The use of saunas or sweat huts to promote toxin elimination is not a new therapy. For centuries, various cultures have used concentrated heat to maintain optimal physical health. In fact, researches suggest that saunas are one of the most beneficial tools to assist with the elimination of heavy metals and toxins. They also help to increase oxygenation and improve immune function, which is why many health experts support the use of saunas to fight cancer.
Over 2,000 years ago, Parmenides, a famous Greek physician, said “Give me the power to create fever, and I will cure any disease.” This has been observed in cancer treatment centers around the world. Cancer patients who develop fevers occasionally enter remission. The idea behind this is that inducing a fever encourages an immune response that causes the body to fight existing cancer cells. This is why cancer treatment centers incorporate infrared sauna therapy into treatment plans. Exposing the body to heat is a safe and effective method that is both controllable and tolerable for the patient.
What Is An Infrared Sauna?
Dr. JH Kellogg incorporated infrared technology into his “electric light bath” over 100 years ago at the 1893 World’s Fair. In the 1980s, infrared saunas became popular in the United States, but experts have refined this technology since then. Unlike a traditional sauna, an infrared sauna does not heat the air around you. Using infrared lamps that use electromagnetic radiation, infrared lights directly warm the body. The light can penetrate human tissue while operating at a lower temperature than a traditional sauna.
What Is The Benefit Of Heating The Body?
By using heat and light, infrared saunas help to optimize the body’s ability to relax and promote detoxification. Sweating encourages the elimination of toxins, but what’s more interesting is that infrared saunas encourage whole-body hyperthermia. Hyperthermia is a popular method that disables weaker, heat-sensitive cancers. Infrared saunas can heat the body a couple degrees, inducing a fever in a gentle way. Health experts typically apply hyperthermia locally, focusing a laser or heat source directly at the cancerous area. However, raising the body’s temperature by a mere two degrees can enhance immune reactions and put pressure on cancer cells.
How Do Infrared Saunas Fight Cancer?
Stress Reduction
Health experts say that constant stress causes the adrenal glands to produce excess cortisol. When the sympathetic branch of the nervous system is in high gear, it can inhibit digestion, immune response, and natural eliminative organ function. Essentially, the body is in a fight or flight state, and remaining in this state increases the risk of cancer development. Studies show that infrared saunas inhibit the sympathetic nervous system, which is a necessary step towards cancer recovery. Additionally, infrared saunas activate parasympathetic nervous activity, which helps promote alkalinity, pain mitigation, depression, and immune function. One of the main benefits, then, is creating an alkaline environment so that cancer cannot thrive.
Direct Cancer Cell Death
The first thing to know about cancer cells is that they are weaker than healthy cells. Hyperthermia is an effective method for fighting cancer cells because they are less tolerant of heat. Higher temperatures often kill cancer cells without damaging healthy cells. Studies show that tumors have a reduced ability to adapt blood circulation to the effects of higher temperatures. This means they are more susceptible to heat damage. In fact, a clinical study in 2009 monitored infrared’s effects on human cancer cells in vitro and on cancer cells in mice. Far infrared therapy was able to reduce tumor volumes by 86% within a month.
Organ Decongestion
Detoxification pathways are inhibited if the liver, kidneys, and other internal organs are congested. This means that the body holds on to more chemical toxins, which can be a problem for cancer patients. Infrared sauna therapy assists with detoxification by improving circulation throughout the body. Besides the ability to increase blood flow to the body’s extremities, infrared sauna therapy also helps to decongest internal organs. By eliminating congestion, you increase the function of these organs, thereby improving their ability to get rid of toxins. The infrared heat also promotes the release of toxins from fat layers beneath the skin. According to several studies, infrared saunas produce sweat that consist of 80-85% water and 15-20% fat soluble toxins. The toxins include ammonia, sodium, uric acid, heavy metals, and sulfuric acid.
Immune System Activation
More often than not, conventional cancer treatments suppress immune function. Infrared sauna therapy, on the other hand, actually enhances immune function. A German professor, Rolf Issels, theorized that hyperthermia produces heat shock proteins on the surface of cancer cells. This makes them more prone to an attack by the body’s immune system. Other health experts explain that heat from infrared light distinguishes cancer cells from healthy cells, allowing the immune system to attack the unhealthy cancer cells.
The infrared sauna seems to be the most effective and safest method for generating hyperthermia in the body. It’s a proven therapeutic method to optimize immune function and increase the chance of cancer cell death.
Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
