by Lawrence Wilson, MD
Hubbard Method of Detoxification: Very effective, but improvements still possible?
by James Schaeffer
by Bernarr C. Schaeffer
Revisiting the Club Sauna Strategy
by James Schaeffer
by James Schaeffer
© 2003 by Nenah Sylver, Ph.D.
by Lawrence Wilson, MD
Everyone today is exposed to heavy metals and toxic chemicals. Particularly for slow metabolizers, a very good method to detoxify the body is the infrared sauna. Its dry, warming energy is highly compatible with the human body and it heats the tissues deeply, stimulating lymph and blood flow.
Sauna Benefits
Heating of the tissues also enhances metabolic processes. Greater cellular energy production facilitates healing. Viruses, tumors and toxin-laden cells are weaker than normal cells. They tolerate heat poorly. Raising the body temperature causes infections to heal more quickly. Hyperthermia, or fever therapy, helps combat infections and even cancer. Our bodies develop fever when ill to enhance metabolism and help kill germs.
Saunas enhance circulation and oxygenate the tissues. They open the nasal passages and assist the sinuses to drain. A major eliminative organ, most people's skin is very inactive. Many do not sweat. This may be due to synthetic or tight clothing that does not breathe. Sedentary living and sun damage also inactivate the skin. Hundreds of chemicals affect the skin from lotions, soaps, and creams to deodorants. Others are cleaning solvents, detergent residues and chemicals from bathing water.
Repeated use of the sauna slowly restores skin elimination. Toxic chemicals and metals can be removed faster than with any other method. It is a daily habit that pays many dividends. Steam baths, sweat lodges, vigorous exercise and hot tubs are more extreme and less effective.
Types of Saunas
The traditional sauna is electric, wood or gas fired. Preheating to 150–200 degrees is required for copious sweating. The intense heat is difficult for many to tolerate, especially when ill.
Infrared energy heats the body, the air remaining cool. Sweating begins quickly and the experience is rather pleasant. Preheating is unnecessary which saves electricity. Infrared saunas are of two types. Some use ceramic or metallic elements to generate far infrared. Others use infrared electric light bulbs, which peak in the near infrared range. The latter also provide warming and stimulating color therapy.
Many researchers believe that infrared saunas provide better detoxification than traditional saunas. The deep penetration of the infrared energy allows the cells to eliminate better.
The Sauna Experience
Supervision and Safety. Saunas are safe for most people providing one follows a few simple rules. Begin with only 20-minute sessions and less if you are ill or debilitated. After several weeks, as you acclimate, you may be able to increase the length of sauna sessions up to an hour. Shower after a session and rest lying or sitting down for 10 minutes afterwards. Drink 2 glasses of mineralized water before and at least 3 glasses of water after a sauna session. Also be sure to include sea salt and at least 1 tablespoon of kelp granules or 6 tablets daily of kelp to replace minerals lost during sweating. Make sure the bowels move regularly, as sauna therapy will mobilize toxic metals and chemicals that must be eliminated.
Use the sauna with supervision if you have a chronic condition. If debilitated or very heat-sensitive, begin with a shorter time. The presence of an attendant or friend is also most helpful. Those with multiple sclerosis, hyperthyroidism, hypertension or serious heart conditions should consult a health professional.
Slow metabolizers may use the sauna up to twice a day. Upon arising and at bedtime are excellent if time permits. Evening is probably best if you use it once a day. If ill, however, the morning is better when energy levels are higher. Less often is also acceptable if beginning or to maintain your health. If you are very debilitated, begin with once a week. Work up to daily use, as you feel able. Fast metabolizers should use the sauna once or twice a week.
Taking the Sauna. Drink two glasses of mineralized water before entering the sauna. Add minerals to your water if it is mineral-free. The infrared sauna will not work through clothing. Men, position yourselves so the testicles are not directly exposed to infrared energy. Pass the time meditating or review your day.
Use a small towel to wipe off the sweat. Not recommended are talking or working in the sauna.
Ventilate the sauna whenever you use it. This may be built into the design. This avoids breathing toxic gases. If you use a bathroom or closet, leave the door slightly ajar.
Bulb Saunas. Turn every few minutes if your sauna uses heat bulbs. Sit on a stool or a chair without a back. Face the bulbs, turn to the side and around to the back. Avoid touching the hot bulbs, though looking at them is fine. Do not let water, a towel or clothing touch the bulbs when they are on.
Finishing Up. Remain in the sauna no more than one hour at a time. Use your judgment regarding the time. The temperature should not exceed 120° F. for electric light saunas or 130° F. for far infrared saunas. Traditional saunas can be at 160°–190° F. Some days you will sweat more than others.
When finished, take a shower, warm or cool but not hot. Avoid using soap as you will be clean. Soap leaves a film and clogs the pores. Wash off the sweat with a skin brush or loofa. Brush all over, even face and hair. Painful at first, it soon feels wonderful. Brushing enhances the cleansing effect. Shampoo and conditioner use only if needed. Most contain chemicals toxic to the body. Also skip most lotions and creams. These also contain harmful chemicals.
After the sauna drink 3 glasses of water. Sit or lie down for at least 10 minutes. These simple steps allow your body to reap the full benefit of the sauna experience.
An Integrated Health Program
Results are much better when saunas are part of an integrated program. To your diet add extra sea salt or kelp granules to replace minerals lost through sweating. Eat natural foods grown on mineral-rich soil. Rest and sleep plenty, and exercise a little each day. Breathe deeply of clean, fresh air. Reduce your exposure to toxic chemicals. Create and maintain a positive environment. Stay happy and bright regardless of what others may say and do.
Dr. Wilson may be reached at: Larry@drlwilson.com .
His website is: www.drlwilson.com.
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Hubbard Method of Detoxification: Very effective, but improvements still possible?
by James Schaeffer
We here at U. S. Health Equipment Co. Inc., makers of the SAUNEX® sauna, have studied the Hubbard method of detoxification and have appreciated that hundreds of thousands of people have improved their health over the 30+ years that this technique has been used. The Hubbard method uses sauna, exercise, and supplemental niacin, mineral salts, and vegetable oils. Proven though it is over time, we suggest that the sauna aspect still can still be optimized. The Hubbard protocol typically utilizes hot air sauna running between 140 and 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Many doctors and people seeking to regain or enhance health are turning to infrared sauna over hot air or steam sauna. There are several reasons for this and they are listed below, along with reasons why the SAUNEX® infrared sauna is better than other infrared saunas for detox.
Advantages of infrared sauna, and SAUNEX® sauna in particular, for detoxification:
SAUNEX® design results in the user's head being out of the cabinet and out of the sweating area. The main benefit of this is that the user does not breathe in sweat-laden air - which could be carrying some of the very same toxins you want to get rid of! Don't breathe in these toxins if you don't have to. (Note: there are some who must not breathe very hot air for health safety reasons).
As opposed to hot-air sauna, or steam sauna, which heat only the skin surface, the SAUNEX® heats with infrared emitters. Infrared heat penetrates the body up to 1-_ inches, heating subcutaneous tissues and activating lymph movement and releasing fatty tissue-contained toxins into the sweat stream.
The efficiency of heating the body is greater in SAUNEX® because the heaters are closer to, and more completely surround, the user than in hot-air room saunas.
Because of the effectiveness of infrared heating as opposed to hot air, an infrared sauna can run at a lower temperature and still cause a greater sweat volume than a hot air sauna. This point is supported by experiments done by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (of cereal fame) in which it was found that it was possible to raise the body temperature and cause vigorous sweating even though the air around the body was cooler than the body temperature! Most people find this more comfortable, and for some the lower temperature is a must - because of one condition or another, they may not be able to safely take the heat of a hot air sauna. Kellogg developed the infrared sauna in 1891. Dr. Sherry Rogers, in her book "Detoxify or Die," states that it is common for people to be unable to tolerate the discomfort of extreme temperatures - particularly on their eyes and lungs. Kellogg also found that the interval of time until sweating began was reduced by half in his infrared sauna as compared to "a highly heated Turkish or Russian bath." Most importantly, Kellogg found that his infrared sauna produced twice as much sweat as either a steam sauna or a hot air sauna. L. Ron Hubbard himself said, "Whichever type of sauna is employed, the whole idea is to use the system which permits the person to sweat the most." (Clear Body; Clear Mind, p. 51)
The cabinet is made of non-porous plastic, which makes it easy to clean. Wood cabinets have the disadvantage of having porous surfaces that can trap toxic matter and contribute to mold growth. The plastic we use is non-porous, so sweat just lies on top of it. This material does not out-gas.
SAUNEX® heaters are proprietary and patent pending. We have found a way to reduce the electromagnetic fields emanating from the heaters to 1/20th the amount emitted from otherwise identical heaters without the EMF cancellation technology.
The SAUNEX® cabinet is built to accommodate one person at a time. It is narrow enough to fit through standard doorways and comes with integral wheels in back so that the cabinet can be tilted back and rolled at will to wherever it is needed (for instance, roll it out from a storage room to a room with TV or stereo to make the sauna experience more enjoyable.
Since the cabinet is small and light (100 lbs), it heats up fairly quickly and is very efficient with electric usage. One hour of sauna use costs between 10 and 20 cents, depending on your electricity cost.
The SAUNEX® plugs into any 110V household outlet. No additional
wiring, or indeed any set-up at all, is needed.
The content of this article is for informational purposes only. Information
contained here is not medical advice and should not be construed
as such. Please consult a health care professional prior to use.
Making Connections: Detoxification may be the common link for successful treatment of both poisoned firefighters and autistic children.
by Bernarr C. Schaeffer
I want here to relate two seemingly unrelated topics: treating autistic children, and the therapy given rescue workers exposed to toxins in the 9/11 event. The common thread is that in both cases the people exhibit brain function disturbance and the cause is likely toxins stored in body and brain tissues.
Speaking of autism, much of the information I get discusses toxicity of the brain as a possible cause for this horrendous disease. Common sense supports this notion. With respect to what the establishment considers to be the cause of autism, I think it's fair to say that some medical reports are more accurate than others. The National Autism Association is quoted as saying, "Riddled with conflicts of interest, the Institute of Medicine releases reports that are derived from flawed data." Medical and pharmaceutical research is most often done by drug companies who, as corporations, must maximize profits for their shareholders. The previously mentioned governmental study concluded that, in spite of mounting and convincing evidence, mercury content in a preservative used in child vaccines is not a causative factor in autism. While over a half a million children suffer from autism, the rate continues to grow at epidemic proportions — up 273% in California alone, between 1987 and 1998. Can we afford to overlook any therapy that could curb this situation? To date, many therapies have been tried on autism cases with little success. Best results so far have resulted from dietary manipulation and chelation. Meanwhile, evidence is accumulating that a mercury-laden preservative in vaccines given to children is a likely cause of autism. With that in mind let's look at a program that has benefited the NYC rescue workers.
The firemen and rescue workers involved with the 9/11 event suffered many brain disruptions such as being unable to focus on tasks, loss of concentration, loss of short term memory, mood swings, depression, headaches, nerve weakness, eyesight problems, fatigue, anger, sluggishness, sadness and the inability to sleep. Many firemen have been treated with steroids and inhalers to facilitate breathing, with little success. Since their problems started with the inhalation of toxic debris during the 9/11 event and its aftermath, logically we could say that removing those toxins would help these people.
In fact, a program of detoxification has been started in NYC and it has been very successful. The program is called New York Rescue Worker Detoxification Project. The protocol consists primarily of several hours of sauna per day along with some exercise, and specific nutritional elements. Program participants have had many good things to say about the results. One said, "By the third day I was off the inhalers the doctors gave me. I was able to sleep 7 to 8 hours a night for the first time since 9/11." Another said "By day 20 I was running for 25 minutes and felt fantastic both physically and mentally." Still another said "After day three I noticed changes. I did not need my steroids or my inhaler." A fourth person stated that his memory and attitude improved. A fifth fire fighter said, "I benefited tremendously, my mood lifted, I awoke rested and my focus and concentration improved greatly." Another stated that his depression had lifted and his energy returned after just 2 weeks. Another said, "I am off all medications and I feel great (for the first time in 2 years), I am able to take care of my family again and my physical and mental facilities have improved 80% (over before the treatment). All of these firefighters followed the L. Ron Hubbard Sauna Therapy protocol, which includes several daily sauna sessions with interspersed short exercise periods and showers. Also, vitamin and mineral supplements are given. The program was setup by Dr. David Root, who has been utilizing the Hubbard regime with great success for 25 years primarily with drug and alcohol addiction treatment.
If these brave men had such help with the symptoms of their
toxicity, why hasn't anyone thought to apply the detoxification capabilities
of the sauna to the
problem of autism? In fact someone has. Dr. Edelson in Atlanta, Georgia has
used sauna along with other methods in the treatment of autistic children.
He has only done this for 1–1/2 years, but with great success. Dr. Edelson
has 15 cases that he writes about wherein the treatment evaluation scores showed
improvements of 95%, 64%, 76%, 53%, 54%, 49%, 77%, 63%, 86%, 88%, 72%, 66%,
35%, 47%, and 100%. Edelson's protocol is largely based on L. Ron Hubbard's,
but includes more varied and patient-specific nutrition and immune system boosting
elements.
An important consideration to keep in mind is the safety of the sauna. My history
with steam cabinets began fifty years ago and I know of no negative side effects
in using a sauna. I recently spoke with the president of Battle Creek Equipment
Company, started by Dr. Kellogg (the originator of infrared sauna), and they
have no claims or reports of problems associated with their sauna history.
Dr. Kellogg created the first modern infrared sauna cabinet in 1891 and he
often remarked on the safety of the product.
I believe I have stated the facts clearly and fairly and wonder why autism is not being treated by a sauna therapy as a matter of course. It is not dangerous and the possibilities of aiding the children are enormous. I know the government has a 2-year study going on; meanwhile hundreds of thousands of children could be affected by the time its conclusions are in. I shout, I beg, let's get a program going immediately! Is there no group in this country that can see the logic, the common sense, of this approach? Let's do something today, not tomorrow.
We are especially excited to be involved with this opportunity to help unfortunate victims of autism because our product, the SAUNEX® personal far infrared sauna cabinet, has been designed from top to bottom to be the premier sauna for detoxification. The design puts the head outside the sweating area so the user does not breath in sweat-laden, therefore toxin-laden, air. We employ ten large area, low temperature, heaters. Unsurpassed evenness of body heating is accomplished by completely surrounding the user with heaters. Our custom heaters employ patent-pending "safe-to-the-touch" covers and include an electromagnetic field (EMF) cancellation technology that reduces EMF emissions by 95%. No other manufacturer has these features. Also, the cabinet runs cooler than hot air or steam saunas: 100 to 130 degrees F as opposed to 140 to 200 F. As well, the cabinet is narrower than standard doorways and has integral wheels that allow easy movement to any room. The cabinet is built from non-porous and non-toxic thermoplastic, which makes it very easy to clean. The SAUNEX® plugs into any standard household outlet, requires zero set up or installation, and comes with an electronic time and temperature controller. There is an optional child's seat to adapt the cabinet for small people. Dr. Kenneth Bock, Rhinebeck, NY, is using such a cabinet presently to treat autistic children.
The content of this article is for informational purposes only. Information
contained here is not medical advice and should not be construed as such. Please
consult a health care professional prior to use.
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Revisiting the Club Sauna Strategy
by James Schaeffer
Sweating for health is an ancient tradition going back millennia. Today, for the typical health and fitness club, sauna is a great membership selling point. This is not surprising since sauna is popular with those who want to relax after a workout or seek a deep sweat cleansing as part of their fitness regime.
Club saunas are most often hot air, steam, or infrared sauna
rooms. A sauna room may seem to make sense because it can accommodate up to
several people
at a time — economies of scale, right? Perhaps, but that's not the only factor
in the mix.
Consider that sauna rooms have some downsides which sometimes cause clubs to
curtail or close them. These include the energy cost of heating the sauna all
day to keep it available on short notice for clients, difficulty of thorough
cleaning for saunas constructed of porous wood, as well as the possibility
of embarrassing "extracurricular" activity among members. In addition,
and perhaps most importantly, a survey has shown that approximately half the
people are uncomfortable with exposing their unclothed bodies to the sight,
or bodily fluids, of strangers.
Today there are new sauna options that make good business sense for a health club. One of the most exciting is the personal sauna — a sauna built for use by a single person.
Most people, when they think of sauna, think of a room with a hot air or steam source that heats the air to temperatures as high as 220 degrees. Some find breathing very hot air to be intolerable or annoying and will avoid such a sauna. Even if the sauna room is of the infrared variety, and therefore the air is more comfortable (100 – 140 degrees F) to breathe, some will still avoid it because they prefer not to be seen naked or nearly so.
Club operators wanting to offer sauna, but feeling reluctant for the above stated reasons, should instead consider a personal sauna cabinet - a sauna that has more in common with other club equipment like treadmills and muscle training devices than it does with the common sauna room. Picture the convenience and versatility of a sauna that can be rolled from place to place as needed and plugged into any normal outlet.
A word about the type of heating a sauna employs: infrared heating is an option with advantages in comfort, safety, and effectiveness compared with hot air or steam saunas. Since infrared (think: sun) radiation penetrates the skin to heat you inside, it is more effective at releasing toxins stored in fatty tissue as it causes greater sweat volume for a given temperature. So, with infrared, you get both the greater comfort of lower temperatures and the more effective detoxification that more and more people place importance on. Since the infrared sauna runs at a lower temperature, there are possible advantages in safety as well. Additionally, a personal sauna can be designed so that your head is outside the sweating area, eliminating the concern of breathing in the toxins you just sweated out! The head outside feature enables the user to watch TV, listen to music, or take in the scenery at the gym or spa.
Throughout the world, sauna is becoming increasingly popular as the body-cleansing power of intense sweating, and the importance of detoxification in today's highly polluted environment, become better known. Indeed, sauna is today part of a therapy for rescue workers and fire fighters suffering the results of poisoning from the smoke and airborne debris in New York City after the 9/11 disaster (www.nydetox.org). Research shows that air quality inside buildings is usually worse than outside air - while, of course, outside air is typically carrying an array of poisonous substances from fossil fuel burning and other sources. Water and food bear similar burdens of toxins. Many of the pollutants we're exposed to from tainted air, water, and food are of the heavy metal variety (mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium, etc.), which tend to lodge firmly in the fatty tissue of the body. This is a protective mechanism for which we should be thankful, however, once lodged there, the toxins are difficult to remove by normal body processes, but are susceptible to removal through the detoxification mechanism of sweating.
Okay, it's all well and good to "save the world" with sauna, but let's come back to the bottom line. Clearly, a personal sauna approach - using multiple units depending on demand - can satisfy the club owner needs for fast warm up times, modularity, flexibility and energy conservation. Club members get a private and enjoyable sauna experience being able to watch TV and breathe cool room air - if the sauna cabinet has the "head outside" feature. By thinking "outside the box," the club owner can get more club members "inside the box" where they will get more out of the sauna experience, improving loyalty to the club.
James Schaeffer, Engineering/Sales Mgr. of U. S. Health Equipment
Co. Inc. He can be reached at 877-772-8639, or by email at jschaeffer@saunex.com.
The content of this article is for informational purposes only. Information
contained here is not medical advice and should not be construed as such.
Please consult a health care professional prior to use.
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by James Schaeffer
A sauna is a sauna is a sauna...or is it?
The history of people heating themselves in a small room or cabinet is long indeed. As far back as 3,000 years, in the great Mayan civilization, "sauna was a place for therapy and ritual."[1] Many other cultures have used sauna over the centuries, including Native Americans, Russians, Japanese, and of course the Finns. Nothing could be simpler than the sauna - it is simply a heated enclosure - but there have been significant advances in sauna technology over the ages and especially in the last 100 years. This essay will recount major milestones in sauna and detoxification development focusing in particular on three: Dr. John Kellogg's "light bath," L. Ron Hubbard's highly successful detoxification protocol, and the new state-of-the-art SAUNEX® infrared sauna.
Long ago a sauna space would necessarily be constructed of wood, stone, adobe (dried mud), or animal skins. Heat would be provided directly by a fire burning inside, or by rocks heated in a fire outside, then brought inside (native Americans use this technique in their sweat lodges). Early saunas were therefore primarily of the "hot air" type, as opposed to "steam" or "infrared" types. In a hot air sauna, the user is heated primarily through convection — transfer of heat through movement of air. In a "steam bath," water is boiled and the resulting steam heats the body through direct contact with the skin. This form of heat transfer is known as conduction. Both convection and conduction heat the surface of the skin, which then results in the skin heating the tissue below and eventually raising overall body temperature.
Timed with the advent of electricity, another method of heating the body began to be employed: infrared. Infrared is a band of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from just longer than visible light at the red end of the spectrum (approximately 1 micron) to considerably longer (around 25 microns according to most sources). Infrared radiation is what makes us feel warm in direct sunlight or when next to a campfire or woodstove. The singular and crucial feature of infrared heating — which makes it superior for purposes of sauna — is the fact that this radiation actually penetrates the surface of the skin to a depth of about 1-_ inches, depending on the energy of the source. Thus the beneficial effects of body stimulation are improved due to increased heating of the subcutaneous tissue. Literally, the body is heated within as well as on the surface. This was discovered by the natural healing oriented surgeon John Harvey Kellogg. He also found a way to prepare whole grains in an appetizing manner for the benefit of his patients, which was capitalized on and later subverted by the Kellogg Cereal Company (whole grains were processed and sugar and salt added). But that's another story.
Dr. Kellogg was an avid researcher and scientist as well as
a practicing physician. He ran a sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, where
he treated people with
a methodology that focused on removing the causes of disease. Realizing the
efficacy of sauna for removing toxins in the body through the mechanism of
sweating, but wanting to improve it, he experimented with the new Edison light
bulb as a source of heat for his custom built sauna cabinets. Kellogg called
this portion of his protocol "light therapeutics," and his sauna
cabinets "incandescent light baths." In addition to the benefits
of sweating, Kellogg believed in the salutary effects of light itself, and
indeed saw sunlight as a prophylactic measure in its own right.
The first light bath Kellogg constructed was put into use in 1891 in his Battle
Creek Sanitarium. After it had been proven in use by thousands of his patients,
a replica was exhibited at the Chicago Exposition in 1893. A German entrepreneur
noticed it and engaged a company to produce light baths on the model of Kellogg's.
These became highly popular in Germany and hundreds of "Light Institutes" were
opened there. Such nobility as King Edward of England, Emperor William, King
Oscar of Sweden, and others acquired light baths for their private use. The
incandescent light baths were not designed with safety foremost, however, and
wouldn't be suitable for today's litigatious world. The design featured dozens
of unguarded electric light bulbs arrayed around the inside of a wooden cabinet.
There was a significant burn hazard. Until just a couple of years ago, a functioning
replica of Kellogg's original light bath was still in use at the Battle Creek
Lifestyle Health Center, and a beautiful picture of same can be found in The
Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy by Nenah Sylver, PhD, on page 136.
The next major advance in sauna therapy that we will look at is the detoxification protocol of L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard is most well known as founder of Scientology. Hubbard came to detoxification and sauna with the intent of meeting a growing threat to spiritual development that he saw in the foreign chemicals (pesticides, food additives, smog, etc.) that more and more pollute our bodies and fog our minds. He was also concerned with helping the many people he encountered with drug and alcohol problems — a situation that he considered akin to being poisoned by any other chemical. Though not a medical doctor, his common sense approach to detoxification resulted in a highly effective protocol he called the "Purification Program." The basis for the program was Hubbard's understanding that part of what made someone addicted to a substance had to do with toxic residues causing bio-chemical imbalances resulting in "cravings." Therefore, removal of residues of the addictive substance would help free the person from physiological addiction — not to mention result in better overall health, and the ability to reclaim one's life. Though he focused on the spiritual benefits, the successful removal of foreign contaminants from the body resulted in extensive health benefits as well, as documented in many scientific studies undertaken of the Hubbard protocol.
In 1977 Hubbard first employed sauna to try to remove LSD residues (which are called "metabolites") that apparently could cause spontaneous trips long after the original ingestion of the drug. Finding success with sauna alone, but wanting faster results, he added additional elements to make a more comprehensive program. In 1979 Hubbard released the Purification Program. It consisted of six elements: exercise; sauna sessions; a nutritional program including lots of vegetables; vitamin and mineral supplements; sufficient liquids to offset sweat loss; and sufficient sleep. The exercise, typically a short session of running, "is done to get blood circulating deeper into the tissues and release the accumulated harmful deposits and get them moving."[2] The sauna comes next to flush out the toxins now dislodged. Periodic replenishing of fluids is given high priority. Good nutrition and nutritional supplements help the body eliminate toxins and rebuild areas affected by the toxins. Personal life schedules are arranged to allow for sufficient sleep. The program calls for much more time in the sauna than in exercising — about a 10 to 1 ratio. Sauna sessions each last from 15 to not more than 30 minutes, and are interspersed with brief showers and/or short exercise sessions. Hubbard's Purification Program is intense because it monopolizes the better part of a day (typically 5 continuous hours) and is physically demanding. Hubbard was intent on getting significant results quickly and the completion of the purification process was accomplished to his satisfaction usually in two or three weeks. The success of this methodology can be measured in the over 100 Purification Program detoxification centers now in existence world wide, the 200,000 people treated with this method, and in the many scientific papers written as a result of studies done on the efficacy of this program on various diseases and conditions. Some of these papers can be found at www.detoxacademy.org/detox.htm.
Looking more specifically now at the sauna aspect of Hubbard's protocol, he typically used a hot air sauna, or what he called a "dry sauna," as opposed to a steam sauna, but argued that the "whole idea is to use the system which permits the person to sweat the most."[3] Cleanliness was to be maintained by using a sauna that had non-porous surfaces and keeping a regular schedule of cleaning with non-toxic cleaners. With regard to the effects of sauna considered on its own, Hubbard considered that sufficient fluids to replace sweat volume lost was a must, as well as vitamin and mineral supplements, again, to replace those nutrients lost in sweat. Anyone using sauna on a regular basis for whatever reason must at minimum attend to ingesting sufficient fluids and supplements.
So, what is next? How can we improve the substantial proven results obtained through strict application of the Purification program? Hubbard gives some direction when he states (as quoted above) that we should "use the system that permits the person to sweat the most." With that in mind let's refer to the research of John Kellogg as published in his influential early book Light Therapeutics. Kellogg points out that one of the most important effects of heat upon the skin is the dilation of the peripheral vessels - the arteries, veins, lymph passages and sweat ducts. On page 81 he writes: "...radiant energy [infrared radiation] is unquestionably more effective than any other form of heat in producing this dilation of the vessels because of its greater penetrating power. The rays of energy pass through the skin and penetrate to a considerable depth, being converted into heat as they meet with resistance."[4] Dilation translates into increased circulation, one of the main goals. That statement, echoed by many present commentators in the field of detoxification, suggests that a significant improvement in the results of the Hubbard program can be found in the use of infrared heating as opposed to hot air or steam. Infrared heating has been shown to cause greater stimulation and dilation of subcutaneous tissues and vessels than does steam or hot air sauna. As well, infrared heating is usually more comfortable for people because the air temperature in an infrared sauna is typically in the 100 to 140 degree Fahrenheit range, while steam or hot air saunas run in the 160 to 200 degree range. Outside of a rigorous monitored regime such as the Hubbard detox method, people tend to do things that are pleasant and avoid those that aren't. Thus, far infrared sauna will likely be used more regularly than other types of sauna, if the choice is available.
Speaking of the benefits of consistent use of sauna, consider how much more likely the average person is to use a sauna if it is in the comfort and privacy of their own residence. The advantage with respect to time logistics becomes clear then of a home sauna compared to a sauna in a spa or other institution. As well, opinion polls have shown that 50% or more respondents will not take a sauna in a "public" setting because they are shy about being seen naked, and averse to the bodily fluids of others.
With these criteria in mind, let's look at the state-of-the-art SAUNEX® infrared sauna cabinet - a product design four years in the making. Our initial question was, "If we were to design an optimized sauna, what would it look like?" First, it would use infrared heaters, as opposed to hot air or steam, since as Kellogg states, "radiant energy is unquestionably more effective than any other form of heat...because of its greater penetrating power."[4] Infrared heating of the body, it has been noted in a Mayo clinic study, results in more sweating at lower temperatures, and can often be used by those intolerant of high heat such as heart patients and the elderly. And, taking a cue directly from Kellogg's design, the ideal sauna would have many heaters, not a few. Unfortunately, the "incandescent light bath" had a burn danger associated with the unguarded and very hot bulbs used as heaters. The most common types of heaters used in present day saunas — ceramic plates or metal rods - also present a burn danger. While both of these types are inexpensive and reliable, they are difficult to guard because of their high temperature (350?F to 650?F). The SAUNEX® design incorporates patent-pending heater covers that act both as infrared emitters and as guards. A person can literally lay their hand or arm on the heater cover for extended lengths of time without getting burned. The cover has ingenious raised ribs or "fins," which through convective heat loss, are much cooler than the areas of the heater inaccessible to touch. The result: heaters emit at a high enough temperature to cause heavy sweating, while causing no danger to the user if touched. This is a significant advantage particularly for children and the infirm who might use the cabinet. Indeed, it was a critical advance that allowed us to make a safe cabinet as compact as the SAUNEX®. Also, due to concern about the possible dangers of electromagnetic fields (EMF), we discovered and incorporated a patent pending EMF cancellation technology that reduces the EMF given off by our heaters by 95%. This raises the cost of the heaters considerably, but we felt it was worth it.
Another area in which we saw room for improvement was in the evenness of body heating. Hot air and steam saunas tend not to provide very even heat unless the steam or hot air is distributed evenly - often not the case in practice. To obtain excellent evenness of heating, the SAUNEX® provides many (10) heaters - each of large area. The SAUNEX® heaters cover a much greater percentage of the wall area than the heaters in a typical infrared room sauna, which usually has several small but very hot heaters. While each heater of the conventional type is about 20 square inches in area, each SAUNEX® heater is about 180 square inches. Instead of intense "hot spots," and annoying "cold spots" that are experienced in a conventional infrared sauna, the SAUNEX® provides consistently even heating by totally surrounding the user with heaters. To improve evenness of heating even more, the SAUNEX® provides yet another feature seen in no other sauna that we're acquainted with: a destratification fan. Warm air at the top of the cabinet is pulled down by a nearly silent fan and ejected at the foot level. All these design innovations make the SAUNEX® unique in its even body heating.
A corollary issue to evenness of body heating is that of the lower temperatures that infrared saunas run at. The salient point here is that infrared heating can cause a greater volume of sweating than a hot air or steam sauna running at much higher temperatures — with greater comfort being an important dividend. What's the difference in temperature? Hot air or steam saunas run anywhere from 140 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Hubbard's protocol calls for sauna between 140° and 180°. The SAUNEX® runs between 100° and 130°, and yet the user will still sweat "like a champ," as we like to say, because of the penetrative power of the infrared rays.
One issue, that Kellogg addressed with his design (but Hubbard didn't apparently take note of) was the providing of cool and clean air for the user to breathe. Kellogg's cabinet featured a head-outside-of-cabinet configuration that we have also incorporated. Sweat-laden air within the main sweating area is not optimum to breathe; it contains some of the very toxins you've just eliminated! All sauna rooms of whatever heating type have this downside. Only cabinets with the head outside feature do not. Interestingly, just because the head is outside the cabinet does not mean that the head and face do not sweat. On the contrary, since sweating is a function of overall body temperature, the user will sweat from all parts of the body, including the head. The advantage of a cabinet is that the person can remain sweating for longer periods of time without the head overheating.
Finally, a sauna does no good if it is not used. Therefore, a private sauna makes more sense for most people than a public institutional sauna. The easily transportable and very compact SAUNEX® sauna is designed to be "house-friendly." It is narrower than typical standard doorways, comes with integral wheels for easy rolling from place to place, weighs only 100 pounds, plugs into any standard household outlet, and requires zero installation or set-up beyond putting it in place and plugging it in. You get privacy, cleanliness, simplicity, flexibility of location, no-effort installation, safety, and best of all a sauna system optimized in every way to provide the best and most healthy sweating experience you can get. The price is competitive with other single-person saunas on the market. Continue exploring this site to find out more about this wonderful new product.
Footnotes:
1. Wilford, John Noble, "Before Rome's Baths, There Was the Maya Sweat
House," The New York Times, March 20, 2001
2. Hubbard, L. Ron, "Clear Body, Clear Mind: The Effective Purification
Program," Bridge Publications, Inc., 1990, pg. 35
3. Ibid, pg. 51
4. Kellogg, John Harvey, "Light Therapeutics," The Modern Medicine
Publishing Co., 1927
The content of this article is for informational purposes only. Information
contained here is not medical advice and should not be construed as such. Please
consult a health care professional prior to use.
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Why I Get Great Sweats With SAUNEX™ or, A Sneak Peak Behind the Scenes at the SAUNEX™ Manufacturing Plant
© 2003 by Nenah Sylver, Ph.D.
Some of you know me from my published work in the fields of psychology and holistic health (including Rife technology and frequency healing), where prior to September 2003 I wrote under the name "Nina Silver." My latest book, The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy, was begun with the naive belief that I could finish writing the entire manuscript in a year. That was three years ago, and the book is just being published now (autumn 2003)! Little did I realize how much there is to know about sweating and saunas—and how much I needed to learn. In those three intensive years of research for the book, I found a surprising wealth of scientific literature on saunas and body heating, some of it over 100 years old.
My investigations—which included the "hands-on" experience of sweating in various heated chambers—convinced me that a sauna with far infrared radiation (FIR) as its heat source is superior to one warmed by a conventional electric heater, fire, a gas or wood-burning stove, steam, or even hot rocks. Of course, not all bodies respond exactly the same to heat and moisture. And people have individual preferences and tastes. Nevertheless, a high percentage of health care professionals—including physicians, naturopaths, chiropractors, nurses, and other clinicians—recognize the advantages of far infrared radiation. I will briefly summarize some highlights about FIR here.
Far infrared radiation is the term for a very narrow band of wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. These wavelengths support many biological processes in living organisms—and, not coincidentally, the ones that are the most life-enhancing and compatible with human tissue have a temperature of 98.6° Fahrenheit (37° Celsius). There would be no life without FIR. So you might say that we have a biological affinity for FIR—and in a very real sense, far infrared radiation can be regarded as an essential nutrient. Far infrared rays are emitted by the sun, living bodies, and some other objects.
Far infrared radiation has the unique ability to warm solid objects without getting absorbed by, or diffused through, the air. Most of the heat from FIR travels intact, through the air, directly into solid objects. That is why, when FIR is used to heat a sauna, the air temperature feels pleasantly warm but not uncomfortably hot—and in fact, might even be perceived as "surprisingly cool for a sauna." But even though the air temperature in a FIR sauna doesn't get extremely hot, the heat from FIR is absorbed more deeply into the body than heat transmitted by the other methods, conduction and convection. (The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy discusses this in depth.) Therefore, despite a cooler air temperature, most people sweat copiously when they are in a sauna that's equipped with a FIR heater.
Partly due to far infrared's ability to penetrate human (or animal) tissue, many of the usual benefits of body heating are amplified in a FIR sauna. Not only does FIR dilate surface blood vessels and improve circulation, and not only does FIR disable pathogenic microbes—but it also has a superior capacity to alleviate congestion in the inner organs. In addition, for most people, FIR produces a more thorough and intense sweat, allowing a greater than usual percentage of metabolic wastes and exogenous toxins to exit through the skin.
Far infrared's exceptional penetration capability—which allows you to set your FIR heater at a much lower temperature than that of a conventional electric heater—also means that you can sweat without interfering with the body's temperature regulating mechanism. Many people don't realize that prolonged high temperatures will actually impair the internal thermostat and cause the body to stop sweating. So, with its ability to induce sweating at relatively low temperatures, FIR is very safe as well as effective.
People often ask me to recommend a good FIR sauna. The advantage of an enclosed room—if you have the space in or outside your home for one that's large enough—is that you can relax lying down. You can also make sweating an enjoyable social event with your family and friends. However, I have come to appreciate the benefits of a cabinet. With your head outside the cabinet, you are not forced to inhale stale carbon dioxide or the smelly toxins from your (or other people's) sweat. Instead, you are always breathing fresh air. Also, you can stay inside a cabinet for longer periods than when you're in a room, because your head (and brain) and entire respiratory tract are cooler.
A cabinet has other advantages as well—providing you have the right one. There is only one FIR sauna cabinet on the market that I know of that has all of the following features: durability; a comfortable seat; FIR heaters that unobtrusively, safely, and completely surround the body for even heat; and FIR heaters whose normally occurring, harmful electromagnetic radiation (also referred to as EMF) has been reduced to almost zero. That far infrared cabinet is the Saunex™.
The company that has created the Saunex™ is owned and run by the Schaeffer family. (I will say more about them in a moment.) In February of 2001, they made me the proud owner of the second Saunex™ prototype in existence. In the role of "guinea pig" tester for the company—as well as for thousands of future Saunex™ users that I would never meet—I sweated in my cabinet almost daily for two years, often for several hours in a single session (with shower breaks, of course). The Schaeffers were wise in asking me to be their guinea pig. First, any sauna I tested had to be portable and compact. The Saunex™ is both; so that meant it would fit inside my home and I could use it. Second, I needed a sauna that was safe for someone sensitive to chemicals. I had been exposed to high levels of pesticides, heavy metals, and other noxious substances, including outdoor house paint. This made me an ideal candidate for sauna therapy—providing, of course, the unit itself was safe enough for me to use without having negative reactions. If the Saunex™ could help me, that meant the company was on the right track with its design. Third, I am fairly sensitive to electromagnetic fields. I welcomed the opportunity to improve my health without having to worry about harmful EMF effects from sitting too close to the electric heaters. Finally, I wasn't (and still am not) easy to please. So if I liked their unit, maybe other people would, too.
As it turns out, after those sauna sessions, I indeed felt that I had fewer toxins in my system. The heat from the Saunex™ felt "clean," never oppressive. I also learned how to sweat more easily. (The body can learn this, with repeated gentle exposure to higher temperatures.) I definitely took more showers than usual. Finally, with my head poking out of the cabinet nearly every day, I had more opportunity in one year to watch on video movies I had missed than I'd had in the entire previous decade. I needed a rest when I wasn't working hard on my sauna manuscript—and a rest is exactly what I got!
Part of my "sauna immersion" experience was intimately connected to the planning and production at the factory. The creation of the Saunex™ technically began back in the 1950s with Bernarr Schaeffer, who was designing steam cabinets for the Battle Creek Equipment Company (which had once been affiliated with Dr. John Harvey Kellogg's health spa). Then in the 1990s, the evolution of the Saunex™ took a gigantic leap when Bernie's sons Jim and Wayne joined him to help create the quintessential sauna their father had always wanted to make. I am not exaggerating when I say that it was a privilege to witness the company's "growing pains"— from almost the time that Saunex™ was a sketch on a piece of paper to the final, finished, sleek white model. I was fascinated by the brainstorming sessions of the inventors (Bernie and Wayne) and engineer (Jim) as they relentlessly experimented with ideas, designs, types of heaters, electrical switches, ergonomic angles for the seat, cabinet styles—the list is endless—as well as taking saunas themselves, of course, in their constantly upgraded cabinets. It impressed me that they never seemed to be satisfied, but were always striving to refine what they had just created. So you see, the Saunex™ far infrared cabinet that you have just bought (or are considering buying) is the product of decades of ingenuity, dedication, labor and love.
One issue Bernie was very concerned about was the safety of the Saunex™ for people with multiple chemical sensitivities. People who are not chemically sensitive—or who are not conscious of the reactions that they do have to chemicals—can have a hard time understanding those of us who are. Coal miners are known for bringing canaries with them into the pits; for if the delicate birds die, the miners know that there are dangerous gases in the mine and they need to leave immediately or they'll be next. (Not that I am condoning killing or experimenting on birds or other animals.) My role as the "sauna canary" was greatly valued, for as the most sensitive one in the group, it was up to me to let them know that the Saunex™ was free of fumes.
" What do you think, Nenah?" Bernie would ask. "Did you sweat a lot? How do you feel?" He and Wayne and Jim always welcomed my feedback, even when it was negative. In fact, the more negatives I threw at them about any aspect of the sauna, the more pleased Bernie became. "I want everything to go wrong that could possibly go wrong," he'd say to me. "And whatever goes wrong, I want it to be with your unit. That way, we can fix it so it won't happen to our customers." This is research and development at its finest. A stranger to body heating might regard the job of guinea pig (or canary) for a sauna manufacturer as a dubious honor. But I knew how important saunas are—for by now, I had a four-foot stack of solid data to support my sweaty, empirical experience. I was thrilled to be included in the sauna-making process, even if it was just to offer my ideas and opinions (and sweat, deposited on the floor of the cabinet and mopped up with many towels).
As with most rewarding things in life, the Saunex™ took longer
to perfect than anticipated. But clearly, it is a unique cabinet. Not only
that, the Schaeffers
provide great customer service. Of course they know that this is good business
practice. But there's another, more important reason—in fact, I think it's
the primary reason—that they are so focused on customer service: they genuinely
care about helping people get well. "If our Saunex™ helps restore just
one person's health," Bernie said to me recently, "then all this
work will have been worth the effort." Of course, more than "just
one person" has already given feedback about how much better they've been
feeling since using the Saunex™—and this is just the beginning!
As for me, I continue my regular healing sweats in my beloved prototype. After
all this research and experimenting and writing and perspiring, my conclusions
about sweating are actually very simple. I cannot think of any area of the
body—or almost any health condition—that would not benefit from sauna therapy.
And if you're thinking about buying a sauna, I cannot think of a wiser, or
more beneficial, investment than the Saunex™.
Be well. And don't forget to drink plenty of water and shower when using the sauna.
Nenah Sylver, Ph.D. /
September 6, 2003
Author of The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy (The Center For Frequency,
2003) and The Handbook of Rife Frequency Healing (The Center for Frequency
Education, 2001, under the name "Nina Silver"). On www.nenahsylver.com you
can read Dr. Sylver's published essays, browse through excerpts from her books,
and purchase books and products for sale for your
physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual well-being. The content of this article is for informational purposes only. Information
contained here is not medical advice and should not be construed as such. Please
consult a health care professional prior to use.
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