Benefits
of Sauna
When
you take a sauna, the heat pumps up blood circulation near
the skin and stimulates sweating. The Finns say a proper sauna
elicits about a quart of sweat per hour. I generally encourage
sweating. It helps the body rid itself of unwanted materials
and improves general circulation. In medieval times, healers
relied on saunas to cure illnesses, and priests used their
heat to chase away evil spirits.
The
oldest know medical document, the Ayurveda, appeared in Sanskrit
in 568 BC and considered sweating so important to health that
it prescribed the sweat bath and thirteen other methods of
inducing sweat. Throughout history physicians have extolled
the medicinal value of the sweat bath in its various forms
such as the Finnish sauna, Russian banai, Islamic hammam,
or the American Indian sweat lodge. Today, enthusiasts claim
that beyond being relaxing the sauna gives relief from the
common cold, arthritis, headaches, hangovers and "just
about anything that ails you." Even if these claims are
somewhat exaggerated, medical evidence shows that bathing
in temperatures of 9O degrees C (192 degrees F) has a profoundly
beneficial effect on a healthy body.
Sweat
also has the function of being a judicious garbage collector.
During a 15-minute sauna, sweating can perform the heavy metal
excretion that would take the kidneys 24 working hours. Ninety-nine
percent of what sweat brings to the surface of the skin is
water, but the remaining one percent is mostly undesirable
wastes. Excessive salt carried by sweat is generally believed
to be beneficial for cases of mild hypertension. Some mental
hospitals use saunas in their rehabilitation programs to pacify
patients.
Sauna
health benefits are numerous
A
sauna helps improve blood circulation, strengthen the cardiovascular
system, relax muscles, increase flexibility, and relieve pain.
Other sauna health benefits include ease of joint pain and
stiffness without toxic side-effects. In a sauna, you'll burn
hundreds of calories without hours on the exercise bike or
treadmill.
Saunas
deep cleanse the skin. Sauna health benefits include removal
of toxins and mineral waste, burning of calories and weight
control Sauna health benefit is an improved immune system.
In a hot sauna, your body is tricked into believing it has
a fever. Your internal and external organs conspire to rid
you of this fever. They quicken their pace, ridding you of
toxins like heavy metals, uric acid, and lactic acid. |
