Put Saunas on the Frontlines of Your Body's Health Battles
A great many battles continue to be fought around the world
today, and one that demands more attention is the war deadly
toxins incessantly wage against our bodies. It is a very quiet
conflict, but one with an escalating casualties count.
Some of the human body's better known enemies are the heavy
metals aluminum, lead and mercury, but, presented in its
entirety, the complete list of toxins silently sickening the
human population would be truly overwhelming. Many experts
agree, however, that one name that would surely be near the top
of the list and therefore warrants aggressive retaliation is
cadmium.
Cadmium contaminates our air, water and food. Like so many other
heavy metals, it is a pollutant that cannot be avoided by any
person hoping to live a normal life on Earth.
That's the first bit of bad news, and here's the second:
According to Dr. Sherry A. Rogers, author of the book
Detoxify or Die, "As a carcinogen, cadmium can trigger,
for example, cancer of the lung, prostate, testicles and more.
And once you have any cancer, cadmium acts like fertilizer for
cancers, making them grow more rapidly and spread or
metastasize."
Cadmium toxicity has also been linked to angina, hypertension,
high blood pressure, arthritis, osteoporosis, migraines and
depression, as well as other medical conditions and disorders.
Another toxin on the long list of inescapable health hazards is
toluene. A chemical found in cosmetics, nail polish, shoe
polish, inks, cleansers, paints, glues and many other everyday
household items, toluene has been linked to liver damage, heart
attack, depression, cancer, and more. Rogers notes in her book
that toluene has an addictive potential equal to that of alcohol
and opiates. "So instead of finding it disagreeable," she says,
"people actually seek it out."
Once cadmium, toluene, mercury and the many other toxins we
constantly expose ourselves to end up in our bodies, our health
is certainly at high risk. However, there are ways to work to
get these pollutants out of our systems. One such way is with a
sauna.
Sauna heat raises our skin's temperature and, through
perspiration, the toxins that are dissolved in our sweat and
body oil are flushed out to the surface of our skin where they
can be easily washed off. That may be an oversimplified
explanation of the process, but the key points to remember are
these: Sweating helps detoxify the body, and one of the best
places to work up an intensely powerful sweat is inside a sauna.
A comprehensive detoxification or detox program can include
other elements such as dietary changes, supplements, and even
enemas, but the importance of sauna therapy as a detox program
component should not be underestimated.
As for the specific type of sauna, Rogers is among a group of
experts who recommend the far infrared sauna over the
traditional Finnish variety. The author counts the lower, more
tolerable temperatures and deeper, more direct heat penetration
offered by a far infrared sauna among the reasons for her
personal preference.
Today, high-quality home saunas of all types can be found at
affordable prices. If the extra expense is of particular concern
to you, however, consider the educated opinion of Dr. Rogers.
"When you realize the lifelong incapacity and expense of
diseases such as chronic pain syndromes, heart disease, chemical
sensitivity, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, migraines,
Alzheimer's, cancer or any others caused by chemical toxicity,"
she says, "a sauna is cheap."