STUDIES SHOW HEALTH BENEFITS TO ARTIFICIALLY INDUCED FEVER. InfraRed Sauna
Nobel Prize winner Dr. Andre Lwoff, a French virologist, believes that high temperatures during infection help combat the growth of a virus. “Therefore, fever should not be brought down with drugs,” he says.
Two medical doctors, Werner Zable and Josef Issels, have this to say about fever, “Artificially induced fever has the greatest potential in the treatment of many diseases including cancer.”
A German physical education professor named Dr. Ernst has found no cancer patients among marathon runners. He conducted a study of marathoners who logged about 20 miles a day. Analyzing their sweat, he found it contained cadmium, lead and nickel.
Ernst concluded these athletes excrete these potential cancer-causing elements from their bodies by perspiring. He and other scientists also conclude it is necessary to sweat profusely at least once a day to maintain good health.
Usually, only the most active athletes achieve sweat through heavy exercise on a daily basis. However, it is usually not the deep, prolonged, therapeutic type of sweat that will flush out toxins and heavy metals. Unfortunately, most people do not exercise enough or spend time in saunas to sweat frequently. Yet, it is now known to maintain a healthy body and mind, everyone needs to eliminate and flush out these accumulated poisons regularly.Those who are unable to exercise heavily, for whatever reason, have an even greater need to create a regular sweat.
According to T. Kue Young, M.D., medical director of the Sioux Lookout Zone Hospital in Northwestern Ontario, who has a long-standing interest in Indian History, “The principle of the sweat lodge as both health enhancing and sickness curing was subscribed to extensively among North American natives…..The sweat lodges were also used by healthy persons to cleanse and lubricate themselves.” According to Ward Dean, M.D., army flight surgeon who’s done research on the physiological effects of sweating in saunas. “Many of us who run do so to place a demand on our cardiovascular system, and its regular use may be as a means of cardiovascular conditioning and burning of calories as regular exercise.” (Journal of the American Medical Association, August 7th, 1981). Of course, aerobic exercises such as running will still get you into better shape but, says Dr. Dean, sitting in a sauna bath can be a way for people unable to exercise to still give their hearts a good workout. Disabled people in wheelchairs, for example, who may have difficulty finding the time and opportunity to exercise, can still “workout” in the sauna.
INFRARED SAUNAS ALLOW FOR FRESH AIR VENTILATION
The radiant heat, infrared saunas are the same saunas many doctors, physical therapists and professional athletes use to treat muscle injury and strains, as well as hospitals to warm a newborn babies. Underwriters Laboratories has safely tested radiant heat, infrared technology for fire and shock. These saunas are also low-cost and energy efficient.
Unlike the old-technology saunas with their high air temperature, the infrared saunas warm the body muscle directly. It does this by only warming the air to a comfortable level, allowing for fresh air ventilation so people never get that feeling of suffocation.
Because people are able to use this type of sauna for a longer time, they are able to reap greater benefits than through the high temperature saunas. Also, because body temperature will rise slightly, the body reacts in the normal manner by raising the heart rate to a mild aerobic range. Thus, it increases the blood flow; open the capillaries for greater blood flow to sluggish areas; open the pores; and creates a deep sweat that flushes the toxins.
Sweat Your Way to Radiant Health
By Susan Smith Jones, Ph.D. and Brian K. Baily, D.P.M.
This is a reprint from June 1994 issue of Let’s Live Magazine.
For thousands of years, cultures throughout the world have enjoyed the many therapeutic benefits of saunas, from the elaborate bath/sauna/exercise complexes of the Romans, to the simple but effective “sweat lodge” structures of the Scandinavians. These cultures recognized the many therapeutic benefits of the sauna (i.e. rids body of toxins, aids weight loss, kills viruses), fully enjoying these benefits in a community setting. In Finland, the sauna has been a tradition for over 1,000 years. In a country of approximately five million people, there are an estimated 700,000 saunas, one for every seven people!
In fact, the sauna is credited for much the rugged vitality and endurance of the Finnish people. “Most Finnish saunas are in separate buildings specially constructed for this purpose. Every farm has its own sauna, usually built on the shore of a lake or river. Most family houses in the city have saunas built on the lot, usually in the back yard,” says Paavo Airola in his book Health Secrets From Europe (Arco Publishing Co, 1972).
DRY AIR SAUNAS VS. WET STEAM ROOMS
Today, with water and airborne pollution, toxic chemicals, heavy metals and poor dietary and exercise habits, the therapeutic internal cleansing of regular sweating is critical to maintain a healthy body and mind. However, the hot, dry air of the traditional sauna is therapeutically different from the wet air of the steam room sauna.
The dry sauna causes profuse sweating, the air itself absorbing the sweat. But, the water-saturated air of the steam room doesn’t readily accept the sweat released by the body.
On the other hand, the steam room makes people feel hotter because their sweat doesn’t evaporate and carry away the heat. This raises the question, is it better to be warm on the inside or the outside? That depends on what people want from either system.
When exposed to heat of any kind, blood vessels in the skin dilate to allow more blood to flow to the surface. This activates the millions of sweat glands that cover the body. The fluid in the blood hydrates sweat glands, which pour the water into the skin’s surface. As the water evaporates from the skin, it draws heat from the body. It is nature’s own cooling system.
DRY SAUNAS HAVE MANY THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS
Both saunas and steam rooms can be used to relax and unwind. However, dry saunas have an advantage over steam rooms by helping to rid the body of more toxic metals picked up from the environment. Of course, the kidneys take out many of these toxins but a daily sweat can help reduce the body’s accumulation of lead, mercury and nickel in addition to cadmium, sodium, sulfuric acid and cholesterol.
The sauna is also more beneficial than the steam room if weight loss is desired because of the energy expenditure. Compared to the steam room, the sauna places a greater demand on the body in the terms of using up calories, thus assists in fat loss. Therefore, the heart needs to work harder to send more blood to the capillaries under the skin. The energy required for that process is derived from the conversion of fat and carbohydrates to calories.
In addition, the sweat glands must work to produce sweat, which also requires energy and more calories. Studies show a person can burn up to 300 calories during a sauna session, the equivalent of a two- to three-mile jog or an hour of moderate weight training.
People can loose up to a quart of water during a 20-minute sauna. Without replacement, such high water loss can lead to disruption of normal heart rhythms and cause fatigue and nausea. Therefore, drinking fresh fruit juice or water before, during and after the sauna is highly recommended.
Any attempt to lose weight by depriving the body of replacement fluid is extremely risky and can land people in the hospital. Further, people should eat plenty of leafy greens and a variety of vegetables to replace essential minerals (i.e. iron, zinc, copper and magnesium) that are lost in sweat. Sweating by overheating the body in a dry sauna also produces the following effects:
Speeds up metabolic processes of vital organs and inhibits the growth of pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The vital organs and glands (including endocrine and sex glands) are stimulated to increased activity.
Creates a “fever” reaction that kills potentially dangerous viruses/bacteria and increases the number of leukocytes in the blood, thereby strengthening the immune system. In other words, it increases and accelerates the body’s own healing activity and restorative capacity.
Places demands upon the cardiovascular system, making the heart pump harder and producing a drop in diastolic blood pressure.
Stimulates vasodilatation of peripheral vessels, which relives pain and speeds healing sprains, strains, bursitis, peripheral vascular diseases, arthritis and muscle pain. Promotes relaxation, thereby lending a feeling of well-being.