During the upcoming Heart Month we focus on heart health. One heart treatment that has been a relative secret is sauna therapy, particularly infrared sauna. Doctors in Japan have been working for over 30 years testing the benefits of infrared sauna therapy in some of the sickest heart and vascular patients and they have published over 20 research articles showing this is a major breakthrough.
The therapy uses a technique called waon therapy, from the Japanese words wa for soothing and on for warmth. Heart patients relax in an infrared sauna at 60° C (140° F) for 15 minutes, followed by a rest period for 30 minutes. What can infrared therapy do in heart patients that might apply to your general health to enjoy Heart Month in February and beyond?
Infrared therapy improves the health of arteries.
The lining of your arteries is a single layer called your endothelium. Waon therapy has been shown to improve the function of these cells and the blood flow they carry. Infrared sauna has also been shown to lower blood pressure in studies done at the University of Kansas.
Waon therapy lowers the “fire” in your body.
Whether you have a disease, eat junk and processed food, are stressed or are overweight, your blood is filled every day with molecules triggering inflammation. When measured after a few weeks of waon therapy, the levels of these molecules decrease whether in patients with heart disease or just the “average joe” living the stressed Western lifestyle.
Waon therapy improves exercise ability.
A hallmark of heart disease is the reduced ability to exercise. After treatments with waon therapy, people demonstrate a greater ability to walk, whether limited by heart or leg vascular issues.
Waon therapy may save lives.
In an amazing study of 129 patients with bad heart problems, patients treated with infrared therapy at least two times a week were compared to similar patients who did not get the soothing warmth therapy. Over five years the rate of hospitalization and death was cut in half in the waon treated patients compared to the others!
Important New Data on Infrared Sauna for the Heart
Hopefully you do not have heart disease but new and powerful data showing the benefits of infrared sauna is confirmation that time in a sauna is healing time. The new study involved 149 patients with advanced congestive heart failure. Half were treated with infrared sauna and half were the controls. After just 10 days of infrared therapy these sick patients could walk farther, breath better, showed healthier hearts by chest X-ray and lab measures, and had no side effects.
If infrared sauna therapy is so beneficial in heart patients, why haven’t you heard of it? And why isn’t it used more?
Many doctors aren't familiar with the strong data supporting infrared sauna therapy. It gets buried by expensive and glitzy therapies that may not prove to be as safe and beneficial. With dozens of studies showing that you can actually strengthen your heart with sauna therapy, Heart Month is a perfect time to develop a sauna habit whether you are healthy or dealing with a heart issue. Breakthrough enhancements include full spectrum infrared sauna (3 in 1) that have special cardiac settings to accelerate the efficiency of healing and protecting the heart.