good nutrition provides the substrates and cofactors mitochondria (and immune cells) require — Red light therapy may boost mitochondrial function, but nutrition supplies the raw materials for sustained energy and immune responses. PMC

5) What does research show about Red light therapy's effects on the immune system and infections (cold/flu/respiratory)?

The literature shows promising mechanisms and preclinical/early clinical signals:

• Mechanistic/cellular evidence: Red light therapy can modulate immune cell behaviour — enhancing some cellular activities (migration, phagocytosis) and reducing excessive inflammatory cytokine release in injury models. PMC+

• Anti-inflammatory effects: Meta-analyses and reviews support Red light therapy’s anti-inflammatory actions in many contexts (reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines, better tissue repair). That’s relevant because severe respiratory viral illness often involves harmful inflammation. PMC

• Lung / respiratory models: Animal and small clinical studies (including early reports during COVID) suggest red light therapy can reduce lung inflammation and improve oxygenation in some acute respiratory injury models. ScienceDirect+

  
  

6) How does Red light therapy influence the lymphatic/glymphatic systems?

Several animal and mechanistic studies report that Red light therapy can stimulate lymphatic function and clearance (including cranial/glymphatic drainage in brain models). Improved lymphatic motility and vessel regeneration have been observed in preclinical studies, which help clear excess fluid, immune cells, and metabolic waste — processes crucial for both tissue health and immune surveillance. Improved peripheral lymph flow can theoretically aid immune cell trafficking and antigen clearance. PMC+

7) How does supporting the lymphatic system help resist colds and viral diseases such as the flu?

The lymphatic system performs several immune-centric roles:

• Drains interstitial fluid and clears debris and pathogens to lymph nodes,

• Transports antigen-presenting cells to lymph nodes for adaptive immune activation,

• Facilitates recirculation of immune cells.

If lymphatic flow or node function is impaired, antigen detection and immune activation can be slower. Therefore, interventions that maintain healthy lymphatic flow and reduced tissue congestion can theoretically support faster immune detection and resolution of infections. PMC+1

8) Are there safety or Red light therapy dosing issues to know about?

Yes — Red light therapy follows a biphasic dose/response: too little has no effect; too much can be less effective or inhibitory. Parameters that matter include wavelength, irradiance (power density), energy (J/cm²), pulse vs continuous wave, and treatment duration/repeat frequency. Professional devices typically give higher irradiance and more uniform whole-body exposure; consumer panels are lower power. Frontiers

How does a professional bed (e.g., Max Miracle Red Light Therapy Bed ) differ from consumer red-light panels

Key device attributes that matter for biological effect

Wavelengths used — the Max Miracle Red Light Therapy Bed penetrates deeper. Dual-wavelength systems can target superficial and deeper tissues. Frontiers

Irradiance (mW/cm²) — The Max Miracle Red Light Therapy Bed delivers higher irradiance, delivers therapeutic energy faster, and can reach deeper tissues.

Uniformity & coverage — The Max Miracle Red Light Therapy Bed gives full-body, even exposure.

How the Max Miracle 9600 (Doctor Professional Edition) stacks up

• The Max Miracle Max Miracle Red Light Therapy Bed offers thousands of LEDs, dual wavelengths, and high output for clinic use. It qualifies as a FDA Class II medical device. This means it’s designed to deliver higher irradiance across the whole body consistently compared to small home panels. Red Light Wellness+

  
  

What that implies in practice: a well-engineered, high-output professional bed can deliver therapeutic doses to more of the body in less time and with better uniformity than low-power consumer devices — which may be important when the goal is systemic effects (e.g., whole-body mitochondrial support, lymphatic stimulation). Red Light Wellness

9) Does a device like the Max Miracle 9600 “deliver on the promise” of improving mitochondrial energy and immunity?

Short answer: It can deliver the physical inputs (appropriate wavelengths and higher irradiance) that the research shows are necessary to stimulate mitochondria and modulate inflammation/immune cell function.

• Why the bed can be advantageous: full-body, dual wavelengths, and clinical irradiance allow consistent exposure that matches parameters used in many PBM studies. Red Light Wellness+

  
  

10) Practical, evidence-based takeaways and recommendations

• Red Light Therapy is promising: it has repeatable mitochondrial and anti-inflammatory effects in cells and animal models, and growing clinical use in pain, wound healing, and inflammatory conditions. PMC+

• Not a standalone “cold/flu vaccine”: Red Light Therapy should be viewed as a supportive therapy — potentially improving immune cell function and inflammation control — rather than a primary prevention or cure for viral infections. Continue established medical measures (vaccination, hygiene, prompt medical care when ill). ScienceDirect

• Combine approaches: For someone looking to bolster resilience to respiratory infections, the most logical, evidence-based strategy is: good nutrition (micronutrients & adequate protein), sleep and stress management, appropriate vaccination, and adjunctive therapies like Red Light Therapy. PMC+

• If you use Red Light Therapy clinically: choose a professional device with clear specs (wavelength, irradiance, FDA clearance where relevant), use validated dosing protocols, and monitor outcomes. The Max Miracle is an example of a high-output, dual-wavelength professional bed designed to deliver therapeutic doses. Red Light Wellness+