Mar 6, 2005 ... Detoxification Through the Skin by Mark Sircus Ac., OMD March 6th, 2005 ... Dr.
Dietrich Klinghardt, one of the founding fathers of chelation ...
Medical Studies and Articles
Detoxification Through the Skin by Mark Sircus Ac., OMD March 6th, 2005 Journal of the American College of Cardiology study on repeated far infrared sauna treatments. Circulation Journal December 2004 study on infrared sauna use in patients with chronic heart failure. Repeated thermal therapy improves impaired vascular endothelial function in patients with coronary risk factors byImamura M, Biro S, Kihara T, Yoshifuku S, Takasaki K, Otsuji Y, Minagoe S, Toyama Y, Tei C. October, 2001 Repeated sauna therapy reduces urinary 8-epi-prostaglandin F(2alpha) Masuda A, Miyata M, Kihara T, Minagoe S, Tei C. Department of Cardiology, Respiratory and Metabolic Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan March, 2004 Heat in the treatment of patients with anorexia nervosa by Gutierrez E, Vazquez R. March 2001 The Effects of Repeated Thermal Therapy for Patients with Chronic Pain by Akinori Masuda, Yasuyuki Koga, Masato Hattanmaru, Shinichi Minagoe, Chuwa Tei 2005 The effects of repeated thermal therapy for two patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. by Masuda A, Kihara T, Fukudome T, Shinsato T, Minagoe S, Tei C. April 2005 Thermal Therapy Benefits Depressed Patients 2005 Clinical Implications of Thermal Therapy in Lifestyle-Related Diseases by Sadatoshi Biro, Akinori Masuda, Takashi Kihara and Chuwa Tei 2003. Obesity And Diabetes: Pathophysiological Mechanisms And Therapeutic Approaches Repeated Thermal Therapy Diminishes Appetite Loss and Subjective Complaints in Mildly Depressed Patients by Akinori Masuda, MD, PhD, Masamitsu Nakazato, MD, PhD, Takashi Kihara, MD, PhD, Shinichi Minagoe, MD, PhD and Chuwa Tei, MD, PhD 2005. From the Psychosomatic Medicine, Respiratory and Stress Care Center, Kagoshima University Hospital, Kagoshima, Japan (A.M.); the Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Miyazaki University, Miyazaki, Japan (M.N.); and Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Metabolic Medicine,
Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan (T.K., S.M., C.T.). Sitting in sauna may prevent cancer. Dr. Jason Allen. Is Your Family Toxic? By James Ferguson. Published in the London Daily Mail May 22, 2007. Extracted from The Vitamin Murders: Who Killed Healthy Eating in Britain, by James Ferguson, published by Atlantic Books Weight Loss: Read an Interview with actor Jeremy Davies in the New York Times describing how he lost 33 lbs. for the movie "Rescue Dawn" using an infrared sauna. Bringing Devon back... A Family's Crusade October 24, 2004. A couple says mercury agent in vaccines caused son's autism
Detoxification Through the Skin by Mark Sircus Ac., OMD The detox experience can be made?much easier, shorter and more effective. Since our exposure to general chemical toxins in the environment is only going to get worse with time, any reasonable and cost effective method that reduces concentrations of toxic metals and other poisonous chemicals in the human body will find great use in the 21st century (the Age of Toxicity). ?Until recently a select few doctors have been using intravenous chelation therapy to eliminate toxic poison loads for both acute and chronic exposures. Recently the movement has been toward oral applications of chelation drugs and even more recently to transdermal applications which seems convient, less expensive, and even more effective. No matter which method of application (IV is expensive and the most dangerous method of chelation) synthetic drugs are used that depend on specific biochemical dynamics that include the sequestering of toxic materials out of their hiding places. Once chelated the complex compounds need to be eliminated. Unfortunately this is neither easy nor automatic. Faulty avenues of elimination can create a nightmare for both patient and physician thus great care needs to be taken with any chelation or detoxification program. Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, one of the founding fathers of chelation therapy, is very clear that there is a difference between mobilization and detoxification. Mobilization, according to Dr. Klinghardt, means stirring mercury up from its hiding places. "Mobilization may lead to excretion. It also may lead to redistribution. Detoxifying or detoxing means mobilizing and moving it out of the body. There are no true detoxifying agents. All we have are mobilizing agents. The body has to do the
excreting with the help of the proper agents. The body is not always able to do this! Often perpetuating factors are present that disable the body?s mechanisms to detox." The term "chelation" generally implies a chemical binding and excretion of mercury and other heavy metals, by DMPS, DMSA, and EDTA and these drugs mobilize mercury and other heavy metals but do not necessarily carry them out of the body.
Representation of Chelaton Molecule Binding with a Mercury Atom. There are other agents, some which help with the mobilization and others that assist the body with the process of elimination. The nutrient ALA (alpha lipoic acid) is a dithiol (with 2 sulfur atoms) compound that is normally used by the body in small amounts as part of the enzymes for producing cellular energy. Because of its two sulfurs, ALA can bind and transport mercury for excretion from the body. The healthy body also uses glutathione stores to detoxify and remove mercury and other poisons from the body. NAC (N-acetylcysteine) is a widely available glutathione precursor that has the ability to directly bind and excrete mercury via its single thiol (sulfur atom) as well as support and increase the body's store of glutathione as a precursor. Thus both glutathione and NAC, though not true chelators, do part of the work that chelators do. True chelators penetrate into the bodies tissues and actually pull the mercury and other heavy metals out of?their hidding places. These other "non chelators," which some refer to as chelators, are more effective when the mercury is first entering into the body and or when it is being pulled out of the cells and again being dumped back into the blood. Clinically it is usually thought that glutathione and glutathione pre-cursers are best utilized in combination with a traditional synthetic chelator like DMPS. This chapter is about?another way of forcing?the mercury and other hostile chemicals out of?their?hiding places. If accumulation of heavy metals and hundreds if not thousands of other foreign chemicals are infiltrating our systems it is only logical that removing their insulting influences is a medical necessity. If a treatment itself causes more damage, or leads to a long term worsening of problems -- one has to beware, be fully informed, and take steps to mitigate risk before fully embarking on any such a treatment. This is certainly the case with amalgam removal, medicine in general, as well as the specific medical area of chelation. In general chelation drugs have proven to be relatively non toxic but that is not everyones experience especially with the IV forms of administration, which
is highly shocking to the body, to say the least. Oral and transdermal applications are softer, work gradually through time and thus are safer even though the drug used is the same.? There are several factors that influence the safety of a chelating substance beyond the method of application. Is a person able to metabolize and excrete the drug with and without mercury attached? What adverse effects does the chelating agent have on other minerals and nutrients in the body? Will the chelating agent cause the redistribution of mercury in an unhealthy way? It is possible to pull mercury from tissues only to have it quickly increase blood serum levels that create acute problems that cannot be controlled. If mercury is not excreted it is reabsorbed and this is a critical in the success or failure of chelation therapy. In 1904 a Russian Naturopathic Physician by the name of Eli Metchnikof discovered that the body would recycle any toxin that it was not capable of purging. In the recycling process the body would utilize all 7 channels of elimination to try and get the toxic substance removed from the body: lungs, liver, kidneys, the skin, colon, lymphatic system and the blood. If one or more of the body's channels of elimination are not working effectively, or if a physican ingnores one of these essential systems in his deliberations for treatment protocols, the patient will suffer from a lack of dramatic results. Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt says, ?The body is constantly trying to eliminate neurotoxins via the available exit routes. However because of the lipophilic/neurotropic nature of the neurotoxins, most are reabsorbed by the abundant nerve endings of the enteric nervous system (ENS) in the intestinal wall.? Treating heavy metal toxicity is a demanding challenge that tests our responsibility to be incredibly informed about a wide spectrum of issues, many of them complex. One of the most overlooked aspects of elminination is actually the skin which offers a vast exit route to poisons trapped in the body. The skin is actually an amazingly complex organ and, by weight, the largest in the body. It covers, on average, some 22 square feet and weighs around nine pounds (roughly 7% of body weight). ?The skin provides the front line of defense for the body, as well as being expressive of both physiological conditions and emotional states. The skin is the extension of our nervous system to the outside and defines our existence as a physical form. The skin is involved in dynamic exchange between the internal and external environments through respiration, absorption and elimination. The skin is highly permeable though it has the ability to maintain its important bacteria-inhibiting barrier with the environment. The keratin layer, a tough, compact sheet of interwoven proteins waterproofs the body preventing dehydration. It also keeps water and other foreign substances out. However, under certain circumstances, the permeability changes and allows increasing amounts of fluids, dissolved gases and compounds, to either enter or exit the body through the skin barrier. Small molecules that have both lipid and water solubility can quickly penetrate the skin and enter into the circulatory system and as the scientific community witnessed to its horror - dimethyl-mercury can enter and
easily kill through the skin in the smallest quantities. A general principle to apply when it comes to the skin and detoxification is: What gets in through the skin can get out. Thus it is in a physicians favor to become familiar with the keys to the skin?s permeability. In general heat, activity, and body temperature facilitate the ease with which these ?border exchanges? can take place. Herbal poultices, therapeutic baths, steam and dry saunas and now transdermal patches, rely on the permeability of the skin for either introducing substances into systemic circulation via the skin or mucous membranes, or for drawing toxic substances out of the system via the eliminative channels of perspiration. Thus the skin is an important organ of detoxification and elimination. One of the worst cases of environmental toxicity in U.S. medical history was treated by a Dr. Ziem at the Johns Hopkins Center for Environmental Medicine. The patient was off the charts with cadmium, aluminum, silver, and mercury but was able to receive a complete cure.? The skin on his entire upper body was slate grey. Dr. Ziem had to design a complete protocol from scratch in order to treat this patient.? This included a strong supplement program, including high doses of Vitamin E and Selenium. No standard chelating agents were used. The most critical part of Ziem's treatment protocol was very simple:? Steam Sauna Therapy.? Dr. Ziem sweated the poison out of the man to the point where the patient literally sweated metals that could be wiped off with a towel.? It is commonly thought that sweat from conventional saunas is 95 to 97% water with salt making up a part of the rest. Our skin contains sweat glands and oil glands, both of which help us move things through the skin. Sweat gets rid of water-soluble toxins, and even helps to eliminate toxic heavy metals such as mercury and cadmium as Dr. Zeim successfully demonstrated with his patient. Oil glands help remove oil-soluble toxins such as gasoline, solvents, pesticides and ingredients in toothpaste and personal care products, which the body is not able to dispose of unless heavy sweat is provoked. It is generally thought that the longer the skin is heated, the more oil-soluble toxins are eliminated. Even if one half to one percent of the sweat is carrying out heavy toxins we are greatly assisting the body?s elimination needs with saunas. Far infrared saunas can mobilize mercury in deeper tissues. Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt Dr. Klinghardt is combining the use of far-infrared saunas with the chelating agent DMPS in a heavy metal detox protocol. These special saunas are believed to be more effective in moving toxins through the skin than steam saunas because in the far-infrared thermal system only 80 to 85% of the sweat is water with the non-water portion being principly cholesterol, fat-soluable toxins, toxic heavy metals, sulfuric
acid, sodium, ammonia and uric acid. Using the skin as an essential aspect of chelation therapy is important and makes complete medical sense. I do a sauna every day and have for a number of years. Usually I go to the YMCA and they have a regular dry sauna. Recently I got an infrared and I was intrigued that the sweat felt different, less watery, and slimier. It made me think there was some truth to the assertions being made about far infrared and its ability to draw more toxins then the standard regular sauna. Dr. David Minkoff We have to help the body detoxify and the skin should be used as a major instrument and avenue of exit for accumulated heavy metals. It should be obvious that an organ as large as the skin, which is highly permeable when heated (or when heat is generated deep in the body as it is through far infrared therapy) would be useful in heavy metal detoxification. It was reported by National Geographic many years ago that the workers in the Cinnabar mines in Spain used to detoxify themselves through sweat baths after work. It makes perfect sense to bypass as much as possible the kidneys and large intestines, which are already overloaded with toxicity and greatly reduced in their capacity to eliminate toxic substances. If a person is heavy metal toxic it is because their normal channels of elimination have not been able to keep up with the load. When this is the case there are no secure avenues of escape when we chelate and mobilize heavy metals that have been locked in the cells. ? Peer reviewed literature shows that sweating during sauna therapy?eliminates high levels of toxic metals, organic compounds, dioxin, and other toxins. Sauna therapy is ideal to mobilize toxins from their hiding places. Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt "One of the best passive exercises is the radiant heat of an infrared sauna which, causes a profound deep sweat. After about 30 minutes of exposure, the blood vessels of the skin dilate to allow more blood to flow to the surface to support the cooling process. The millions of sweat glands covering the body are infused with fluid from the blood. In turn, they empty to the skin's surface, thereby flushing large amounts of toxins, including toxic acids and heavy metals, from the body," writes Dr. Robert O. Young who found in his research that radiant heat [infrared] sauna provides the following benefits: 1. Speeds up metabolic processes of vital organs and glands, including endocrine glands. 2. Inhibits the development of pleomorphic microforms [fungis, yeasts, bacteria and molds] and creates a 'fever reaction' of rising temperature that neutralizes them. 3. Increases the number of leukocytes in the blood. 4. Places demand on the heart to work harder thus, exercising it and also producing a drop in diastolic blood pressure (the low side).
5. Stimulates dilation of peripheral blood vessels thus, relieving pain (including muscle pain) and speeding the healing of sprain, strain, bursitus, arthritis, and peripheral vascular disease symptoms. 6. Promotes relaxation thereby creating a feeling of well-being. The volume of sweat produced in the Far-InfraRed sauna is profuse and may induce two or three times the sweat volume of conventional saunas, yet they operate at a much cooler air temperature range: about 110 to 130 degrees F, compared with 180 to 235 degrees F in a conventional sauna. Using sauna for detoxification purposes is an ancient tradition practiced by different cultures around the world. The skin is our largest organ and sweating is one of the body?s most important ?detoxification? pathways. The combination of modern Far-InfraRed heating technology with the ancient sauna ritual seems to have resulted in an effective way to deeply cleanse the tissues of the body. When we get serious about detoxification we investigate every tool to facilitate the process. When it comes to using the skin there are other techniques and options besides sauna and deep sweating. The most basic and ancient earth materials can be used to literally suck the poisons through the skin and this can be enormously helpful and safe. Clay, specificially bentonite clay (a very fine volcanic clay), is ideal for this and it is very inexpensive, practical and can be used in a patient?s own bathtub. Bentonite used in a bath, can draw out toxic chemicals through the pores of the skin. The proof of this method of drawing poisons through the skin is not in the scientific literature but in the ring around the tub. When cleaning a tub after taking a bath with pure bentonite clay, if one is toxic one will undoubtedly be astonished to find the clay remaining in the bottom of the tub turned from a light-grey color into a black substance. The dark colored sediment is the mirror of the filth that comes out through the skin and it would not take much to have this tested for heavy metals. As one detoxifies the body the proof of the pudding is in the color. The clay will retain its light grey color when the poisons are gone. Raymond Dextreit, the French naturopath who popularized the clay cure noted that many heavy metals "are positively charged, whereas clay has a negative electrical attraction." He states that, "These toxins cannot resist being drawn toward the clay." The mostly negatively charged clay mineral ions are swapped for the ions of the toxic substance that are mostly positive and this contributes greatly to its power of attraction for everything from pesticides in the blood to heavy metals like mercury. The clay molecule becomes electrically satisfied and holds onto the toxin until our bodies can eliminate both safely. The absorption power of clay acts like a sponge with the clay molecules drawing other substances into its internal structure. Clay then can and does both adsorb and then absorb damaging substances with adsorption being a first step of "getting close" and absorption being the final act of "binding securely" the toxins needing to be elminated.
Clay has been used for 1000s of years and anyone who puts some on their hands and lets it dry can easily feel is drawing or suction power. Its power is in absorption (see next chapter) and the skin opens easily to its pull. There are literally thousands of chemicals to worry about and many hundreds of them are now identifiable in peoples? blood streams. Thus it is important for chelation therapists to know that clay baths and far infrared saunas are cabable of covering a broader range of chemicals than any single chelation agent. Chelation is focused almost exclusively on heavy metals while sweat detoxification and clay detoxification pull on all foreign materials that need to be eliminated from the body. As most physicians notice the major organs of the body, including the liver and kidneys, are often negatively impacted by any kind of toxic condition in the body.? And due to modern diets the colon is a toxic cesspool with deeply diminished capacity to eliminate toxic loads. So here lies the catch 22 of chelation therapy. Often the treatment increased stress to the elimination organs of the body. It is not enough to pull the contaminants out of the cells only to have them do extensive damage because they are not being eliminated by the kidneys or colon. We need to pull out the heavy metals without dumping them into the body where they do extensive damage on the way out or worse just get redistributed to other organ systems. A slow moving flow through a congested colon will see heavy metals being reabsorbed unless special and sensitive care is taken. During chelation we need to provide support for both the kidneys and the liver directly but indirectly we can take a great load off these overworked organs by opening up an exit channel through the skin. This is where healing clay treatments come in.? As simple as recommending our patients to increase their water intake we should automatically be suggesting they go home and take a series of baths that can open up the flow of toxins through the skin. Even one short week of clay therapy prior to any other treatment options could make a difference. The same can be augmented by far infrared saunas and even by hot steam saunas during the entire cause of chelation treatments. ?Physicians might be more comfortable recommending far infrared because of its FDA approval but clay should never be overlooked as appropriate nutrition should not be, nor proper hydration which is absolutely essential when navigating a body through detoxification. We do not need to send our patients to expensive spas nor resort to chelation IVs unless a patient is suffering from acute heavy metal poisoning and even then the skin as an exit route should never be overlooked and should certainly be favored especially where there are financial concerns, which there almost always is. When it comes to budgeting a person?s financial resources in treatment, with so many possibilities for valuable agents which cost considerably, it is medically irresponsible to ignore simple low cost solutions. ? Dr. Vesna Humo, who is a surgeon, has all her patients use clay after mastecotmy with radiotherapy. She advises patients to use clay directly on the skin to prevent skin
damage and has seen excellent results from this. Importantly she is using clay for bed sores and every necrotic and septic wound also with excellent results. In addition to clay and saunas, which have both been used since the dawn of civilization, we now have new emerging technologies that also use the skin as avenues of toxic escape. ? Recently detox foot patches that contain an interesting list of natural ingredients[i] have become popular for detoxfying and healing. People apply the patches at night, and see the results in the morning. The patch will be dry before use, but after usage it will range from light brown to almost black, wet and in some cases will have a foul smell, depending on the amount of toxins in your body.
The visual evidence after using these pads is not only compelling but give us a low cost method of testing our levels of toxicity while we simultaneously detoxify. By simply removing the patch we can actually see some of the materials that have been ?suctioned? out of the body. Our progress is apparent when we see what comes out onto the pads when used over consecutive days, weeks or months. Though it seems the clay rings in the bathtub have not been tested companies that sell these patches have sent the used pads to the SCR Analytical Lab, which is a highly accredited Environmental Laboratory. The results demonstrated absorption into the patchs of nickel, arsenic and mercury, as well as benzene, isopropyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, aluminum, cadmium, copper, lead, thallium, asbestos, DAB dye, fast green dye, sudan black dye and PCB (plastic byproduct).
Mercury Poisoning in Children from Teething Powders Pink Disease (Acrodynia) A woman[ii] who had pink disease (mercury poisoning), as a baby? reported, "I tried the (foot) patches for the first time last night and was amazed at what toxins came out overnight! She reported outstanding results with her arthritis in hands, thumbs and fingers gone saying, "I am completely off my arthritis medication after 2 years on VIOOX." After using 37 of these patches she reported: Her eyes have changed colour from brown/hazel to green/hazel. That the whites of her eyes have changed to clear white from yellowy colour with blood throughout. She also reported increased vitality and general feeling of well being and that the puffiness was gone from her feet so that her shoes became a bit loose.? And most significantly her persistant cough of 2 years duration had completely gone. These patches, instead of using clay use bamboo and wood vinegars (pyroligneous acids) which essentially are the fluid or sap derived from tree cells which have great absorbing power like clay does. Using natural products like clay with these sap based tree resins makes good sense. Each seems to have properties and methods of application that compliment the other. It should be interesting to note, when it comes to the placement of these patches on the soles of the feet that if one tapes a clove of garlic to the sole of one's foot, one will taste the garlic on his or her breath within minutes. This shows again the open permeability of the skin and its ability to transport chemicals into the entire system. Thus we can experiment with using the feet as a possible site for application of a glutathione gel taped to the sole of one's foot overnight and this might allow for better absorption. ?Transdermal TD-DMPS, which is being used so successfully to pull kids out of the shadows of autism, is four parts glutathione to one part DMPS, and is applied on the soft skin of the arms or thighs. "There are around?4,000 sweat glands in the feet through which the toxins are emitted," says Platinum Energy Systems, a company that has made an ionizing
footbath that works by energizing the water to attract positive and negative ions from both the body and the water. "The water in the foot spa becomes an extension of the water in the body, from which it is separated by nothing more than a thin membrane of skin on your feet.? This process?makes use of the 2,000 pores in the existing membrane of the sebaceous and eccrine glands in each foot to remove by-products of excretion, which includes toxins," says the company.?The below pictures show yet again what can be pulled out of the skin from a widening variety of mechanisms. Detoxification through the skin is basic to any program whose goal is the elimination of heavy metals and other toxic substances from the body.
The lungs, for all practical purposes, can be seen as inner skin, as is the entire lining of the alimentary tract, and both are major points or highways of entry for pharmaceuticals and natural substances. Most importantly for chelation and detoxification glutathione can be applied as an aerosol effectively, applied once or twice a week in the same way an asthma sufferer inhales medication. And in mentioning the intestines as internal skin we see EDTA suppositories though certain physicians are now experimenting with transdermal EDTA use as well as the DMPS. The large intestine is a crucial organ of elimination that is a subject onto itself. As we shall see in the next chapter, clay can also play a strategic role in cleaning the intestines and increasing elimination velocities and this is very important when fighting a war against toxic buildups in the body. This chapter is introducing several important therapies that have an important place in chelation therapy. Using the skin as an avenue of elimination will make heroes out of doctors who are desperate to help patients and even little children with heavy metal toxicity. Medicine in general is obsessed with the biochemical dynamics which everyone knows is a tricky business. Using steam and far infrared saunas as well as clay to pump poisons out of the skin brings us into bio-physics and bio-mechanics. When we mix therapeutic approaches utilizing multi-level approaches we greatly facilitate our successful work with people. From water and clay to DMPS, glutathione precursors and glutathione itself we now have an expanding bag of instruments with which to help our patients recover from difficult diseases. The detox side-effects experienced when taking chelators are a result of the extra strain the released toxins
put on the eliminatory organs such as the kidneys, liver, digestive system, lungs and skin (referred to as a healing crisis). All of the suggestions in this chapter help to relieve those side effects by removing the toxins through the skin therefore reducing the stress on these eliminative organs. [i] Brazilian Agaricus Mushroon (Beta-Glucan known for its strong immunity building), Eucalyptus Tree Sap, Bamboo Vinegar, Tourmaline Mineral (imanates far infrared rays to release Negative Ions), Chitosan, Caururus Chinensis Baill, Houttuynia Cordata, Oak Vinegar, Starch. [ii] Mrs. Heather Thiele.
[email protected] Web: International Medical Veritas Association Copyright: International Medical Veritas Association Published: 6 March 2005 Journal of the American College of Cardiology From Journal of the American College of Cardiology March 6, 2002 (Volume 39, Number 5) Repeated Sauna Treatment Improves Vascular Endothelial and Cardiac Function in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure Kihara T, Biro S, Imamura M, et al Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2002;39(5):754-759 Rationale and Design This group previously showed that thermal therapy by dry sauna improved clinical variables and cardiac output in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. In the current study, the investigators sought to determine the mechanisms of this improvement and the effects of thermal therapy on endothelial function. Twenty patients with CHF class II or III and mean age 62 ± 15 years were studied. The mean ejection fraction was 38 ± 14%. The patients were placed supine in a 60-degree C infrared-ray dry sauna for 15 minutes and then removed and kept at bed rest with a blanket for an additional 30 minutes. Sauna therapy was performed once a day 5 days a week for 2 weeks. Symptoms were evaluated with a self-administered questionnaire, and patients were divided based on their responses of improved or no change. Fasting blood was obtained to evaluate neurohumeral factors, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Endothelial function was
evaluated using a noninvasive ultrasound method to determine hyperemic response in the right arm and response to sublingual nitroglycerin. Results All enrolled patients completed the study. Clinical symptoms improved in 17 of 20 patients and were unchanged in 3. Two-week sauna therapy significantly increased the %FMD (flow-mediated dilation) in the improved group but not in the unchanged group. BNP concentrations were lower after 2 weeks of therapy but ANP and catecholamine levels were unchanged. The left ventricular end-diastolic dimension decreased significantly compared with baseline. There was a significant correlation between the change in %FMD and the improvement in BNP (P < .0005). Editor's Comment It is known that CHF patients have impaired endothelial-dependent vasodilatation and the proposed mechanism for this is decreased peripheral vascular production of endothelium-derived nitric oxide. Endothelial function in CHF can be improved with ACE inhibitors, physical training, and vitamin C. This study showed that 2 weeks of sauna therapy also improved endothelial function and decreased the BNP. BNP levels are an important marker of cardiac status and prognosis in heart failure, as highlighted by several recent studies. The sauna therapy also reduced systolic blood pressure. The precise mechanism by which sauna therapy improves CHF is not clear from this study, but the authors hypothesize that sauna therapy acutely causes vasodilatation, which leads to upregulation of eNOS protein in the endothelium. Clinically, it is worth commenting that sauna therapy may be widely applicable to CHF patients and could also be used in patients incapable of exercise. Repeated thermal therapy improves impaired vascular endothelial function in patients with coronary risk factors First Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima, Japan.
OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine whether sauna therapy, a thermal vasodilation therapy, improves endothelial function in patients with coronary risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and smoking. BACKGROUND: Exposure to heat is widely used as a traditional therapy in many different cultures. We have recently found that repeated sauna therapy improves endothelial and cardiac function in patients with chronic heart failure. METHODS: Twenty-five men with at least one coronary risk factor (risk group: 38 +/- 7 years) and 10 healthy men without coronary risk factors (control group: 35 +/- 8 years) were enrolled. Patients in the risk group were treated with a 60 degrees C far infrared-ray dry sauna bath for 15 min and then kept in a bed covered with blankets for 30 min once a day for two weeks. To assess endothelial function, brachial artery diameter was measured at rest, during reactive hyperemia (flow-mediated endothelium-dependent dilation [%FMD]), again at rest and after sublingual nitroglycerin administration (endothelium-independent vasodilation [%NTG]) using high-resolution ultrasound. RESULTS: The %FMD was significantly impaired in the
risk group compared with the control group (4.0 +/- 1.7% vs. 8.2 +/- 2.7%, p < 0.0001), while %NTG was similar (18.7 +/- 4.2% vs. 20.4 +/- 5.1%). Two weeks of sauna therapy significantly improved %FMD in the risk group (4.0 +/- 1.7% to 5.8 +/1.3%, p < 0.001). In contrast, %NTG did not change after two weeks of sauna therapy (18.7 +/- 4.2% to 18.1 +/- 4.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Repeated sauna treatment improves impaired vascular endothelial function in the setting of coronary risk factors, suggesting a therapeutic role for sauna treatment in patients with risk factors for atherosclerosis. Repeated sauna therapy reduces urinary 8-epi-prostaglandin F(2 alpha) Department of Cardiology, Respiratory and Metabolic Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan.
We have reported that repeated sauna therapy improves impaired vascular endothelial function in a patient with coronary risk factors. We hypothesized that sauna therapy decreases urinary 8-epi-prostaglandin F(2alpha) (PGF(2alpha)) levels as a marker of oxidative stress and conducted a randomized, controlled study. Twenty-eight patients with at least one coronary risk factor were divided into a sauna group (n = 14) and non-sauna group (n = 14). Sauna therapy was performed with a 60 degrees C far infrared-ray dry sauna for 15 minutes and then bed rest with a blanket for 30 minutes once a day for two weeks. Systolic blood pressure and increased urinary 8-epi-PGF(2alpha) levels in the sauna group were significantly lower than those in the non-sauna group at two weeks after admission (110 +/- 15 mmHg vs 122 +/- 13 mmHg, P < 0.05, 230 +/- 67 pg/mg x creatinine vs 380 +/- 101 pg/mg x creatinine, P < 0.0001, respectively). These results suggest that repeated sauna therapy may protect against oxidative stress, which leads to the prevention of atherosclerosis. Heat in the treatment of patients with anorexia nervosa Departamento de Psicologia Clinica y Psicobiologia, Facultad de Psicologia, Campus Universitario Sur, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
The paper presents the results of heat treatment in three cases of anorexia nervosa (AN), in which marked overactivity and/or strenuous exercising were prominent clinical features. Heat was supplied in three ways: continuous exposure to a warm environment, wearing a thermal waistcoat, and sauna baths in an infrared cabin. The outcomes went far beyond what had been expected, as the disappearance of hyperactivity was followed by progressive recovery. Thermal Therapy Benefits Depressed Patients Repeated thermal therapy may be useful for mildly depressed patients with appetite loss and subjective complaints, according to a recent study.
“Repeated Thermal Therapy Diminishes Appetite Loss and Subjective Complaints in Mildly Depressed Patients” was conducted by staff at the Psychosomatic Medicine, Respiratory and Stress Care Center at Kagoshima University Hospital, Japan. Twenty-eight mildly depressed inpatients with general fatigue, appetite loss, and somatic and mental complaints were assigned randomly to a thermal-therapy group or a nonthermal-therapy group. Patients in the thermal- therapy group were treated with 60 C far-infrared dry sauna for 15 minutes and were then kept at bed rest for 30 minutes once a day, five days a week, for a total of 20 sessions in four weeks. All patients were admitted to the hospital and fed identical meals totaling 2,000 calories a day. They were weighed before and after each sauna. Weight loss after thermal therapy was regarded as perspiration, and this water loss was replenished to prevent dehydration. A far-infrared ray (> 4 _m) dry sauna system was used for thermal therapy. Each patient in the thermal-therapy group, wearing a gown and underwear, was placed in a supine position on a bed for the 15-minute sauna session, then moved into a room maintained at 28 C (82.4 F) and wrapped in a blanket for the 30-minute bed rest. Patients in the nonthermal-therapy group were placed in a supine position on a bed in a temperature-controlled (24 C; 75.2 F) room for 45 minutes. Somatic complaints, hunger and relaxation scores significantly improved, and mental-complaint scores slightly improved in the thermal-therapy group compared with the nonthermal-therapy group. Furthermore, plasma ghrelin concentrations and daily caloric intake in the thermal-therapy group increased significantly compared with the nonthermal-therapy group. (Ghrelin is a growth hormone-releasing peptide that stimulates food intake and body weight gain.) Norepinephrine levels were slightly lowered by thermal therapy. The use of far-infrared rays in sauna bathing is known to increase skin temperature, blood flow and core body temperature. Increased blood temperature excites the warm neurons of the heat regulatory center in the hypothalamus and inhibits cold neurons. In addition, these warm neurons are projected to the neurons of the sympathetic/ parasympathetic centers in the hypothalamus, influencing the autonomic nervous system. The use of elevated temperatures and repeated sauna/ postsauna warming may inhibit the sympathetic nerves (the fight or flight response), making the parasympathetic nerves (the resting and digesting system) predominant. Mild warming of the whole body has been known to exhibit sedative effects through sensory nerve endings, which would suggest that repeated thermal therapy might decrease the frequency of somatic and mental complaints by exhibiting psychosomatic relaxation and sedative effects.
In addition, an increase in core body and dermal temperatures enhances metabolism and increases energy consumption. This may be how repeated thermal therapy induces hunger via elevated ghrelin and epinephrine. — Source: Psychosomatic Medicine, Respiratory and Stress Care Center, Kagoshima University Hospital, Kagoshima, Japan; the Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Miyazaki University, Miyazaki, Japan; and Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Metabolic Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan. Originally published in Psychosomatic Medicine, 2005, Vol. 67, pp. 643–647.
Clinical Implications of Thermal Therapy in Lifestyle- Related Diseases Sadatoshi Biro, Akinori Masuda, Takashi Kihara and Chuwa Tei1 Department of Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Metabolic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-8520, Japan
Abstract Systemic thermal therapy, such as taking a warm-water bath and sauna, induces systemic vasodilation. It was found that repeated sauna therapy (60°C for 15 min) improved hemodynamic parameters, clinical symptoms, cardiac function, and vascular endothelial function in patients with congestive heart failure. Vascular endothelial function is impaired in subjects with lifestyle-related diseases, such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and smoking. Sauna therapy also improved endothelial dysfunction in these subjects, suggesting a preventive role for atherosclerosis. In animal experiments, sauna therapy increases mRNA and protein levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in aortas. In normal-weight patients with appetite loss, repeated sauna therapy increased plasma ghrelin concentrations and daily caloric intake and improved feeding behavior. In obese patients, the body weight and body fat significantly decreased after 2 weeks of sauna therapy without increase of plasma ghrelin concentrations. On the basis of these data, sauna therapy may be a promising therapy for patients with lifestyle-related diseases. Key Words: thermal therapy • sauna • lifestyle-related diseases • endothelial function Systemic thermal therapy, such as taking a bath and sauna, induces systemic vasodilation. In congestive heart failure (CHF), clinical symptoms such as muscle fatigue, heaviness in the limbs, edema, appetite loss, and constipation are often observed due to increased peripheral vascular resistance and reduced peripheral perfusion. We therefore applied thermal therapy to patients with CHF. We found that 60°C sauna therapy for 15 min improved acute hemodynamics in patients with CHF, including cardiac index, mean pulmonary wedge pressure, systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance, and cardiac function (1). Subsequently, we examined the effects of repeated sauna therapy on clinical symptoms in patients with CHF and found that repeated sauna therapy significantly improved clinical symptoms and cardiac function
(2–4). We then investigated the vascular endothelial function and cardiac function to clarify the mechanisms, since vascular endothelial function had been reported to be impaired in CHF (5). Two-week sauna therapy significantly reduced brain natriuretic peptide concentrations and improved endothelial function in CHF patients (4). Furthermore, we clarified that one of the molecular mechanisms by which repeated sauna therapy improved endothelial function was increase in mRNA and protein of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) (6). Many studies indicate that vascular endothelial function also is impaired in patients with lifestyle-related diseases, such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM), smoking habit, and obesity (7, 8). We therefore applied sauna therapy to patients with lifestyle-related diseases to examine whether the effects obtained in CHF patients were also observed in patients with lifestyle-related diseases. In addition, we investigated the influences of repeated sauna therapy on food intake–related hormones, leptin and ghrelin, from the observation that repeated sauna therapy improved quality of life, especially appetite loss, in CHF patients. In the first half of this review, improvement effects of endothelial function by sauna therapy in patients with lifestyle-related diseases are discussed. The effects of sauna therapy on the concentration of leptin and ghrelin and body weight are then stated. Vascular Endothelial Function Endothelium, a monolayer covering the intimal surface, plays a pivotal role in maintaining vasomotor tone, coagulation and fibrinolysis, and vascular structure and modulating inflammatory response and oxidative stress. Endothelial cells secrete many vasoactive substances, including nitric oxide (NO), prostacyclin, endothelial-derived hyperpolarizing factors, endothelin, thromboxane, growth factors and cytokines, and others (9, 10). Endothelial function is thought to be determined by their balance. Among those substances, NO is well investigated and characterized and induces vasodilation and inhibits platelet aggregation, expression of adhesion molecules, and proliferation of smooth muscle cells. These biologic actions of NO are anti- atherosclerosis. Therefore, decreased NO production and increased NO degradation are believed to induce atherosclerosis, probably resulting in cardiovascular diseases (8). Endothelial function is commonly measured as the vasomotor response to pharmacologic or physical stimuli such as acetylcholine, metacholine, bradykinin, and shear stress, because the endothelium-dependent vasodilator response may serve as surrogate for the bioavailability of NO. For the evaluation of coronary endothelial function, the assessment of the change in epicardial coronary artery diameter using quantitative coronary angiography and of the change in Doppler flow velocity for coronary resistance vessels in response to intracoronary administration of acetylcholine is used (11, 12). A noninvasive technique using high-resolution ultrasound to assess flow-mediated dilation of the brachial artery is used to estimate endothelial function of the peripheral artery (13).
Endothelial Dysfunction Caused by Lifestyle-Related Diseases A wide variety of studies have shown that endothelial function is impaired in patients with lifestyle-related diseases, such as hypercholesterolemia, DM, hypertension, smoking, and obesity (8, 9). It is now accepted that coronary risk factors, including lifestyle-related diseases, probably provoke atherosclerosis through vascular endothelial dysfunction. In addition, the molecular mechanisms by which lifestyle-related diseases impair endothelial function have been revealed. Decreased protein expression of eNOS has been observed in DM (14), hypertension (15), and smoking (16). Reduced bioavailability of NO by reactive oxygen species also has been reported in DM, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and smoking (17, 18). In hypercholesterolemia, impaired signal transduction in activation pathway of eNOS has been found (19, 20). Thermal Therapy Improves Endothelial Dysfunction Caused by Lifestyle-Related Diseases We adopted sauna therapy as a thermal therapy for lifestyle-related diseases. Patients were placed in a 60°C sauna for 15 min using a far infrared–ray dry sauna system, followed by warmth with a blanket for an additional 30 min (2). In this condition, deep body temperature rises about 1°C and maintains during the treatment. To evaluate endothelial function we used a noninvasive ultrasound method. Endothelial function (percentage flow-mediated dilation [%FMD]) was impaired in 25 patients with at least one lifestyle-related disease, including hypertension (blood pressure > 140/90 mm Hg), hypercholesterolemia (total cholesterol level > 220 mg/dl), DM (fasting plasma glucose level > 126 mg/dl), obesity (body mass index > 25), and smoking, compared with 10 age- and gender-matched control subjects without any lifestyle-related disease (4.0% ± 1.7% vs 8.2% ± 2.7%, P < 0.0001, Table I ) (21). In contrast, endothelium-independent vasodilation caused by nitroglycerin administration was not different between the two groups (18.7% ± 4.2% vs 20.4% ± 5.1%, NS). Two-week sauna therapy was performed in 25 risk patients without any modification of lifestyle-related diseases. The %FMD significantly increased from the baseline value (4.0% ± 1.7% to 5.8% ± 1.3%, P < 0.001). Interestingly, the body weight, blood pressure, and fasting plasma glucose significantly decreased after 2 weeks of sauna therapy (Table II ). In a study using a hot tub for 30 min, 3-week therapy significantly decreased fasting plasma glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin levels in patients with Type II DM (22).
Possible Mechanisms by Which Thermal Therapy Improves Endothelial Dysfunction As described here, several mechanisms underlying endothelial dysfunction caused by lifestyle-related diseases are proposed. To clarify the mechanisms of the effects improving endothelial dysfunction of repeated sauna therapy, we investigated the
expression of eNOS protein and mRNA in hamsters using an experimental far infrared–ray dry sauna system (6). We determined the sauna condition in which their rectal temperatures raised about 1°C (39°C for 15 min). Four weeks of sauna therapy once a day significantly increased the expression of eNOS in the endothelium of coronary and aortas by immunohistochemistry and Western blot (Fig. 1 ). Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction revealed that eNOS mRNA was significantly upregulated in aortas of hamsters after 4 weeks of sauna therapy. Concerning the possibility of reduced bioavailability of NO by reactive oxygen species, we clinically measured the concentrations of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and found no changes after 2-week sauna therapy (Table II ).
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Figure 1. Western blot analysis for eNOS. eNOS expression was greater in the sauna group than in the control group in 4 independent experiments (6).
Food Intake–Related Hormone: Leptin and Ghrelin Energy intake and body weight are tightly regulated at a consistent set point by control systems in the hypothalamus. These hypothalamic circuits receive feedback from peripheral signals (23). Discovery of the hormone leptin (24), which could regulate satiety, energy expenditure, and weight gain, added complexity to these relationships. Leptin is produced by adipocytes and is thought to feed back through the hypothalamic receptors to regulate weight gain and energy expenditure (25). It causes the increased energy expenditure and the decreased food intake (26). Ghrelin has been discovered as an orexigenic hormone secreted primarily by the stomach and duodenum (27, 28). Ghrelin is the natural ligand of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor and strongly stimulates growth hormone secretion. In addition, ghrelin is involved in energy homeostasis, acting as a peripheral signal stimulating food intake and promoting adiposity (29, 30). Ghrelin administration causes weight gain by increasing food intake and reducing fat utilization in rodents (31–33) and humans (34). Leptin deficiency may be a cause of obesity (35). However, common adult obesity is related to elevated leptin levels, possibly indicative of leptin resistance (36). Fasting plasma ghrelin concentrations are decreased in obesity and are negatively correlated with body mass index (37). These results raise the possibility that ghrelin and leptin are part of a dynamic feedback system in the regulation of body weight. Changes in plasma ghrelin and serum leptin concentrations might produce important differences in food intake and energy balance and play a significant role in the pathogenesis of obesity.
Food Intake Is Improved by Repeated Sauna Therapy We often observed that appetite loss in patients with chronic heart failure was improved by sauna therapy (1–4, 21). We hypothesized that the improvement of appetite loss after sauna therapy may be associated with plasma ghrelin and serum leptin concentrations. The plasma ghrelin and serum leptin concentrations, daily caloric intake, feeding behavior, and body weight and body fat were investigated in normal-weight patients with appetite loss after 2 weeks of sauna therapy. Feeding behavior was evaluated by the presence of appetite, hunger, taste, pleasure in eating, and deliciousness. High scores indicate problems in feeding behavior (in submission). Consequently, we found that repeated sauna therapy increased plasma ghrelin concentrations and daily caloric intake and improved feeding behavior. However, serum leptin concentrations, body weight, and body fat did not change after repeated sauna therapy. These findings suggest that improvement of daily caloric intake and feeding behavior in normal-weight patients with appetite loss might be related to increased plasma ghrelin concentrations. Effects of Repeated Sauna Therapy for Obese Patients Obesity represents a global epidemic and is one of the leading causes of lifestyle-related diseases and death worldwide (38, 39). Hyperphagia, weight gain, and increased adiposity occur after continuous systemic ghrelin administration in experimental animals. Ghrelin stimulates appetite and food intake potently in humans. As such, ghrelin would be an important new target for the development of treatments for obesity. In obese patients, plasma ghrelin concentrations are low and serum leptin concentrations are high. We examined the effects of 2-week sauna therapy on plasma ghrelin and serum leptin concentrations and feeding behavior in 10 obese patients (body mass index > 30, mean age 46 ± 5 years, five men and five women) using a far infrared–ray dry sauna system. The patients took the same meals of 1800 cal/d during this period. Plasma ghrelin and serum leptin concentrations and feeding behavior did not change after 2 weeks of sauna therapy, unlike in the normal-weight group (in submission). It is reported that plasma ghrelin falls in response to food intake in non-obese subjects (40) but not in obese subjects (41). These results indicate that the responses of plasma ghrelin to food intake and repeated sauna therapy are different between non-obese and obese subjects. The low plasma ghrelin concentrations in obese patients may represent a physiological adaptation to the positive energy balance associated with obesity (37). The lack of response to plasma ghrelin concentrations after repeated sauna therapy in obese patients suggests that the sensitivity to circulating ghrelin may be decreased. Furthermore, the obese subjects, having sufficient energy stores, may have maximally suppressed ghrelin secretion, failing to respond to sauna therapy (41). Interestingly, the body weight and body fat in obese patients significantly decreased after 2 weeks of sauna therapy (Fig. 2 ). The acceleration of appetite and abnormal
feeding behavior such as eating a snack between meals and overeating did not appear. These results suggest that repeated sauna therapy decreased body weight and body fat in obese patients without increasing plasma ghrelin concentrations and decreasing serum leptin concentrations. We consider that repeated sauna therapy is useful in the treatment of obesity. We recently treated an interesting obese case in which sauna therapy was very effective. The body weight and body fat rapidly decreased after 10 weeks of sauna therapy with 1600 cal/d. The patient could not take any exercise because of both-knee joint pain in osteoarthritis. Body weight decreased from 117.5 kg to 100.0 kg and body fat decreased from 46% to 35% over 10 weeks. The therapy also had improving effects of mood such as anxiety, anger, and irritability. There was no acceleration of appetite or abnormal feeding behavior during the treatment.
Figure 2. Body weight (a) and body fat (b) significantly decreased in 10 obese subjects after 2-week sauna therapy (*P < 0.05).
View larger version (10K): Conclusions We have applied sauna therapy, a thermal therapy, to lifestyle-related diseases and have found that repeated sauna therapy improves vascular endothelial function and reduces body weight. Since endothelial dysfunction represents an early stage of atherosclerosis, we think that sauna therapy could prevent atherosclerosis. Sauna therapy also has an advantage that it is applicable to subjects who are unable to exercise. We believe that sauna therapy may be a promising therapy for patients with lifestyle-related diseases to prevent cardiovascular diseases, especially in combination with diet therapy and exercise therapy. Footnotes 1
To whom requests for reprints should be addressed at Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Metabolic Medicine, Kagoshima University, 8-35-1, Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima 890-8520, Japan. E-mail:
[email protected]
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36. Shiiya T, Nakazato M, Mizuta M, Date Y, Mondal MS, Tanaka M, Nozoe S, Hosoda H, Kangawa K, et al. Plasma ghrelin levels in lean and obese humans and the effect of glucose on ghrelin secretion. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 87:240–244, 2002. 37. Tschop M, Weyer C, Tataranni PA, Devanarayan V, Ravussin E, Heiman ML. Circulating ghrelin levels are decreased in human obesity. Diabetes 50:707–709, 2001. 38. Kopelman PG. Obesity as a medical problem. Nature 404:635–643, 2000. 39. Lew EA. Mortality and weight: Insured lives and the American Cancer Society Studies. Ann Intern Med 103:1024–1029, 1985. 40. Tschop M, Wawarta R, Riepl RL, Friedrich S, Bidlingmaier M, Landgraf R. Folwaczny C. Post-prandial decrease of circulating human ghrelin levels. J Endocrinol Invest 24:RC19–RC21, 2001. 41. English PJ, Ghatei MA, Malik IA, Bloom SR, Wilding JPH. Food fails to suppress ghrelin levels in obese humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 87:2984–2987, 2002. Repeated Thermal Therapy Diminishes Appetite Loss and Subjective Complaints in Mildly Depressed Patients Akinori Masuda, MD, PhD, Masamitsu Nakazato, MD, PhD, Takashi Kihara, MD, PhD, Shinichi Minagoe, MD, PhD and Chuwa Tei, MD, PhD From the Psychosomatic Medicine, Respiratory and Stress Care Center, Kagoshima University Hospital, Kagoshima, Japan (A.M.); the Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Miyazaki University, Miyazaki, Japan (M.N.); and Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Metabolic Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan (T.K., S.M., C.T.). Address correspondence and reprint requests to Akinori Masuda, MD, Psychosomatic Medicine, Respiratory and Stress Care center, Kagoshima University Hospital, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima City, 890-8520, Japan. E-mail:
[email protected] Objective: We observed that repeated thermal therapy improved appetite loss and general well-being in patients with chronic heart failure. The purpose of this study is to clarify the effects of repeated thermal therapy in mildly depressed patients with appetite loss and subjective complaints.
Methods: Twenty-eight mildly depressed inpatients with general fatigue, appetite loss, and somatic and mental complaints were randomly assigned to thermal therapy group (n = 14) or nonthermal therapy group (n = 14). Patients in the thermal therapy group were treated with 60°C far-infrared ray dry sauna for 15 minutes and were then kept at bed rest with a blanket for 30 minutes once a day, 5 days a week for a total of 20 sessions in 4 weeks. Results: Four weeks after admission, somatic complaints, hunger, and relaxation scores significantly improved (p < .001, p < .0001, p < .0001, respectively) and mental complaints slightly improved (p = .054) in the thermal therapy group compared with the nonthermal therapy group. Furthermore, the plasma ghrelin concentrations and daily caloric intake in the thermal therapy group significantly increased compared with the nonthermal therapy group (p < .05). Conclusions: These findings suggest that repeated thermal therapy may be useful for mildly depressed patients with appetite loss and subjective complaints. Key Words: depressed patients • repeated thermal therapy • far-infrared ray dry sauna • appetite loss • subjective complaints • plasma ghrelin concentrations Abbreviations: ICD = International Classification of Disease; BMI= body mass index; CMI = Cornell Medical Index; SDS = Self-Rating Depression Scale;VAS= visual analog scale. Sitting in sauna may prevent cancer
Health News 03:27 PM MDT on Tuesday, June 5, 2007 JEAN ENERSEN / KING 5 News
Lucille Ball was onto something 60 years ago when she stepped into a sweat box to lose weight. Little did Lucille Ball know she was onto something 60 years ago when she stepped into a sweat box to lose weight.
It turns out, sweating can be good for you, according to naturopath, Dr. Jason Allen. "Sauna therapy increase blood flow to the peripheral circulation. In fact, sitting in a sauna for about 30 minutes is the cardiovascular equivalent to a 2-mile run," said Dr. Allen. What's released through sauna sweat are toxicants and waste , pollutants stored in our fat tissue that may cause cancer. "There are a number of case controlled studies and occupational studies where people who've been exposed to high levels of contaminants like PCBs, DDT, some pesticides, even mercury, that undergo sweat therapy - in addition to nutrient supplementation have notable decrease in serum and adipose levels of pollutants," said Dr. Allen. Sweat therapy is nothing new. Native Americans have been doing it for centuries in sweat lodges to purify the body and mind. What is relatively new is the technology used to heat the body. Gone are the sweat boxes from a generation ago. Modern day spas, like Eastside Oasis in Bellevue, use infrared heat, which some say is more efficient. A sauna once a week is what Dr. Allen recommends to prevent cancer. "We do things because we think they're going to prevent, and it's logical and there is sound scientific evidence that we can decrease the amount of known carcinogens in our body … and this is one mechanism to do that," he said. So, if you can take the heat, sweat it out.
