Can Infrared Saunas Help with Weight Loss and Detoxification
Can Infrared Saunas Help with Weight Loss and Detoxification?
Infrared saunas might be the next step in the evolution of the sauna. Two main reasons people use them are to lose weight and get rid of toxins. This article will examine how infrared saunas do that when regular steam saunas do not.
What is an Infrared Sauna?
To put it bluntly, an infrared sauna is a sauna that uses infrared radiation. This might sound scary, but we use radiation all the time. To cook food in the microwave, take x-rays, listen to the radio, and even see!
The electromagnetic spectrum is made of waves of different wavelengths. Smaller wavelengths can be dangerous, but larger ones are usually much safer. Radio uses the largest electromagnetic waves.
Slightly bigger than color waves but smaller than ultraviolet is infrared. Infrared waves are small enough to give our cells energy, which we experience as heat. But, not small enough to do any damage.
The surface of our skin absorbs the traditions, which causes the particles to move faster and is used to feel the heat.
An infrared sauna uses infrared lights, so people get hit directly by the wave.
A quick disclaimer
Before listing the benefits of infrared saunas, we should say that the science is far from settled. While some people swear by them, others say that infrared saunas don't work.
Quebbermann, Medical Director of the NEW program, says that zero studies have shown conclusive evidence that infrared saunas are better than regular saunas. Counter-critics will point to various studies, but Qubberman says those studies do not account for the participants' changing diets and exercise routines.
Three reasons why Infrared Saunas Help with Weight Loss and Detoxification
#1 You burn fat.
The first reason some people opt for an infrared sauna over a traditional steam-only sauna is that, unlike steam, the infrared waves will directly penetrate the skin. Therefore, rather than having to go through the outer layer of the skin first, it can get straight to the fat.
When infrared rays hit the adipose tissue, their cell walls break down, and their innards (fat) leak out. The kidneys then flush out this fat.
Think of it a bit like someone tiny (and we mean super tiny) walking past your skin cells to clean up your fat cells. Probably not the best analogy, but it gives you an idea.
#2 Infrared radiation makes you sweat.
Much like traditional saunas, in an infrared sauna, your body gets hot. Because our bodies are incredibly fickle, when we get hot, we sweat. It's our body's way of cooling us down. Because if we didn't sweat, we would overheat, and many cells could not do their jobs.
When we sweat, we get rid of excess moisture. This moisture needs to come from somewhere, and the human body has evolved to get this extra water from adipose tissue- if it got it from anywhere else, our organs would not work as well.
Although, this is a benefit of saunas in general, not just infrared saunas.
#3 Toxins are removed.
Although this claim is contested, some say that using an infrared sauna can get rid of toxins much better than a sauna that just uses steam.
Because infrared radiation goes past the outer skin, it raises the inside of the body too. By doing so, it destroys chemicals and other radioactive parties. Although, as mentioned at the beginning, science is far from settled.