Two boxes labeled SURVIVE and THRIVE. The SURVIVE box on the left has a a single light switch with the text "Warning: Poor light may result in sleep disorders, hormone disruption and more" The THRIVE box on the right has six icons for the right tools, the right place, the right time, the right light, the right controls, the right shades.

Showdown: Mouth vs Eyes

Would you be concerned if you had to eat McDonald’s hamburgers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the rest of your life? Did you know you are probably doing the equivalent with your light?

Without food, we die. We need food, regularly and sufficiently, to survive.

Many of us now have the privilege of moving beyond survival when it comes to eating (and lighting, more on that later). We can choose how we eat so that we can thrive. We can select our foods for an enjoyable experience. As a modern society, we seem very willing to do so and spend enormous amounts on our tastebuds.

The kitchen is the most expensive room in the home, often filled with expensive appliances, fine countertops, and copious cabinetry. We could save all that by drinking three cans of Ensure every day.

We fill the kitchen with small appliances to get our coffee just right, to blend our smoothie to perfection, to crisp the edges of a waffle, or to chop the tastiest salsa. We could save all that by drinking three cans of Ensure every day.

We spend time at the local co-op searching out healthy ingredients for meals, we shop farmers markets and even want to know who raised our food and how they did it. We could save all that….

We buy cookbooks and surf online for recipes and read food blogs and follow celebrity chefs and watch cooking shows. We could save all that….

We pick our favorite restaurants and our favorite dishes and our favorite drinks and spend our money letting others cook tasty meals for us. We build second kitchens outdoors so we can grill out, smoke, and rotisserie our food for optimal flavor.

We import wine from France, olive oil from Italy, and spices from around the world.

We do all this not to survive, but to thrive. We know that we need to spend more time, energy, and money on our food or we will increase our changes of struggling with diabetes, high blood pressure, fatigue, decreased cognition, and so much more.

In short, we know that eating McDonald’s hamburgers as our sole food source might keep us alive for awhile, but will ultimately diminish our lives.

You would not do that to yourself, right? Then why are you lighting yourself for survival?

Two boxes labeled SURVIVE and THRIVE. The SURVIVE box on the left has a plate of mush with the text "Warning: A poor diet may lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, + more" The THRIVE box on the right has six icons for a good kitchen, small appliances, fine imports, local ingredients, cookbooks + blogs, restaurants + chefs.

If you update your kitchen, consider updating your lighting.

If you read food blogs, consider learning more about light.

If you look for quality ingredients, look for quality lighting.

If you study nutrition, study wavelengths of light.

Is it time to give your eyes the same attention you give your mouth?

If you have light, you will survive. If you do it right, you can thrive.

Light Can Help You