HOW FAR-INFRARED SAUNAS WORK
It is a fact of human nature that we are afraid of what we don’t know. It is sometimes a challenge for me to
explain to someone that infrared saunas use infrared radiation without them getting the impression it is going
to cook their insides. So, here is the science and physics behind how infrared saunas work.
Without infrared radiation from the sun, life as we know would cease to exist. The energy from the sun’s rays,
photons, control vital processes in both plants and people. In humans, photons are the catalyst for the
production of sugars, fats and proteins. Photons stimulate the endocrine system, metabolic processes and
enzyme reactions as well as activities in the brain.
Solar energy or “radiation” from the sun covers a broad range including infrared, visible light, ultra-violet, x-
rays and gamma rays. 80% of the energy from the sun is in the infrared range and these are divided into
three segments by wave frequencies and wave lengths. It is the narrow spectrum between 5 to 15 microns,
mostly in the far-infrared spectrum, that is the safest and most beneficial to all living beings.
Radiant heat is simply a form of energy that heats objects directly through a process called conversion,
without having to heat the air in between. Anything that can be heated absorbs and emits far infrared (FIR)
waves. All humans send and receive FIR waves. The range of infrared waves generated by the body is 3 to
50 microns with the greatest output around 9.4 microns. Your palms emit FIR at 8 to 14 microns. Our planet
emits FIR waves at around 10 microns as do most organic substances. Know that luxurious warm feeling you
get from the sand at the beach? It is FIR heat from the sun you are feeling.
Now that you are no longer afraid of getting your innards cooked, you might be wondering how an infrared
sauna works. All FIR saunas use heaters to produce the same type of beneficial heat the sun provides for
your body but without the dangerous spectrums of radiation. They are so safe that they are used to keep
newborn babies constantly warm in incubators. NASA used FIR radiant heaters to keep astronauts warm in
space.
Even though most of the companies that market FIR saunas and products are fairly new, the technology is
not. Whole-body infrared therapy, with different technologies, has been used for over eighty years by
German physicians. Over one million infrared thermal systems have been sold in the Orient for whole-body
therapy.
THE NEED TO SWEAT
Most people are really not aware of the health benefits of sweating and of using saunas for improving their
health. Many people use saunas for a variety of reasons and we will comment on those later on this page.
For now, let’s go over one of the most important benefits of sauna therapy – the elimination of toxins from our
body.
Virtually all of us suffer from some dysfunction in our health from our birth to our death. The symptoms of
these dysfunctions can be minor, such as allergies or skin problems, or they can be crippling, such as
arthritis, cancer or chronic fatigue. When we experience symptoms, we typically seek to find a cause and
relief from an allopathic-trained medical doctor. After being subjected to invasive tests to determine a cause,
we are treated, again invasively, with synthetic drugs or surgery. Rarely is exposure to chemical toxins ever
considered.
Raymond Francis, in his article Saunas To The Rescue, states: “Modern living has created a problem the
human body was never designed to handle – exposure to excessive amounts of environmental toxins,
especially heavy-metal and oil-soluble toxins. Toxicity is one of the two causes of disease, and the overall
chemical load to which we are now exposed is unprecedented in human history. Bioaccumulating in our
tissues faster than we can get rid of them, these toxic chemicals have created and unprecedented epidemic
of chronic disease.”
So why sweat? Why invest our valuable time and money to own and use an infrared sauna. Simply, sweating
is one of the main ways in which the body removes waste material. There are 5 major elimination organs in
the body – kidneys, lungs, intestines/colon, liver and skin. The liver plays a major role in waste purification by
producing enzymes that break down harmful chemicals into benign and manageable substances that the
body can either eliminate or reuse. However, not enough nutritional support or too many toxins will eventually
clog it to the point where it can no longer produce adequate enzymes to neutralize foreign pathogens and
other noxious material. The healthier your liver is, the more toxins will be excreted in your sweat and the more
you sweat, the less your liver and intestines will be burdened with eliminating waste.
From her book, The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy, author Dr. Nenah Sylver, PhD states that
“elimination through the skin is intricately tied to the functions of the lymph and circulatory systems, the
respiratory and urinary tracts and the liver. This is why the skin is sometimes called “the ‘third kidney’ as the
cleansing of toxins through the skin reduces the work of the rest of the elimination systems. Toxin removal
begins in the lymphatic system and takes place during an exchange between the venous capillaries and the
lymphatic vessels. After the cells take their nutrition from this interstitial fluid, they discharge waste products,
which are a normal product of cell metabolism. Normally, this interstitial fluid, which can contain microbial
waste, heavy metals and chemicals, travels to the lymph nodes where the fluid is cleaned. The treated fluid
eventually makes it to the blood stream and to the kidneys.”
When heating the body with a sauna, you create what is known as “sensible” perspiration. Since waste-laden
interstitial fluid is a component of sweat, it is obvious that sweating really does help the body eliminate toxins.
Also, fat stores are universally recognized as depositories of toxins that are not easily metabolized as the
lipids surround poisons to prevent them from contaminating the rest of the body. As the body is heated, the
metabolism is increased so the body breaks down the fatty tissue to use for energy. Through this process,
the poisons that were held by the fat cells get dumped into the bloodstream, broken down by the liver and
removed through perspiration. It has been noted that during a brief 15-minute sauna session, the skin
through sweating can eliminate the same amount of heavy metals as would require 24 hours for the kidneys
to excrete.”
Dr.Sylver also cites one of the strongest summaries of the benefits of sweating, presented in a paper
presented at the National Conference of Hazardous Wastes and Environmental Emergencies in May of 1985
by medical personnel David E. Root, David B. Katzin, and David W. Schnare. They state in their paper: “A
considerable portion (10-15%) of the toxic materials excreted through the body will come out of the
sebaceous sweat.”
THE REALITY OF TOXINS
It has only been the last couple decades that we as a society have become aware of the toxic exposure we
are subjected to on a daily basis and the effects of toxins on our environment and our health. This page will
present to you information from our government and other researchers and experts. Further documentation
can be found in Nenah Sylver’s The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy.
United States Environmental Protection Agency – 1982 National Human Adipose Tissue Study, on the
amount of poisons taken from the fat cells of surgery patients and cadavers, reports PCBs in 86%, four out
of five dioxins in more than 90%, eight of the nine benzene-related volatile organic compounds in more than
90%, benzene in 96%, and 1,4-dichlorobenzene found in all.
Untied States Environmental Protection Agency – December 1986 National Human Adipose Tissue Survey –
100% of fat samples from Americans contain chlorinated solvents and heavy metals, including aluminum,
beryllium, cadmium, lead, and mercury.
A study appearing in the 1995 Proceeding of the American Public Health Association states: The EPA reports
that literally every American has accumulated measurable levels of some thirty different toxic chemicals in
their tissues. More recent reports set the tally at one hundred and seventy-seven. Every woman’s breast milk
boasts pesticides, [and other pesticides such as] lindane, chloradane, dieldrin and sixty-five isomers of PCBs
and dioxins. The average man’s semen has thirty-five different forms of PCBs. The human body has become
the final respository, the final toxic waste dump. Increasing toxic burdens have been associated in the
literature with increasing risks, health effects, and symptomatology. It is not surprising this chemical plethora
is having an adverse effect on the population at large.
1982 article “Evaluation of a Detoxification Regimen for Fat Stored Xenobiotics” – Over four million distinct
chemical compounds have been reported in the literature since 1965, with 6000 new compounds added to
the list each week….More than 3000 chemicals are deliberately added to food and over 700 have been
identified in drinking water….Over 400 chemicals have been identified in human tissues, with some 48 found
in adipose [fat], 40 in breast milk, 73 in the liver, and over 250 in blood plasma.
Also excerted from the book The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy by Nenah Sylver, PhD:
“The problems caused by these poisonous chemicals are virtually unlimited. For those who think in terms of
specific diseases (which are collections of symptom-pictures to which medical personnel can either cause or
contribute to), among other conditions, asthma, autism, cancer, environmental illness, epilepsy, multiple
sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease. For those who relate more to symptoms (which describe how different
areas of the body are affected), toxic overload can manifest as body odor and bad breath, brittle nails and
hair, burning eyes, cardiac problems, coated tongue, constipation, diarrhea, gastrointestinal cramping,
headaches, hemorrhoids and ulcers, irritability, pain in muscles and joints, ringing in the ears, sinus
infections, sneezing, wheezing and other respiratory problems, and all sorts of skin problems such as boils
and rashes. Emotional symptoms include anxiety, irritability, depression, and outright panic attacks. Exposure
to just polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) causes cancer, fatigue, headaches, high blood pressure, impaired
balance, liver malfunction, limb pain, muscle weakness, and impaired mental function such as inability to
concentrate, memory loss, mental confusion, and insomnia. Only 1PPB to 2PPB (parts per billion) is required
for symptoms to appear.”
Columbia University School of Public Health reports that 95% of cancer is caused by diet and environmental
toxicity.
A USA Today article indicates that the average city water contain more than 500 chemicals.
“Air pollution and water pollution are only a small part of the toxicity story. There are thousands of harmful
environmental toxins, some of which we’re aware of – such as pesticides, chemicals, household cleaners,
fertilizers – and others, which seem perfectly innocent, such as those ubiquitous plastic water bottles, styrene
cups, dental fillings, and plastic wrap. These are just a few small examples of the alarming amount of harmful
toxins our bodies are absorbing every day” – Dr. Sherry Rogers, Detoxify or Die
“We are all a toxic cesspool of the lifetime accumulation of chemicals from our air, food, and water. U.S.EPA
studies of chemicals stored in the fat of humans show that 100% of people had dioxins, PCBs,
dichlorobenzene, and xylene while another analysis of the exhaled breath of humans showed carcinogenic
benzene in 89% and perchloroethylene in 93%. And these chemical are just the tip of the iceberg. For now
we have the proof that it is the steady silent accumulation over a lifetime that produces most diseases,
including cancer. But medicine merely sees every disease as a deficiency of some drug or surgery, or tells
us there is no known cause or cure.” – Dr. Sherry Rogers, Detoxify or Die
WHY INFRARED IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN STEAM OR DRY HEAT SAUNAS
The use of steam or dry saunas has been going on for centuries. Most people have used them at a gym, spa
or health club or at a hotel when traveling. There are some who are “traditionalists” whose culture included
the use of a dry sauna and wouldn’t consider using anything but. So let’s look at the difference.
A conventional sauna heats your body through convection; in other words, the air is heated first and then the
hot air heats the outside of your body. Convection heat has no power of penetration. This type of sauna is
usually heated by a 220 volt electric heater and takes about 45-60 minutes to heat up the air inside the
sauna to a very high temperature of 160-220 degrees. A steam sauna also has a steam generator to create
the steam. When you first step inside the sauna, the shock of sudden, very high heat has the opposite effect
of what’s desired: it shuts down the body’s sweating mechanism. The blood vessels suddenly constrict, the
skin tightens, and stiff muscles and joints can become irritated. Only once your body starts to overheat do
you start to sweat. Most people cannot handle more than 15 to 20 minutes of this high temperature and
therefore will not get a thorough cleanse. So you just spent 60 minutes heating a sauna that you could only
use for 20 minutes.
An infrared sauna heats your body directly through a process called conversion, without having to heat the
air in between. Instead of just heating the outside of your body, like a conventional steam or dry heat sauna,
the far infrared waves go directly into your body between 1.5 inches and 3 inches, depending upon the fat
and water content of the body, and the ratio of fat to muscle. So, this type of heat penetrates further into
your fat and muscles for far superior detoxification and pain relief. Most people will use their saunas at a
significantly lower temperature of 100 to 140 degrees and will be able to stay comfortable inside the sauna
for 30 minutes or more.
Even at the lower temperatures, you will sweat up to 3 times more sweat volume in an infrared sauna
compared to conventional sauna. In one study by American researchers, the sweat of people using a
conventional sauna was found to be 95% to 97% water with only 3% to 5% toxins. The sweat of those using
an infrared sauna was 80% to 85% water with the 15% to 20% non-water portion principally consisting of
cholesterol, fat-soluble toxins, toxic heavy metals, sulfuric acid, sodium, ammonia, and uric acid. The
researches also found that normal exercise did not produce the same amount of toxin release.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF INFRARED SAUNA USE
Many of the people who purchased saunas from us were dealing with health issues that regular sauna use
helped improve, sometimes dramatically. Once you understand the physiology and biochemistry of sweating,
it is easy to understand how sauna therapy can work for them and for you. Virtually every condition of ill
health can be either eliminated or substantially improved by improving organ function through better
distribution and assimilation of nutrients, removal of toxins and microbes and balance the pH of the body.
The following is a brief summary, excerpted from the book The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy, of the
documented physiological effects of hyperthermia:
Accelerated heart rate and passive cardiovascular conditioning, causing increased circulation. The body
responds to this deep-heating effect via hypothalamic-induced increase in heart rate, cardiac output and
metabolic rate.
Coronary Artery Disease Arteriosclerosis, and Hypertension – Finnish researchers, who have long studied
the benefits of regular use of conventional saunas, have stated that “there are abundant evidences to
suggest that blood vessels of regular sauna-goers remain elastic and pliable longer due to the regular
dilation and contraction of blood vessels induced by sauna use”
German medical researchers reported that a single whole-body session of infrared-induced hyperthermia
lasting over one hour had only beneficial effects on subjects with State I and II essential hypertension. Each
subject experienced a rise in core body temperature to a maximum level of 38.5 degrees Celsius (101.3
Fahrenheit). All of the subjects in one experiment had significant decrease in arterial, venous and mean
blood pressure that last for at least 24 hours and was linked to a persistent peripheral dilation effect.
Another group of similar hypertensive patients was also studied under the same conditions of hyperthermia,
with an eye toward more carefully evaluating the circulatory system effects induced by this type of whole-
body heating. During each infrared session, there was a significant decrease of blood pressure, cardiac
ejection resistance, and total peripheral resistance in every subject. There was also a significant increase of
the subjects’ heart rates, stroke volumes, cardiac outputs, and ejection fractions. The researchers cite these
last three effects as evidence that the stimulation of the heart during infrared-induced hyperthermia is well
compensated, while the prior list of effects show clear detail of the microcirculatory changes leading to the
desired result of a lowering blood pressure.
Enhanced lymphatic circulation – extremely beneficial for those in wheelchairs or unable to move or exercise.
Helps to reduce edema and decrease pain through increased peripheral circulation.
Increased production of white blood cells – Using a sauna can help boost the immune system to help prevent
illnesses. This is why a hot bath, exercise or a sauna at the beginning of a cold or flu can prevent it from
escalating, or stop it entirely.
Increased production of enzymes
Relaxation of the muscles – the reduction of muscle spasms is possibly produced by the combined effect of
heat on both primary and secondary afferent from spindle cells and from its effects on Golgi tendon organs.
Heat increases the extensibility of collagen tissues, which is especially valuable in working with injuries
involving ligaments, joint capsules, tendons, fasciae, and synovium that have become scarred, thickened or
contracted. Heat has the effect of ultimately lessening the excitability of muscular tissue, thus calming the
receptors for pain. Heating of the muscles produces an increased blood flow level similar to that seen during
exercise.
Selective stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system (responsible for the relaxation response).
The killing or disabling of microbes.
These effects in turn lead to the following benefits:
The elimination of stagnant blood and the decongestion of organs, which in turn stimulates better organ
function.
Faster metabolism (the rate at which nutrients are assimilated and toxins are removed).
Increase in systemic alkalization – most illnesses and diseases thrive on an acidic pH level in the body.
Bringing the body pH towards alkaline reduces the chance for viruses, bacteria and microbes to exist.
Decrease or total elimination of pain in the nerves, muscles and joint in the majority of cases.
Reduction or elimination of disease.
BUT CAN I REALLY LOSE WEIGHT USING AN INFRARED SAUNA?
With obesity and dieting a common condition in a majority of Americans, sauna manufacturers love to claim
that sauna use causes weight loss. Many people feel that any weight lost during a sauna session is from
water loss rather than fat, and that once the water is replenished, the weight will come back. In his letter to
the editor in the August 7, 1981 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, cited in The
Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy, Major Ward Dean wrote what might be the most concise claim
regarding why one could lose weight by using a sauna. Part of the letter states:
The fact overlooked by most people who attempt to debunk saunas and other devices that cause enhanced
sweating is that the water does not just “leak out” of the body. Sweating is a part of a complex
thermoregulatory process of the body involving substantial increases in heart rate, cardiac output, and
metabolic rate, and consumes considerable energy. In a sauna…the only means of maintaining body
temperatures in the normal range is by evaporation of sweat, a process that consumes approximately 0.586
kcal per gram of water lost. A moderately conditioned person can easily “sweat off” 500 grams in a sauna,
consuming nearly 300 kcal [calories] – the equivalent of running 2 to 3 miles. A heat-conditioned person can
easily sweat off 600 to 800 kcal with no adverse effects. While the weight of the water lost can be regained
by rehydration with water, the calories consumed will not be…Regular use of a sauna may impart a similar
stress on the cardiovascular system [as running] – and its regular use may well be as effective a means of
cardiovascular conditioning and burning of calories as regular exercise. [For the source of information on
calories lost during body heating, the writer cites Guyton’s Textbook of Medical Physiology, 4th Edition, 1971,
pp. 833-834.]
The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy also states that “some increase in metabolism does occur in the
body when it is subjected to high heat. We already know that the metabolic rate rises about six percent for
every degree Fahrenheit rise in the body temperature. With the adipose (fat) cells heated at high enough
rates to cause substantial molecular friction, the enzymes and hormones will break them down and transport
them through the bloodstream for the body to use as energy. The more energy burned, the more weight the
person loses.”
CANCER THERAPY – A NEW FRONTIER
Artificially induced hyperthermia is now being studied and tested by American medical researchers. These
trials are using mainly other forms of heat other than infrared, however, researchers in Japan have used
infrared heat in their studies. It is known that high heat kills tumors – cancer cells die at temperatures form
104 to 107 degrees. Dr. Jeffrey Freeman, founder of the Europa Institute of Integrated Medicine, explains the
mechanism of this process:
“Researchers have found that the blood vessels in normal tissue actually open up (dilate) when heat is
applied, in an effort to flush out the heat and cool the cell environment down. Because a tumor is a more
tightly packed group of cells, blood circulation is restrictive and sluggish. When heat is applied to the
tumor…temperature continues to rise to destructive levels. This process continues over a period of time
even after the treatment…The tumor cells are now extremely susceptible to destruction by radiation or by
additional heating.”
Currently, the only approved treatments of cancer are surgery, drug therapy, chemotherapy and radiation.
Chemotherapy is essentially poisoning the body with hope that the cancer dies before the patient, though
recent research is testing drugs that are more site-specific. Many cancer patients suffer lost-lasting side
effects from these treatments and have turned to using infrared saunas in an effort to flush these toxins from
their body. It is highly recommended that a cancer patient consult their treating physician before engaging in
sauna therapy.
In addition, some alternative physicians use far-infrared saunas to reduce biochemical cancer markers in
their patients. Beneficial results, similar to expensive European hyperthermic cancer treatments, have been
obtained.
There is a wonderful testimonial from a breast cancer survivor’s husband who purchased a sauna from us for
this purpose. Please read it on our testimonial page.
For more information on the cancer trials, go to www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/ and http://cis.nci.nih.
gov/fact/7_3.htm
Another great article to read is in Alternative Magazine, Issue 37, “Too Hot for Cancer”
HOW TO TAKE A SAUNA
Before you use a sauna:
If you have a chronic or serious illness or are taking prescription medication, please consult a doctor who is
knowledgeable about sauna therapy to make sure that you can safely use this modality. We will be happy to
consult with you and your doctor on how to use a sauna safely and we highly recommend reading Chapter 6
of The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy by Nenah Sylver, PhD to learn more of how sauna therapy
applies in your situation. The following is excerpted and condensed from her book which provides more in-
depth information:
Don’t eat a large meal or consume alcohol at least two hours before using the sauna.
Shower and exfoliate your skin if possible before using the sauna.
It is best not to wear any clothing and remove all jewelry first. Clothes restrict the removal of sweat and toxins
from your skin so if you are uncomfortable or unable to be totally nude during your sauna, wrap yourself in
an absorbent towel.
Drink plenty of water before, during and after your sauna session.
During your sauna session:
Start with lower temperatures and don’t overdo the amount of time you spend in the sauna if you are new to
using saunas or have a chronic illness. You may want to have someone check on you periodically just in
case you experience any negative reaction and need help.
You don’t have to wait for an infrared sauna to get to maximum temperature before you get in it. FIR heat will
still penetrate your body deeply even at low temperatures so get in at 100 to 110 degrees and let your body
heat up with the sauna.
Leave immediately if you feel uncomfortable, dizzy or nauseous
Have plenty of drinking water
Have plenty of towels – put one on the floor and one on the bench to sit on. Always wash the towels soon
after you are finished – never reuse them until after they are washed.
After your sauna session:
Replenish the water, vitamins and mineral lost through perspiration.
Immediately take a shower to wash the toxic sweat of your body before it is reabsorbed.
Rest for awhile to allow your body to normalize – you just had a great workout.
Remove and wash the towels in your sauna and leave the door open to dry out the wood if necessary.
PLEASE NOTE: It is very possible for someone to feel ill after using a sauna, especially if they are dealing
with a chronic toxic condition. We have met people with severe heavy metal, pesticide and mercury poisoning
who have experienced this. Your cells may release more toxins than you are able to eliminate and they are
swimming around in your bloodstream. It may be best to start with short sessions at a lower temperature with
a break of a day or two in between. Drink plenty of water to help flush the toxins out of your system and rest
It is a fact of human nature that we are afraid of what we don’t know. It is sometimes a challenge for me to
explain to someone that infrared saunas use infrared radiation without them getting the impression it is going
to cook their insides. So, here is the science and physics behind how infrared saunas work.
Without infrared radiation from the sun, life as we know would cease to exist. The energy from the sun’s rays,
photons, control vital processes in both plants and people. In humans, photons are the catalyst for the
production of sugars, fats and proteins. Photons stimulate the endocrine system, metabolic processes and
enzyme reactions as well as activities in the brain.
Solar energy or “radiation” from the sun covers a broad range including infrared, visible light, ultra-violet, x-
rays and gamma rays. 80% of the energy from the sun is in the infrared range and these are divided into
three segments by wave frequencies and wave lengths. It is the narrow spectrum between 5 to 15 microns,
mostly in the far-infrared spectrum, that is the safest and most beneficial to all living beings.
Radiant heat is simply a form of energy that heats objects directly through a process called conversion,
without having to heat the air in between. Anything that can be heated absorbs and emits far infrared (FIR)
waves. All humans send and receive FIR waves. The range of infrared waves generated by the body is 3 to
50 microns with the greatest output around 9.4 microns. Your palms emit FIR at 8 to 14 microns. Our planet
emits FIR waves at around 10 microns as do most organic substances. Know that luxurious warm feeling you
get from the sand at the beach? It is FIR heat from the sun you are feeling.
Now that you are no longer afraid of getting your innards cooked, you might be wondering how an infrared
sauna works. All FIR saunas use heaters to produce the same type of beneficial heat the sun provides for
your body but without the dangerous spectrums of radiation. They are so safe that they are used to keep
newborn babies constantly warm in incubators. NASA used FIR radiant heaters to keep astronauts warm in
space.
Even though most of the companies that market FIR saunas and products are fairly new, the technology is
not. Whole-body infrared therapy, with different technologies, has been used for over eighty years by
German physicians. Over one million infrared thermal systems have been sold in the Orient for whole-body
therapy.
THE NEED TO SWEAT
Most people are really not aware of the health benefits of sweating and of using saunas for improving their
health. Many people use saunas for a variety of reasons and we will comment on those later on this page.
For now, let’s go over one of the most important benefits of sauna therapy – the elimination of toxins from our
body.
Virtually all of us suffer from some dysfunction in our health from our birth to our death. The symptoms of
these dysfunctions can be minor, such as allergies or skin problems, or they can be crippling, such as
arthritis, cancer or chronic fatigue. When we experience symptoms, we typically seek to find a cause and
relief from an allopathic-trained medical doctor. After being subjected to invasive tests to determine a cause,
we are treated, again invasively, with synthetic drugs or surgery. Rarely is exposure to chemical toxins ever
considered.
Raymond Francis, in his article Saunas To The Rescue, states: “Modern living has created a problem the
human body was never designed to handle – exposure to excessive amounts of environmental toxins,
especially heavy-metal and oil-soluble toxins. Toxicity is one of the two causes of disease, and the overall
chemical load to which we are now exposed is unprecedented in human history. Bioaccumulating in our
tissues faster than we can get rid of them, these toxic chemicals have created and unprecedented epidemic
of chronic disease.”
So why sweat? Why invest our valuable time and money to own and use an infrared sauna. Simply, sweating
is one of the main ways in which the body removes waste material. There are 5 major elimination organs in
the body – kidneys, lungs, intestines/colon, liver and skin. The liver plays a major role in waste purification by
producing enzymes that break down harmful chemicals into benign and manageable substances that the
body can either eliminate or reuse. However, not enough nutritional support or too many toxins will eventually
clog it to the point where it can no longer produce adequate enzymes to neutralize foreign pathogens and
other noxious material. The healthier your liver is, the more toxins will be excreted in your sweat and the more
you sweat, the less your liver and intestines will be burdened with eliminating waste.
From her book, The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy, author Dr. Nenah Sylver, PhD states that
“elimination through the skin is intricately tied to the functions of the lymph and circulatory systems, the
respiratory and urinary tracts and the liver. This is why the skin is sometimes called “the ‘third kidney’ as the
cleansing of toxins through the skin reduces the work of the rest of the elimination systems. Toxin removal
begins in the lymphatic system and takes place during an exchange between the venous capillaries and the
lymphatic vessels. After the cells take their nutrition from this interstitial fluid, they discharge waste products,
which are a normal product of cell metabolism. Normally, this interstitial fluid, which can contain microbial
waste, heavy metals and chemicals, travels to the lymph nodes where the fluid is cleaned. The treated fluid
eventually makes it to the blood stream and to the kidneys.”
When heating the body with a sauna, you create what is known as “sensible” perspiration. Since waste-laden
interstitial fluid is a component of sweat, it is obvious that sweating really does help the body eliminate toxins.
Also, fat stores are universally recognized as depositories of toxins that are not easily metabolized as the
lipids surround poisons to prevent them from contaminating the rest of the body. As the body is heated, the
metabolism is increased so the body breaks down the fatty tissue to use for energy. Through this process,
the poisons that were held by the fat cells get dumped into the bloodstream, broken down by the liver and
removed through perspiration. It has been noted that during a brief 15-minute sauna session, the skin
through sweating can eliminate the same amount of heavy metals as would require 24 hours for the kidneys
to excrete.”
Dr.Sylver also cites one of the strongest summaries of the benefits of sweating, presented in a paper
presented at the National Conference of Hazardous Wastes and Environmental Emergencies in May of 1985
by medical personnel David E. Root, David B. Katzin, and David W. Schnare. They state in their paper: “A
considerable portion (10-15%) of the toxic materials excreted through the body will come out of the
sebaceous sweat.”
THE REALITY OF TOXINS
It has only been the last couple decades that we as a society have become aware of the toxic exposure we
are subjected to on a daily basis and the effects of toxins on our environment and our health. This page will
present to you information from our government and other researchers and experts. Further documentation
can be found in Nenah Sylver’s The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy.
United States Environmental Protection Agency – 1982 National Human Adipose Tissue Study, on the
amount of poisons taken from the fat cells of surgery patients and cadavers, reports PCBs in 86%, four out
of five dioxins in more than 90%, eight of the nine benzene-related volatile organic compounds in more than
90%, benzene in 96%, and 1,4-dichlorobenzene found in all.
Untied States Environmental Protection Agency – December 1986 National Human Adipose Tissue Survey –
100% of fat samples from Americans contain chlorinated solvents and heavy metals, including aluminum,
beryllium, cadmium, lead, and mercury.
A study appearing in the 1995 Proceeding of the American Public Health Association states: The EPA reports
that literally every American has accumulated measurable levels of some thirty different toxic chemicals in
their tissues. More recent reports set the tally at one hundred and seventy-seven. Every woman’s breast milk
boasts pesticides, [and other pesticides such as] lindane, chloradane, dieldrin and sixty-five isomers of PCBs
and dioxins. The average man’s semen has thirty-five different forms of PCBs. The human body has become
the final respository, the final toxic waste dump. Increasing toxic burdens have been associated in the
literature with increasing risks, health effects, and symptomatology. It is not surprising this chemical plethora
is having an adverse effect on the population at large.
1982 article “Evaluation of a Detoxification Regimen for Fat Stored Xenobiotics” – Over four million distinct
chemical compounds have been reported in the literature since 1965, with 6000 new compounds added to
the list each week….More than 3000 chemicals are deliberately added to food and over 700 have been
identified in drinking water….Over 400 chemicals have been identified in human tissues, with some 48 found
in adipose [fat], 40 in breast milk, 73 in the liver, and over 250 in blood plasma.
Also excerted from the book The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy by Nenah Sylver, PhD:
“The problems caused by these poisonous chemicals are virtually unlimited. For those who think in terms of
specific diseases (which are collections of symptom-pictures to which medical personnel can either cause or
contribute to), among other conditions, asthma, autism, cancer, environmental illness, epilepsy, multiple
sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease. For those who relate more to symptoms (which describe how different
areas of the body are affected), toxic overload can manifest as body odor and bad breath, brittle nails and
hair, burning eyes, cardiac problems, coated tongue, constipation, diarrhea, gastrointestinal cramping,
headaches, hemorrhoids and ulcers, irritability, pain in muscles and joints, ringing in the ears, sinus
infections, sneezing, wheezing and other respiratory problems, and all sorts of skin problems such as boils
and rashes. Emotional symptoms include anxiety, irritability, depression, and outright panic attacks. Exposure
to just polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) causes cancer, fatigue, headaches, high blood pressure, impaired
balance, liver malfunction, limb pain, muscle weakness, and impaired mental function such as inability to
concentrate, memory loss, mental confusion, and insomnia. Only 1PPB to 2PPB (parts per billion) is required
for symptoms to appear.”
Columbia University School of Public Health reports that 95% of cancer is caused by diet and environmental
toxicity.
A USA Today article indicates that the average city water contain more than 500 chemicals.
“Air pollution and water pollution are only a small part of the toxicity story. There are thousands of harmful
environmental toxins, some of which we’re aware of – such as pesticides, chemicals, household cleaners,
fertilizers – and others, which seem perfectly innocent, such as those ubiquitous plastic water bottles, styrene
cups, dental fillings, and plastic wrap. These are just a few small examples of the alarming amount of harmful
toxins our bodies are absorbing every day” – Dr. Sherry Rogers, Detoxify or Die
“We are all a toxic cesspool of the lifetime accumulation of chemicals from our air, food, and water. U.S.EPA
studies of chemicals stored in the fat of humans show that 100% of people had dioxins, PCBs,
dichlorobenzene, and xylene while another analysis of the exhaled breath of humans showed carcinogenic
benzene in 89% and perchloroethylene in 93%. And these chemical are just the tip of the iceberg. For now
we have the proof that it is the steady silent accumulation over a lifetime that produces most diseases,
including cancer. But medicine merely sees every disease as a deficiency of some drug or surgery, or tells
us there is no known cause or cure.” – Dr. Sherry Rogers, Detoxify or Die
WHY INFRARED IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN STEAM OR DRY HEAT SAUNAS
The use of steam or dry saunas has been going on for centuries. Most people have used them at a gym, spa
or health club or at a hotel when traveling. There are some who are “traditionalists” whose culture included
the use of a dry sauna and wouldn’t consider using anything but. So let’s look at the difference.
A conventional sauna heats your body through convection; in other words, the air is heated first and then the
hot air heats the outside of your body. Convection heat has no power of penetration. This type of sauna is
usually heated by a 220 volt electric heater and takes about 45-60 minutes to heat up the air inside the
sauna to a very high temperature of 160-220 degrees. A steam sauna also has a steam generator to create
the steam. When you first step inside the sauna, the shock of sudden, very high heat has the opposite effect
of what’s desired: it shuts down the body’s sweating mechanism. The blood vessels suddenly constrict, the
skin tightens, and stiff muscles and joints can become irritated. Only once your body starts to overheat do
you start to sweat. Most people cannot handle more than 15 to 20 minutes of this high temperature and
therefore will not get a thorough cleanse. So you just spent 60 minutes heating a sauna that you could only
use for 20 minutes.
An infrared sauna heats your body directly through a process called conversion, without having to heat the
air in between. Instead of just heating the outside of your body, like a conventional steam or dry heat sauna,
the far infrared waves go directly into your body between 1.5 inches and 3 inches, depending upon the fat
and water content of the body, and the ratio of fat to muscle. So, this type of heat penetrates further into
your fat and muscles for far superior detoxification and pain relief. Most people will use their saunas at a
significantly lower temperature of 100 to 140 degrees and will be able to stay comfortable inside the sauna
for 30 minutes or more.
Even at the lower temperatures, you will sweat up to 3 times more sweat volume in an infrared sauna
compared to conventional sauna. In one study by American researchers, the sweat of people using a
conventional sauna was found to be 95% to 97% water with only 3% to 5% toxins. The sweat of those using
an infrared sauna was 80% to 85% water with the 15% to 20% non-water portion principally consisting of
cholesterol, fat-soluble toxins, toxic heavy metals, sulfuric acid, sodium, ammonia, and uric acid. The
researches also found that normal exercise did not produce the same amount of toxin release.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF INFRARED SAUNA USE
Many of the people who purchased saunas from us were dealing with health issues that regular sauna use
helped improve, sometimes dramatically. Once you understand the physiology and biochemistry of sweating,
it is easy to understand how sauna therapy can work for them and for you. Virtually every condition of ill
health can be either eliminated or substantially improved by improving organ function through better
distribution and assimilation of nutrients, removal of toxins and microbes and balance the pH of the body.
The following is a brief summary, excerpted from the book The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy, of the
documented physiological effects of hyperthermia:
Accelerated heart rate and passive cardiovascular conditioning, causing increased circulation. The body
responds to this deep-heating effect via hypothalamic-induced increase in heart rate, cardiac output and
metabolic rate.
Coronary Artery Disease Arteriosclerosis, and Hypertension – Finnish researchers, who have long studied
the benefits of regular use of conventional saunas, have stated that “there are abundant evidences to
suggest that blood vessels of regular sauna-goers remain elastic and pliable longer due to the regular
dilation and contraction of blood vessels induced by sauna use”
German medical researchers reported that a single whole-body session of infrared-induced hyperthermia
lasting over one hour had only beneficial effects on subjects with State I and II essential hypertension. Each
subject experienced a rise in core body temperature to a maximum level of 38.5 degrees Celsius (101.3
Fahrenheit). All of the subjects in one experiment had significant decrease in arterial, venous and mean
blood pressure that last for at least 24 hours and was linked to a persistent peripheral dilation effect.
Another group of similar hypertensive patients was also studied under the same conditions of hyperthermia,
with an eye toward more carefully evaluating the circulatory system effects induced by this type of whole-
body heating. During each infrared session, there was a significant decrease of blood pressure, cardiac
ejection resistance, and total peripheral resistance in every subject. There was also a significant increase of
the subjects’ heart rates, stroke volumes, cardiac outputs, and ejection fractions. The researchers cite these
last three effects as evidence that the stimulation of the heart during infrared-induced hyperthermia is well
compensated, while the prior list of effects show clear detail of the microcirculatory changes leading to the
desired result of a lowering blood pressure.
Enhanced lymphatic circulation – extremely beneficial for those in wheelchairs or unable to move or exercise.
Helps to reduce edema and decrease pain through increased peripheral circulation.
Increased production of white blood cells – Using a sauna can help boost the immune system to help prevent
illnesses. This is why a hot bath, exercise or a sauna at the beginning of a cold or flu can prevent it from
escalating, or stop it entirely.
Increased production of enzymes
Relaxation of the muscles – the reduction of muscle spasms is possibly produced by the combined effect of
heat on both primary and secondary afferent from spindle cells and from its effects on Golgi tendon organs.
Heat increases the extensibility of collagen tissues, which is especially valuable in working with injuries
involving ligaments, joint capsules, tendons, fasciae, and synovium that have become scarred, thickened or
contracted. Heat has the effect of ultimately lessening the excitability of muscular tissue, thus calming the
receptors for pain. Heating of the muscles produces an increased blood flow level similar to that seen during
exercise.
Selective stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system (responsible for the relaxation response).
The killing or disabling of microbes.
These effects in turn lead to the following benefits:
The elimination of stagnant blood and the decongestion of organs, which in turn stimulates better organ
function.
Faster metabolism (the rate at which nutrients are assimilated and toxins are removed).
Increase in systemic alkalization – most illnesses and diseases thrive on an acidic pH level in the body.
Bringing the body pH towards alkaline reduces the chance for viruses, bacteria and microbes to exist.
Decrease or total elimination of pain in the nerves, muscles and joint in the majority of cases.
Reduction or elimination of disease.
BUT CAN I REALLY LOSE WEIGHT USING AN INFRARED SAUNA?
With obesity and dieting a common condition in a majority of Americans, sauna manufacturers love to claim
that sauna use causes weight loss. Many people feel that any weight lost during a sauna session is from
water loss rather than fat, and that once the water is replenished, the weight will come back. In his letter to
the editor in the August 7, 1981 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, cited in The
Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy, Major Ward Dean wrote what might be the most concise claim
regarding why one could lose weight by using a sauna. Part of the letter states:
The fact overlooked by most people who attempt to debunk saunas and other devices that cause enhanced
sweating is that the water does not just “leak out” of the body. Sweating is a part of a complex
thermoregulatory process of the body involving substantial increases in heart rate, cardiac output, and
metabolic rate, and consumes considerable energy. In a sauna…the only means of maintaining body
temperatures in the normal range is by evaporation of sweat, a process that consumes approximately 0.586
kcal per gram of water lost. A moderately conditioned person can easily “sweat off” 500 grams in a sauna,
consuming nearly 300 kcal [calories] – the equivalent of running 2 to 3 miles. A heat-conditioned person can
easily sweat off 600 to 800 kcal with no adverse effects. While the weight of the water lost can be regained
by rehydration with water, the calories consumed will not be…Regular use of a sauna may impart a similar
stress on the cardiovascular system [as running] – and its regular use may well be as effective a means of
cardiovascular conditioning and burning of calories as regular exercise. [For the source of information on
calories lost during body heating, the writer cites Guyton’s Textbook of Medical Physiology, 4th Edition, 1971,
pp. 833-834.]
The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy also states that “some increase in metabolism does occur in the
body when it is subjected to high heat. We already know that the metabolic rate rises about six percent for
every degree Fahrenheit rise in the body temperature. With the adipose (fat) cells heated at high enough
rates to cause substantial molecular friction, the enzymes and hormones will break them down and transport
them through the bloodstream for the body to use as energy. The more energy burned, the more weight the
person loses.”
CANCER THERAPY – A NEW FRONTIER
Artificially induced hyperthermia is now being studied and tested by American medical researchers. These
trials are using mainly other forms of heat other than infrared, however, researchers in Japan have used
infrared heat in their studies. It is known that high heat kills tumors – cancer cells die at temperatures form
104 to 107 degrees. Dr. Jeffrey Freeman, founder of the Europa Institute of Integrated Medicine, explains the
mechanism of this process:
“Researchers have found that the blood vessels in normal tissue actually open up (dilate) when heat is
applied, in an effort to flush out the heat and cool the cell environment down. Because a tumor is a more
tightly packed group of cells, blood circulation is restrictive and sluggish. When heat is applied to the
tumor…temperature continues to rise to destructive levels. This process continues over a period of time
even after the treatment…The tumor cells are now extremely susceptible to destruction by radiation or by
additional heating.”
Currently, the only approved treatments of cancer are surgery, drug therapy, chemotherapy and radiation.
Chemotherapy is essentially poisoning the body with hope that the cancer dies before the patient, though
recent research is testing drugs that are more site-specific. Many cancer patients suffer lost-lasting side
effects from these treatments and have turned to using infrared saunas in an effort to flush these toxins from
their body. It is highly recommended that a cancer patient consult their treating physician before engaging in
sauna therapy.
In addition, some alternative physicians use far-infrared saunas to reduce biochemical cancer markers in
their patients. Beneficial results, similar to expensive European hyperthermic cancer treatments, have been
obtained.
There is a wonderful testimonial from a breast cancer survivor’s husband who purchased a sauna from us for
this purpose. Please read it on our testimonial page.
For more information on the cancer trials, go to www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/ and http://cis.nci.nih.
gov/fact/7_3.htm
Another great article to read is in Alternative Magazine, Issue 37, “Too Hot for Cancer”
HOW TO TAKE A SAUNA
Before you use a sauna:
If you have a chronic or serious illness or are taking prescription medication, please consult a doctor who is
knowledgeable about sauna therapy to make sure that you can safely use this modality. We will be happy to
consult with you and your doctor on how to use a sauna safely and we highly recommend reading Chapter 6
of The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy by Nenah Sylver, PhD to learn more of how sauna therapy
applies in your situation. The following is excerpted and condensed from her book which provides more in-
depth information:
Don’t eat a large meal or consume alcohol at least two hours before using the sauna.
Shower and exfoliate your skin if possible before using the sauna.
It is best not to wear any clothing and remove all jewelry first. Clothes restrict the removal of sweat and toxins
from your skin so if you are uncomfortable or unable to be totally nude during your sauna, wrap yourself in
an absorbent towel.
Drink plenty of water before, during and after your sauna session.
During your sauna session:
Start with lower temperatures and don’t overdo the amount of time you spend in the sauna if you are new to
using saunas or have a chronic illness. You may want to have someone check on you periodically just in
case you experience any negative reaction and need help.
You don’t have to wait for an infrared sauna to get to maximum temperature before you get in it. FIR heat will
still penetrate your body deeply even at low temperatures so get in at 100 to 110 degrees and let your body
heat up with the sauna.
Leave immediately if you feel uncomfortable, dizzy or nauseous
Have plenty of drinking water
Have plenty of towels – put one on the floor and one on the bench to sit on. Always wash the towels soon
after you are finished – never reuse them until after they are washed.
After your sauna session:
Replenish the water, vitamins and mineral lost through perspiration.
Immediately take a shower to wash the toxic sweat of your body before it is reabsorbed.
Rest for awhile to allow your body to normalize – you just had a great workout.
Remove and wash the towels in your sauna and leave the door open to dry out the wood if necessary.
PLEASE NOTE: It is very possible for someone to feel ill after using a sauna, especially if they are dealing
with a chronic toxic condition. We have met people with severe heavy metal, pesticide and mercury poisoning
who have experienced this. Your cells may release more toxins than you are able to eliminate and they are
swimming around in your bloodstream. It may be best to start with short sessions at a lower temperature with
a break of a day or two in between. Drink plenty of water to help flush the toxins out of your system and rest
