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“…sauna may be one of the most important health habits to have to prevent and reverse the #1 killer in the Western world (heart disease)…
I have written about the anti-cancer benefits of Sauna (SA) as whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) several times before. I am a long-term cancer survivor working to remain in complete remission from my blood cancer. And now I’m writing about the heart healthy benefits of Sauna and whole-body hyperthermia. I have a late stage side effect from chemo-induced heart damage called atrial fibrillation (chronic A-Fib).
The article linked and excerpted below is written by an integrative cardiologist. In short, sauna for heart disease is an excellent therapy.
An interesting aspect of the article linked and excerpted below is that the author, Joel Kahn, M.D. includes specifics about the health benefits of SA based on frequency and duration. Most people that I know are in a SA for about 10-15 minutes before they get uncomfortable and leave. Since I have been taking saunas since the late nineties I enjoy reading in a sauna for about 30 minutes. I can get my internal body temperature up to about 102 degrees. I give myself a mini-fever.
In any case. It is clear from the studies cited by Dr. Kahn that a SA once a week is good but a SA a day is better.
The JNH Lifestyles 2 Person Far Infrared Sauna is well-reviewed on Amazon. There is even a short video by an owner talking about the ease of installation and use. 5% of your purchase, should you buy something on Amazon, is donated to PeopleBeatingCancer- the 501c3 non-profit that makes this blog possible. Thank you.
“I am an integrative cardiologist and I search the medical literature for therapies for heart disease that compliment or replace conventional practice. One of the therapies that I have learned from my Japanese colleagues is the powerful role of sauna therapy for heart patients. In fact, the data suggests that sauna may be one of the most important health habits to have to prevent and reverse the #1 killer in the Western world…
Heart patients (in Japan) sit in an infrared sauna set at 60° C (140° F) for 15 minutes, followed by resting outside the sauna for 30 minutes, wrapped in towels…
Waon (sauna in Japanese) therapy has been shown to improve the function of endothelial cells that line every artery in the body resulting in better health and functionality…
Waon therapy may save lives. In a provocative study of 129 patients with bad heart problems, patients treated with waon therapy at least two times a week were compared to similar patients who did not get the therapy. Over five years of follow-up, the rates of re-hospitalization and death were half in the waon treated patients compared to the others…
In a recent study, waon sauna therapy improved exercise capacity, quality of life, and mental capacity in patients with advanced heart failure (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25740582)…
Although most studied documenting the health benefits of sauna for the heart originate in Japan, a large report relating the impact of the frequency and duration of visiting a sauna was published from this year fro Finland. The highest frequency and duration of sauna use reduced the risk of heart and all-cause deaths by over 50%…
Saunas are a luxury in the home but it is an option. Patients have used health accounts to cover the cost of buying their own units. An increasing number of spas and massage chains are incorporating infrared sauna into their programs making them available to more heart patients.
A heart attack occurs every 43 seconds in the United States and remains one of the most frequent causes of sudden death, ripping families apart. A comprehensive lifestyle program can dramatically reduce that risk. It appears that a sauna a day keeps both the heart attack and the doctor away.”
“Mounting evidence shows that hitting the heated chambers can produce some of the same cardiovascular benefits as aerobic exercise. While a post-workout sauna can compound the benefits of exercise, the hormetic effects of heat therapy alone can produce significant gains for microvascular and endothelial function, no workout required…
Cutaneous Vasodilation
The body experiences several physiologic changes when exposed to heat therapy of any kind, including sauna, hot water submerging, shortwave diathermy, and heat wrapping. Many of these changes involve elements of the cardiovascular system…
Sauna bathing has similar effects on heart rate and cardiac output. Studies have shown it can improve the circulation of blood through the body, as well as vascular endothelial function, which is closely tied to vascular tone…
Heat therapy also temporarily increases blood pressure, but in a way similar to exercise, which supports better long-term heart health…
“Saunas increase heat shock proteins that break down old, dysfunctional proteins and then protect new proteins from becoming dysfunctional,” Hunter S. Waldman, PhD, an assistant professor of exercise science at the University of North Alabama, in Florence, said. This effect is one way sauna bathing may quell systemic inflammation, Waldman said…
“You have to have everything else working as well: finding time to relax, not being overly stressed, staying hydrated ― all those things are critical with any exercise training and heat therapy program,” he said…
“All other things considered, especially with aerobic exercise, it is very comparable, so we can look at adding sauna bathing post exercise as a way to lengthen the aerobic exercise workout…”
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Very interesting article! We have long chosen between two different saunas for our large family and finally stopped the 4-seater corner Golden infrared sauna from the InfraredSaunaGuru for two specific reasons: first, it was cheaper than from another distributor, and second-it’s better than we expected. A must-have in any home-that’s what we think!
Yeah. Infrared saunas are realy great for your health!
I check in on my own experience!
We were choosing between two different saunas for our big family and finally stopped 4-Person Corner Golden Infrared Sauna from InfraredSaunaGuru for two specific reasons: first of all it came cheaper than from the other distributor, and secondly – it is better than we expected. A must have in any home – that is what we think!