What sauna is useful for
Sauna treatment, also known as hyperthermia (high temperature) treatment, is often used to detoxify from chemicals and metals, and sometimes drugs and alcohol. It is especially effective for volatile chemicals such as pesticides and solvents.
The high, dry heat helps to remove toxins from the storage depots within the body – the fat and lymph nodes especially, but also the muscles, liver, and elsewhere. The toxins are then removed from the body via sweat, which is stimulated by the heat, as well as via breathing, the digestive system, and urine.
Where sauna is done
Although it is possible to design a do-it-yourself sauna program such as at a health club, a better option by far is to do a practitioner-assisted complete sauna program. This allows a program to be designed to best assist you in your particular health needs, allows for monitoring for any adverse effects, and includes much more than simply sitting in a sauna. Such a sauna and program are available at CAM.
How the CAM sauna program is different from a health club sauna
But the sauna at your health club is so much cheaper! What’s the difference? There are two major factors that make the complete sauna program different from just sitting in a hot box at the gym. For one, the detox sauna is different; it is designed specifically for detoxification, not just relaxation. For another, the sauna program is a complete multi-faceted experience geared towards detoxification; the actual sauna is just a part of the whole program.
How a detoxification sauna is different
The sauna itself differs in many important ways from a standard health-club sauna:
- It is heated electrically for minimal toxic effects, rather than gas, infrared, or microwave.
- It is built of untreated wood.
- It vents toxins from yourself and others to the outside rather than recirculating them.
- Oxygen is fed into the sauna to accommodate heat-activated increased oxygen need.
- It has a glass window in the door for monitoring and safety.
Not only is the sauna itself different. Rules for sauna use ensure that the fewest possible toxins are taken in by yourself or anyone in the sauna with you. Rather than sitting in a bathing suit made of outgassing synthetic material and soaked with chlorinated pool water as would be the case at the gym, those who use the sauna are instructed to wear cotton and use cotton towels that have been washed in unscented detergent with no bleach or additives. Clothing and towels are changed after each shower, and there are several filtered showers taken during each sauna day to remove toxin-laden sweat. No scented products or street shoes are permitted in the sauna.
What is included in a complete sauna program
In addition to a specially equipped sauna, a complete sauna program includes:
- A complete practitioner workup prior to the sauna, with checkups as needed
- Dietary counseling with a nutritionist
- Skilled nursing staff to give advice and monitor your safety; regular blood pressure checks are included
- Supplements as needed to keep up your strength and minimize adverse effects
- Towels, gowns, and laundry service; these are cleaned in non-toxic detergents
- Showers with a shower filter
- Adjunctive treatments
Adjunctive treatments
Adjunctive treatments can help to maximize sauna detoxification by speeding the release of toxins out of the body. These include:
- Lymphatic exercises
- Lymphatic massage
- Colonics
- Chelation
- Allergy treatments
Lymphatic exercises and massage work the lymphatic system and allow toxins, which may be stored in the lymph glands, to exit into the bloodstream and from there out of the body. Colonics speed the removal of toxins that are from, or are dumped into, the intestinal system. Chelation helps to remove toxic metals. Allergy treatments can help you better tolerate the toxins that are being released, and also help you to absorb nutrients from your new dietary and supplement regimen. Combining detox modalities increases the effectiveness of each; it’s like 1+1=3.
Wait…before you start…
It is preferred, but not required, that you have any metal dental fillings safely removed prior to doing the sauna program. Toxic mercury in metal fillings can enter the body from the fillings after you have detoxified. If you want to drain the bathtub, turn off the faucet first, metaphorically speaking. However, if you need sauna, don’t avoid it because you still have metal fillings.
What is the sauna treatment like?
The program consists of 2-9 weeks of sauna treatment, although 2-3 weeks is usual. These are full days, which include 4-6 sauna sessions, multiple showers and clothing changes, lymphatic exercises, blood pressure checks, breaks to take supplements, time for lunch, adjunctive treatments, and the drinking of seemingly huge amounts of water. A sauna detox protocol is a serious commitment, best undertaken when you are ready and able to commit up to a month or two to spending all day on this.
A couple of things you might notice about sweating, which you will do plenty of in the sauna. You will probably find that if you didn’t sweat much before, you will be able to break a sweat – and thus remain relatively more comfortable – once you start the program and your body starts working more normally. Also, although sweat in non-sauna situations tastes slightly salty, sauna sweat, especially after at least a week of sauna detox, might be strong tasting, acrid, even bitter or metallic. This is the taste of eliminated toxins.
But it’s so expensive!
Yes, a complete sauna treatment program can be pricey due to all the factors discussed, and it is rarely covered by insurance. However, unlike many medical treatments, once it’s done, it’s done. And the benefits can be priceless, financially and otherwise. A person who was too sick to work but can now earn a living has reaped material benefits beyond the cost of the sauna, in addition to the nonmaterial benefits such as having a life that is worth living.
How might you feel during the program?
Detoxification is a two-step procedure: toxins go from fat and other storage to the bloodstream, and then from the bloodstream on out. Since toxins are temporarily dumped into the bloodstream during sauna, it isn’t uncommon to feel worse before feeling better. Minerals, lost in sweat, need balancing, and if this isn’t done properly you can feel worse. Heat in itself drains energy. You will probably not feel well enough to work or get much accomplished during this time.
A serious commitment
Because of the time, money, and temporary discomfort involved, sauna detox is a serious commitment. But the results are worth it!
More information about sauna and other kinds of detox are found in the book Detox or Disease, available through this website or at CAM.
