Podcast on Near Infrared Saunas!

Here's a podcast I did with Wendy Meyers from Liveto110.com  Wendy is nutritionist, health coach and writer. She has a great blog and great podcasts!

Long Life Saunas in the NEWS!

Hi everyone,

Here is a link to a recent article about Long Life Saunas in the Pen Bay Journal:

www.penbaypilot.com/article/french-fry-lamp-heals/6168

The french fry lamp comment is pretty funny!

3 Reasons Why Near Infrared Sauna IS the Best!

Near Infrared Sauna- 3 Reasons why it IS the best!:

A response to the insanely stupid article by Michael Smith of infraredsaunareviewsonline.com

Recently, I have been receiving calls and emails asking me about a blog post about Near Infrared Saunas posted on a site called infraredsaunareviewsonline.com.  The blog post is critical of near infrared saunas.  Several of my customers have even sent me email exchanges they had with the blogger, Michael Smith. I have read this article and, in my opinion, it is insanely stupid.

I am writing this post to respond to Mr. Smith’s claims and to help readers learn to spot bad science and nonsense  arguments, like those presented in Mr. Smith’s article ( In my opinion. This whole piece is only my opinion). In fact, Mr Smith's article is so incorrect and misleading, that it’s amazing anyone with give it any credence whatsoever! With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at what Mr. Smith has to say.

Mr. Smith suggests that Near Infrared is not as effective as Far Infrared and offers "proof." I am going to dissect his positions and proofs, to show why I think he is full of it.  The black text below comes directly from his site infraredsaunareviewsonline.com and his post on near infrared saunas. The red text is my commentary. I'll break it down bit by bit.  Let the games begin! And, if you want to see the original article which I am about to shred to pieces, you can find it here: http://www.infraredsaunareviewsonline.com/near-infrared-sauna

1.       “First, with the Near Infrared Sauna the frequency heats like a Finnish (traditional) sauna. Completely wrong. Finnish saunas use hot rocks and steam. Steam is convection heat and therefore different than near infrared, which is radiant heat. Hot rocks, technically emit heat in the far infrared range around 10  microns. Thus, hot rocks are FAR infrared, not at all like near infrared, but act like convection in a Finnish sauna because of the steam. Therefore, Near Infrared is nothing like a Finnish Sauna. CONCLUSION: Totally wrong.

"This means it (near infrared) heats the room itself instead of just heating the object in the room… You."  Wrong again. Near infrared saunas heat both your body and the room, which is easily proved by the fact that your body temperature rises in the near infrared sauna. And, Far infrared sauna cabins get hot when preheated, showing clearly for all to see that far infrared heats the room as well. In addition, what does it have to do with the health impact? CONCLUSION: Totally wrong, presented as important while actually irrelevant.

“With a Far Infrared Sauna the air in the sauna stays much cooler… and… all the healing-heat is laser-focused to penetrate you at a much deeper level.” Wrong. The air temperature of a far infrared sauna is cooler than a Finnish sauna, but EQUAL to a near infrared sauna.  Far infrared is NOT laser focused. In fact, carbon panel heaters are soft and diffuse in their infrared emissions. They are the polar opposite of laser focused. This is the reason carbon panels have poor tissue penetration, while a concentrated heat lamp has high tissue penetration.  CONCLUSIONS: Totally wrong, especially the analogy to a laser focus.

"See, intense research and tests have shown that the Far Infrared Saunas energy output is so closely tuned to your own body’s radiant energy, that your body naturally accepts it and allows this healing-heat to be absorbed by much as 93%." This is an incorrect conclusion. Far infrared is not absorbed because it matches the body’s heat signature. You can use far infrared to heat cold chicken leftovers, which clearly have no heat signature of their own. You can also heat rocks, dirt, metal and anything else with far infrared. So the ability of far infrared to be absorbed by the body has NOTHING to do with it being closely tuned to your body’s radiant heat. CONCLUSION: Wrong and misleading.

“That’s 93% of the far infrared waves that reach your skin. A Near Infrared Sauna is not capable of this.” The amount of waves that reach your skin in the sauna, depends on the shape and type of heater, where you sit in the sauna, and what the sauna is made of.  Mr Smith incorrectly correlates the potential to be absorbed, with your actual, real world exposure when using a sauna. This gives you a misleading impression of the far infrared sauna being more effective than it is. CONCLUSION: Intentionally misleading.

“Heat lamps that emit near infrared can only be absorbed on the surface of your skin.” Completely untrue and in contrast to all common science on near infrared. Near infrared lamps produce near infrared energy, which penetrates easily and deeply into the body. A simple proof is the existence of "near infrared spectroscopy,"  which is a brain imaging tool, like an MRI. It takes 3-D images of the brain using near infrared scanners. For this to be possible, near infrared has to be able to penetrate through your skull and at least 3 inches into the tissue. Otherwise, no image could be made! CONCLUSION: Wrong, near infrared goes deeply into the body, and even through bone.

“While Far Infrared heat is absorbed into your body by a depth of one and half inches and beyond.” This depends entirely on the concentration of the heat at the heater surface and the length of exposure- ie. how long you are in the sauna. No general statement on tissue penetration can be made without more details. CONCLUSION: Misleading.

2.    “Second, the vast majority of all REAL health benefits are achieved by using only “true” far infrared heat sources. Because they produce FAR infrared heat at or near the level of your body – 9.4 microns.  Let’s think about this logically for a second.” This is actually one of my favorite passages. What exactly are “real” health benefits? What is a “true” far infrared?  This is intentionally vague to be manipulative. Let’s look at the “logic”…  The buzz words create a false impression of quality, while not being backed with any real science. CONCLUSION: Utter B.S.

“You already know the real benefits from using an Infrared Sauna come from penetrating deep into your body.” The phrase “you already know” is a construct called a pre-supposition. It is used in advertising because it implies that whatever follows the phrase is true, because you “already know it.”  CONCLUSION: Wrong, intentionally covered up with a misleading phrase.

“You now know that for your body to allow the heat to penetrate, it has to be at (or near) the human body micron level.” Now we have a winner in the most misleading statement category! Mr. Smith is saying that only energy at a wavelength close to the human body can penetrate into the body. What about X-rays, gamma rays, microwaves? The scientific fact is that your body’s natural heat signature has NOTHING to do with the ability of other wavelengths to penetrate the body. If Mr. Smith was right, it would mean that far infrared can ONLY penetrate things with a similar heat signature. But, seeing as how far infrared will heat up just about anything (rocks, dirt, metal, last night’s leftovers..etc) he is clearly, and obviously wrong. CONCLUSION: Time to take a science class, Mr. Smith!

“Near infrared- how is it possibly better for your health? Especially when the heat it creates is further away on the micron scale? Incorrect assumption. First, near infrared is not “further away on the micron scale.” The “micron scale” goes in two directions- longer wavelengths and shorter wavelengths. This phrasing speaks to Mr. Smith’s general lack of scientific understanding. Secondly, Mr. Smith again suggests that only wavelengths close to the body’s emissions can be healthy. But, one of the MOST important wavelengths for health is 0.31 microns. This is the range of UV light that causes your body to produce vitamin D. Wavelength, or place on the micron scale, has NO DIRECT CORRELATION with health. CONCLUSION: Wrong again…

“It’s simply NOT a match for the human body. Therefore, it’s not capable of deep penetration.” Incorrect logic. A wavelength does not have to match the body to achieve deep penetration, such as with x-rays, gamma rays and microwaves. While these other rays are not health promoting, it does show the Mr. Smith is either ignorant of general science, or being intentionally misleading. And, as we have already noted, near infrared penetrates easily and deeply into the body.  CONCLUSION: Wrong.

“Where the REAL benefits occur!” Mr. Smith fails to provide any scientific evidence showing these “real” health benefits that are a result of the specific wavelength he recommends. None at all… Mr. Smiths “proof” is a graphic that essentially states that Mr. Smith is correct. Of course, the graphic presents no science or actual proof. CONCLUSION: WTF, Mr Smith?

At this point, it’s worth taking a closer look at Mr. Smith’s last point as it is commonly argued on other far infrared sauna sites. The argument is this:

a.    The human body has a natural heat signature. The wavelength of this heat is 9.4 microns.

b.    Since the body emits heat at 9.4 microns, it is healthy and beneficial to return heat to the body at 9.4 microns because it is a resonant (read:matching) wavelength.

In my opinion, the entire far infrared industry is operating on a flawed premise. Yes, it’s true that the human body gives off a heat signature of about 9.4 microns. But, why would anyone assume that giving that heat signature back to the body is healthy? Please consider WHY the human body give this off?

Heat is a by-product of cellular metabolism. Energy conversion is of limited efficiency and the waste product is heat. That’s right! This heat wavelength is a CELLULAR WASTE PRODUCT. Yet, the far infrared industry would have you believe that this waste product is good for you! 

In what other cases, would you consider returning a waste product to your body? Would you treat kidney disease by drinking urine, arguing that urine is a resonant fluid to kidney output? How about treating lung disease with carbon dioxide since carbon dioxide is resonant to lung output? Or helping psoriasis with dead skin cells or bowel conditions with… I think you get my point.

The idea that a waste product should be returned to the body is one that is seriously flawed. Yet this is the centerpiece of Mr. Smiths argument. Okay, let’s get back to the article:

3. Third reason: The Near Infrared Sauna (heat) is experienced as a sharper heat sensation." I have never heard it described as sharp. And, this is a point of personal preference.

"The same type of heat lamps you see warming hamburgers at your local fast food restaurant!" Infrared IS heat. So, of course you can heat food with it. That is has nothing to do with whether or not it has health benefits. You can by a far-infrared food oven for your kitchen.  CONCLUSION: Irrelevant to human health.

"Far infrared heat, is experienced as a softer heat sensation - it’s quite enjoyable." Again, a point of personal preference.  "Very close to the enjoyment people get when sun bathing." Not really, not at all.  "Or, imagine going outside on a very cold day and experiencing your face heating up and feeling warm in the sunshine. This IS far infrared heat penetrating your body." According to the science, it is NEAR infrared that you feel on your skin. And, Mr Smith made that argument prior- that near infrared is what heats your surface, ie. your skin. Now he say’s what you feel on your surface is actually far infrared penetrating your body???? The reality is that sunlight is 35% near infrared and less than 3% far infrared. What you feel on your skin in the sun is NEAR infrared, not far. CONCLUSION: Wrong, Bad Science.

Mr Smith’s article is built on completely flaweed scientific arguments backed by no real science at all!  Showing a picture of the electromagnetic spectrum does not qualify of proof of anything health related. The question for you is simply whether or not you should trust him and his advice. Thus, the next logical step is to look at his credentials to assess his trust-worthiness.  I found some other interesting things about his blog when I did this.

First, Mr. Smith appears to suggest that you should trust him because he claims to “have done all the research.” It is not clear what research he is referring to or what exactly he means by this. But, we are to trust him all the same. His “About Me” section reads like an "intro-to-internet marketing" blog, which gives generic advice on writing advertising copy. Mr. Smiths pitch includes an  emotional hook story about a sick mom, an expressed concern for the well-being of his readers, and a warning against internet hucksters. These are your basic, run-of-the-mill trust building statements.  Mr. Smith’s approach can be summed up as “Trust me, I know best. I love my readers. And if you don’t believe me, call my friend at Vital Sauna because he knows even more than me.” There don’t appear to be any genuine academic credentials here.

Second, Mr. Smith often uses the words “high quality” in front of infrared sauna and does so time and time again. However, the brand he recommends, when you email him, is Vital Sauna. Vital Sauna is just an average Chinese import. In fact, I had one customer  ask Mr. Smith where Vital Saunas were manufactured. Mr Smith said they were made in the US. Unfortunately, the sales rep from Vital Sauna said they were made in China. How could someone who has “done all the research” and knew about “high quality” be unaware that his recommended product was just an average Chinese import?

Third, Mr Smith’s credibility is strained when you look at his name. “Michael Smith” is obviously a fake name.  His website is now listed as owned by an LLC, but according to an email I received from someone who asked, Michael Smith is, in fact, not this person's real name. How can Mr Smith offer "honest" or "truthful" information without offering up his true identify? Is this someone you want to trust with your health?

In conclusion, you really have to read carefully and think for yourself. Mr. Smith’s hit piece on Near Infrared Saunas is complete and utter garbage, complete with misleading statements, false conclusions, and a complete lack of any scientific facts whatsoever.  On his home page, he warns that ,"there is a ton of bad information out there." After reading his website, it would seem there are now "two" tons of bad information out there.

Which leads to one last point. What then, it the purpose of his site? In my opinion, it’s to sell google add space, and to make referral commissions off of the sale of Vital Saunas (Mr. Smith asks that you tell the Vital Sauna rep that he sent you).  Neither of which benefits you in any way! 

The 1 KEY detox difference between NEAR and FAR Infrared

I've always maintained the position that a near infrared  is the most effective detoxification tool available. To truly detoxify your body of rampant environmental toxicity take at least 6 months of continual detoxification and maybe a year or more. There are lots of websites showing the depth of toxicity existing in our bodies. Hundreds of chemicals are found including many that are proven to cause cancer.

http://www.chemicalbodyburden.org/whatisbb.htm

Why does it take so long to detox? Because toxins are stored in places that are difficult to access. The science is very clear that we have lots of toxins stored in our fat cells. The reason they are stored is because we are exposed to more toxins a day than we have the ability to eliminate. Here is a simple way to look at it:

daily exposure  < eliminative capacity 

No toxins need to be stored

daily exposure  = eliminative capacity 

No toxins need to be stored

daily exposure  > eliminative capacity 

Toxins need to be stored to prevent immediate poisoning

When you read that scientists find chemicals stored in fat cells, than you can conclude that exposure is greater than the ability to eliminate. Hence, the need for supplemental detoxification. 


Many of these chemicals are outright poisons to the body. Some cause cancer, others cause protein and DNA damage. Some destroy endocrine function. When you detoxify these chemicals, they are released from long held storage and for a short time they are in circulation. This is they key point here: when this happens, your cells can be damaged yet again!


That's why near infrared is clearly the superior choice for detoxification. Near infrared light can protect cells from the damage caused by toxic chemicals. Near infrared light strengthens cell metabolism, increases cell regeneration, and increases intracellular anti-oxidant activity  All of these actions combine to protect cells from toxic damage. Here are lots of links showing protective effects:

http://www.healinglightseminars.com/uncategorized/cyanide/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18930064

http://www.mendeley.com/research/nearinfrared-radiation-protects-red-cell-membrane-against-oxidation/

http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v111/n4/abs/5600148a.html

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/features/20093107-19493.html

http://www.iovs.org/content/early/2011/03/16/iovs.10-6664.full.pdf

The key difference here is that far infrared has no protective action at all.  

NASA Researcher Harry Whelan Podcast on Near Infrared

Dr. Harry Whelan is the leading research expert on how near infrared aids energy production in the mitochondria.  Here he is in an interview about near infrared light therapy:


http://radio.rumormillnews.com/podcast/samples/2011/20110826-harrywhelan0.mp3

Dr. Whelan talks about the current technology showing how easily near infrared light penetrates deeply into the body. This is one of many, many reasons to have a near infrared healing tool in your home!

3 Key Features Your Sauna Must Have To Truly Work Well

3 Key Features That Make An Infrared Sauna Work Best

Thermostat or No Thermostat?

                Most saunas have a thermostat and on the surface, this seems like a good convenience. In an infrared sauna, however, it’s a waste.  What does a thermostat do? It brings the heat up until the desired temperature is reached and then it shuts off. In an infrared sauna, shutting off the heat means shutting off the infrared. As soon as the infrared shuts off you’re just sitting in a hot, stuffy box.

                A better design is to build the sauna so that it naturally reaches a good sauna temperature without a thermostat. If you need it cooler, just open the door a little or a vent. But, whatever you do, don’t shut off the infrared. You should learn to use the sauna by taking a hot sauna for a shorter time, rather than setting the thermostat for a low temperature.

                Long Life Saunas have no thermostat. Instead, they are designed to operate at 120-130F, which is the perfect range for near infrared.  Without the thermostat, you are getting the full near infrared therapy for the entire length of your sauna session. Do not settle for less.

                 

Reflective walls

                Infrared energy travels in a straight line, like light. When you look at the design of any infrared sauna, you can see that no matter how you sit, some of the infrared is going to come out of the emitter and pass right by your body.  Take a look at this next picture. It’s a typical carbon panel sauna. Imagine yourself sitting in the sauna, surrounded by carbon panels on your left and right. As you use the sauna, where does this infrared energy around you go?

In most cases, the infrared lands on the wall directly opposite the heater.  In the sauna above, it lands on the glass , a wood wall, or on another heater where it is absorbed. None of that infrared ever reaches your body. In the example above, you receive about 20% of the saunas output.

                A better design would have that extra infrared energy reflected and reused, rather that be wasted. I realized this early on and created saunas that reflect 97% of the infrared light and heat. When you use a Long Life Near Infrared Sauna, it looks like this:

In a reflective sauna, as much as 90% of the infrared energy reaches your body. That’s one of the reasons these saunas are so much more effective than others.

Cluster Heating

                As we learned earlier, you get better tissue penetration with more intense infrared heat in a given surface area. In our saunas, we cluster the heat lamps on one side to maximize the intensity of infrared energy. In addition, this focuses the heat on your midsection. Having tested many designs, this one most easily raises core temperatures which proves it is the best way to achieve deep tissue penetration.

If you liked these tips and want to learn more, you'll find the very best information in " The Ultimate Near Infrared Sauna Guide." 


http://www.nearinfraredsauna.com/Infrared_Sauna_Book.html

Sauna Deal of a Lifetime

We have a special limited promotion on our 1-Person Eco Saunas. Right now you can get this sauna with a LIFETIME WARRANTY on all parts. Even the bulbs! Plus, each sauna comes with a full extra set of bulbs. But, there is a very limited supply.

Check here for details:
http://www.nearinfraredsauna.com/ecosaunasale.html

A deal to last a lifetime! 

How to Get More From Your Infrared Sauna

The whole point of using an infrared sauna is to have the infrared energy land on your skin. Right? After all, it’s the infrared, and its ability to penetrate deeply into your body, that makes it a valuable health tool.  Otherwise,  you’re just sitting in a very hot little room.    

I’ve noticed something in the design of far infrared saunas, especially carbon saunas, that seems very significant. If you look closely, you can see that most of the infrared energy they create does not actually land on your body.  Let me explain.

First, infrared energy travels straight.  Technically it is a wave, but with an amplitude measured in nanometers, we can consider it a straight line. Second, infrared comes straight out of the heater, perpendicular to the surface.  That means it travels straight from the heater, and lands on the opposite wall where it is absorbed by the wood or another heater surface.  In the pictures below, you can see a typical carbon sauna and the diagrams of how the infrared will travel.

The infrared travels straight out of the heater, and is absorbed into the opposite wall. It does not get reflected by wood or carbon surfaces. So, it only has one chance to reach your body.

Now, let’s look at a common far infrared marketing distortion of how infrared light is represented:

The curved arrows in the picture imply that the infrared rays will somehow defy the laws of physics, magically bending through time and space to reach your body.  I especially like the “boomerang” effect of the lower heater. Well, it’s not true. The only infrared that will reach this woman’s body, is the infrared that is in-line with her body.

What I do like about this picture, is that the heaters are nicely divided into countable sections and it makes an easy model to estimate the true amount of infrared that will reach her body.  There are exactly 60 visible “rectangles” of carbon surface in this sauna. The top panels are divided into 24 rectangles, the sides into 12,  the bottom panel into 8, and there are 2 extras on the left and right side each to make 60 in total.

Since the infrared travels straight, only the panels she is in front of will deliver effective infrared to her body.  I count approximately the equivalent of 8 panels, maybe 10 to be very generous.  That means only 13-16% of the sauna’s output is reaching her body, or about 260-320 watts in a 2000 watt sauna.  In the picture below I have placed a red “X” on the parts of the heater that don’t ever reach her body with infrared.

There are two important points here. First, very little infrared actually body. Much too little to penetrate far into the body.  Second,  it is impossible to get much more, unless you can spread yourself out over the entire surface of the sauna:)

In addition, you can see that this sauna design will supply direct heat to the brain, which is considered bad. Ambient heat is okay, but direct infrared is not because the brain is very sensitive to temperature changes. 

Using an Eco-Sauna is an entirely different experience.  The heater design and the reflective walls combine to deliver as much as 90% of the infrared light to your body.  How is this possible?

First, the heaters are all mounted on one side, facing you. The heat lamps project their infrared like a spotlight.  It has a relatively narrow beam.  We are now using a diamond patterned heater that delivers almost all of its infrared right to you. First, here is the heater. It concentrated all its output into a small area.

     

Here is what it looks like, and what the heat pattern on the opposite wall will be. As you can see, most of the infrared lands on your body in the first pass!

                                   

Next, all of our near infrared saunas are lined with a radiant reflective lining. The key point is that it reflects infrared instead of absorbing it. No other infrared cabin sauna does this, so none are as effective at delivering infrared to your body. Any infrared that doesn’t reach you in the first pass will be reflected around the sauna to eventually reach you.

In our 1 person Eco-Sauna,  you can receive 90% of the therapeutic near infrared light into your body. This amounts to 900 watts  (90% of 1000 watts) , compared to about 300 watts in the sample 2 person sauna shown previously.  More power equals much deeper tissue penetration and much more therapeutic healing. 

When you think about it, it's common sense. And, you'll never read about it on the far infrared websites!

  

A real sauna testimonial for cancer therapy.

Hi Everyone,

I just got this testimonial from a customer using an Eco Sauna as part of her cancer therapy. It was very moving to me, and powerful for her. I want to share it with everyone, so here it is:

"Hi Michael,

You might remember me. I was the lady who called you desperate to get a sauna in December, 2010. I was diagnosed with stage 2 triple negative breast cancer in November 2010…a very aggressive and resistant type of cancer with a poor prognosis. I had been reading about the benefits of saunas and wanted to use it to help get rid of the tumors I have. I ordered the eco-sauna, but unfortunately, I had to do a round of chemo before it arrived. I thought it was going to kill me. I had about all the worst side effect that a person can get with it. Mouth sores, blistered pustules all over my body, shortness of breath, weakness, fatigue, a horrid metallic taste in my mouth that made it difficult to drink even water, couldn’t eat, got a kidney and bladder infection, red patches all over my body, couldn’t think straight. It was so bad, I quit the treatment. I thought any more treatment was going to kill me for sure because my grandmother died during chemo. Some people do die from the treatment. So I tried all my natural remedies, but went back 6 weeks later to get an ultrasound to see if anything had changed. The tumors had grown. At the rate they were growing, I’d be stage 4 terminal in a matter of weeks if I didn’t go back to treatment according to the doctor.

In the meantime the sauna arrived and me and my sister put it together by ourselves. It was easy as pie! I scheduled my second round of chemo and had it 2 weeks ago. While they were hooking me up, the doctor mentioned that the drugs were “out of my system” within 6 hours. I think what he really meant was that they were “not effective” after 6 hours. So I thought…that means that they let off the equivalent of a nuclear bomb in my body and now I’m stuck with the fallout of billions of dead cells and all the toxic waste that is the chemo. That means my poor lymph system was trying to do its best to clean up the mess, and explains why the metallic taste. So, maybe sweating would help get that out of my system. So, 6 hours after treatment, I took a 30 minute sauna.

The difference between this round and the first round was astonishing. No nausea, no vomiting, no metallic taste, no mouth sores. It was as if I didn’t even have a treatment the next day. I felt just fine! I thought the sauna would just be good for me, I had no idea it would make chemotherapy not just manageable, but no big deal. I cannot believe what a difference. I also can’t believe people don’t already know about this. They don’t have to suffer with chemo and they don’t have to die because they are afraid of the treatment…they just need a near infrared sauna. I want the whole world to know how amazing and beneficial a sauna is for those in chemotherapy. I’ve read that it also helps with radiation, and that’s just around the corner for me too. I cannot thank you enough for making this wonderful life saving device for me. I take a sauna every day for 30 minutes. I love the feeling of all the toxins leaving my body, my skin is glowing and silky smooth…I’ve already lost 20 pounds (I’m now below my ideal weight!)…and I look better than I have in years.

Feel free to use this testimonial (but not my name). Thanks again for your help!

Your friend in Wisconsin,

M.R. (name hidden for privacy) "

Amazing isn't it?

The Inaugural Blog Post

Hi Everyone,

Things are really heating up with the near infrared sauna experience. A small but growing number of people around the world are experiencing the healing power of near infrared saunas first hand. Near infrared provide tremendous therapeutic healing power without have to spend much or do much!

Recently, I have been experimenting with raising my body temperature in the sauna. When you raise your body temperature 2-3 degrees it is called "fever therapy" and it has a really powerful and amazing effect on the body. The heat can kill or weaken pathogens like bacteria or viruses, it strengthens the immune response, it stimulates the pituitary gland to release growth hormone, enhances circulation and most importantly it can weaken or kill cancer cells. So it's a good thing to get your body temperature up 2-3 degrees 3-7 times a week to promote great health.

An added benefit to the fever therapy is increased sweat volume. This equates to more powerful detoxification. With this in mind, I have been discovering new aids to raising body temperatures.

In Vermont, where I live, it is very dry in the winter. I have observed over the years that I don't sweat as much in the sauna during winter as in the summer even though it's just as hot in the sauna. A big difference is relative humidity. With low humidity, sweat evaporates quickly, and your body cools down quickly. It's not the sweating that cools your body, but the evaporation of sweat. In the summer, with higher humidity, evaporates more slowly. This means you don't cool down as quickly. The experience is a slightly higher change in body temperature and more detoxifying sweat. This is a good thing!

As you use your sauna, I recommend taking your temperature every 7-10 minutes in the sauna. Keep the thermometer on the floor in a corner, where it won't be affected by the sauna heat. As you monitor your body, you will learn how you respond to the sauna and how different times of day and humidity levels effect your experience. This will enable you to maximize your sauna therapy and customize it for your own body.

Stay tuned. In a couple of days I will post a short article on a very simple way to greatly enhance the sauna's detoxifying and heating effects. This technique is something everyone should try and know about as it is a HUGE aid to healing and detoxification.

Thanks!

-Michael

Long Life Saunas: www.nearinfraredsauna.com