When I think of detox treatments, I usually think of INPUT: eating and drinking foods that help clean me out. But today I'm writing about a detox method that involves OUTPUT: doing something that makes my body push out toxins in the process.
So what kind of detox method involves output? Sweating!
Yuck! Who wants to sweat?!?!? Most of us do whatever we can to avoid perspiring and sweating. It's not pretty. But it IS a way to cleanse your body of toxins. Sweating actually has many important health- and beauty-related benefits. Your skin is the largest organ of your body, and serves important roles just like any other bodily organ. Something as simple as sweating could provide equal or even greater detoxification benefits than dietary detox plans.
All of these benefits promote general health, and recent research1,2,3,4,5 has even shown that regular sauna use correlates to a reduced risk of death from any cause, including lethal cardiovascular events.Read more of this article here
The Different Types of Saunas
Today, there are three basic types of saunas:
The difference between an infrared sauna and the traditional Finnish-style saunas is that the latter heats you up from the outside in, like an oven. The infrared sauna heats you from the inside out. The traditional wet sauna typically uses a small stove with radiant heat elements, i.e. resistive elements that heat up when current flows through them. These elements heat up the rocks piled on top. The temperature is regulated by a thermostat. Initially, the sauna will feel warm and dry, but once you toss some water on the rocks, hot steam is generated.
- The wet Finnish sauna, where steam is created by throwing water on hot rocks (the heat can be generated by either wood burning or electricity)
- The dry Finnish sauna that uses electrical heating, and therefore does not employ water (these stoves are not made to have water poured on them. Doing so can result in short-circuiting)
- Infrared saunas
Click here to see a larger version of the infographic
In 2012, researchers with the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute provided a meta-analysis on 24 studies and found that arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium weren’t only present in sweat but often present in greater concentrations than within urine or blood (where such toxins are usually measured). They determined, quite simply, that “sweating deserves consideration for toxic element detoxification.”http://naturalsociety.com/sweating-detoxing-body-heavy-metals-more/
Personally, I can't figure out how to afford a sauna. And I don't think I have room for one. That is why I've opted for infrared therapy with mats. When I use the mat, I actually DO sweat!
Read my previous post about infrared therapy
So now what?? I guess it is important to realize we can't protect ourselves from toxins; they are all around us. What we can do is break a sweat by sitting in a sauna, using infrared therapy, or doing some exercise. That way we can work on getting more of the toxins and heavy metals like nickel and iron oxide out of our bodies.
