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far infrared saunas VS epson salt baths

Messages
84
Location
United Kingdom
far infrared saunas VS epson salt baths

I was just wondering which of these is better for detox?

Also do they detox different things?
Which is better for heavy metal poisoning?

Any advice appreciated.

A x
 

minkeygirl

But I Look So Good.
Messages
4,678
Location
Left Coast
I just wanted to say I don't think either of these alone will detox heavy metals to the degree that you might need. Is this in addition to something else you are doing?
 

*GG*

senior member
Messages
6,389
Location
Concord, NH
I would think that Infrared is more effective at detoxing, it is supposedly about 5 times more effective than a traditional sauna, at least that is the information that has been presented to me, could depend upon the infrared sauna you use/choose, they have technologies that are supposedly different and some claim that theirs is the best!

GG
 

manna

Senior Member
Messages
392
i couldn't do far infra red sauna myself. ive done epsom salt baths. you're not supposed to do them too much i don't think. im sure i was told once a week but ive heard folk do it more. i think you're supposed to lie in the bath till your body reaches its core temperature. and maybe longer i dunno, maybe someone else can clarify that. i forget the quantities too. i don't do them anymore,

theres at least 2 types of mercury toxicity, that i know. retention toxic and general. retention toxicity is harder to treat as the deposition concentration in the structure of the tissues is such that most treatments are unlikely to shift anything. then you made need some other kind of physical therapy to shift it. retention toxicity might be experienced as stitch in the back of the liver. that was my experience. retention toxicity is something i knew i had but hadn't named it that but was reading hal huggins book on mercury fillings and he mentioned it. it was like the first time i heard multiple chemical sensitivity and then knew other people must have it too.

if its general toxicity then maybe other treatments will work to shift it. certainly helping your digestion with diet is a sure way to help the body detox. ive always been organic to minimise adding anymore poisons to the list.
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
It depends as well if you can tolerate sulphur in the Epsom baths or sweat enough to benefit from the infrared saunas. I was left worse off after trying each of these (years apart from one another). I never started sweating from the sauna (although I know of another person who eventually did start to sweat) and i just got weaker and weaker. The epson salt baths (even showering after) left me feeling weak and poisoned.
 
Messages
84
Location
United Kingdom
Thanks so much for your replies. Basically I am severely ill and trying to sell as many possessions as possible to get some private tests done. I hardly have used my sauna, but I paid a fortune for it, im not well enough at the mo to use it, but hope in the future I may be.
I didn't sweat much in it, but the heat did help my fibro, but to have to sauna and then shower after was too much.
I did like salt baths as they helped pain, detox and helped my constipation.

I wanted to just detox generally and I know it wont get rid of all my heavy metal poisoning.. I have lots, mercury, aluminium, nickel and some others, such as copper.
I use magnesium spray everyday for pain.

I just wondered if there had ever been a study comparing the two, but I guess there hasn't been.

Oh well, I think I prob will sell it, paid hundreds for it, if anyone in UK is interested do PM me.
I got it from get fitt, and its mint condition. Its a sauna blanket, it cost around £500.

I dont have a bath at the mo, but hope I will when I move.
Its so hard to know what to focus on when you have so many medical conditions, isn't it.
 
Messages
236
Location
Medford NJ
I am sorry to hear your doing so badly. I am on the mend now. I did do Epsom salts baths also using baking soda and tea tre oil.

Hip on this site had mentioned using mAgnesium topically.

I am " detoxing from mold. "I never had any mold test done but we had " mold " in our house. I began cholestyramine and responded well after avoiding mold in my home.
I am in the us ( Philadelphia pa area) . I am having a great response to the infared sauna. It has been a great method to detox, I am not that weak physicLly Amy more. But I seem to encounter mold " hits" from outdoor mold " toxins that prevalent in the area that I live in during the winter. The infared sauna has worked terrific on my " brain fog" Neurol issues".

If you are in super weakened state I would hesitate. To try anything without someone to help you. . If your CFS/ me gets worse in the winter I would think mold. I do not have much knowledge of detoxing heavy metals other than supplements.
 

vortex

Senior Member
Messages
162
A Sauna a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
by Townsend Letter Editor Jonathan Collin, MD

December 9, 2014
By Brian Richards

In Roman days, the steam bath was a place to relax, get clean, and socialize. The Arab culture appreciated the sauna for its cleanliness and purification. The Finns thought of the sauna as a place not only to cleanse but also to heal. Finnish culture thought so highly of sauna that every homestead built a sauna first and then the home. For the Finns, the sauna was the poor man’s medicine. While Western medicine is now the mainstay for treatment in Finland, it is still customary to share the sauna at least once weekly on Sunday. The Finnish sauna is frequently accompanied by a cold bath to invigorate the circulation and stimulate the immune system.

Zane Gard, MD, and Erma Brown: Sauna Detoxification
In 1992, Zane R. Gard, MD, and Erma J. Brown, PhN, reviewed the literature of sauna and hyperthermia in detoxification in a three-part article in the Townsend Letter.[1] [2] [3] A traditional sauna is heated to 130-180º [F] and is accompanied by water heated over burning coals. Sauna treatment raises the body’s core temperature, increasing central and peripheral vascular circulation, respiration, and sweating. An increased cardiac output and heart rate are accompanied by decreased peripheral resistance and blood pressure. The increase in respiratory rate raises oxygenation and lowers carbon dioxide content. Sweating leads to a loss of water and electrolytes. Perhaps more important, sweating is accompanied by excretion of organic and inorganic chemicals stored in body fat and organs. The excretion of lipid-based chemicals has been touted as the most important role for sauna: its detoxification mechanism.

BioToxic Reduction (BTR) program
Gard and Brown employed a sauna protocol that was trademarked as the BioToxic Reduction (BTR) program. This protocol largely followed the “Purification Rundown” program established by L. Ron Hubbard’s Scientology organization. Both protocols call for intensive sauna therapy preceded by vigorous exercise. They also call for increasing doses of oral niacin, which Hubbard believed to be critical for elimination of drugs and radiation during the sauna process. Individuals are required to ingest large quantities of water, B vitamins and minerals, plant oils, and calcium-magnesium liquid. A typical program calls for exercising 15 to 30 minutes followed by 30 to 60 minutes of sauna, then another 15 to 30 minutes of exercise followed by another 30 to 60 minutes of sauna, and a third period of exercise followed by a final 30 to 60 minutes of sauna. Individuals are monitored, and typically changes in exercise, sauna, and vitamin, niacin, and oil intake are implemented. Gard and Brown note that while physical symptoms typically reduce during the course of sauna detoxification, it still is not unusual for some individuals to experience symptom aggravation in the course of treatment. However, Gard and Brown observed significant reduction in physical symptomatology following the completion of the protocol for most individuals.

Dramatic Reduction of Blood Toxin Levels following Sauna Therapy
Gard and Brown were less interested in removing drugs and radiation and more concerned with detoxification of accumulated chemicals such as styrene, xylene, toluene, ethylbenzene, dichlorobenzene, chloroform, tetrachloroethylene, and trichloroethane. A literature review documents the progressive bioaccumulation of pesticides, plasticizers, preservatives, and other organic/inorganic chemicals in the water supply, air, and soil. Toxicology studies demonstrate a similar pattern of bioaccumulation in plants, single-cell organisms, and animals and consequently in humans. Gard and Brown wanted to do before-and-after comparisons of chemical content in individuals doing sauna detoxification therapy. Case reports were compelling, but critics would argue that such discussion remains anecdotal. Gard and Brown arranged for blood levels to be assayed for numerous toxicants prior to starting and upon completion of the sauna detox. Their data are summarized in a figure in part 3 of their review. The figure revealed that there were significant reductions of toxin levels in pre- and posttreatment levels. The average reduction of toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene exceeded 90%, was nearly 90% for 1,1,1-trichloroethene, and exceeded 69% for DDE.

sauna-day-blood-toxin-graph.jpg

Average Blood Toxin Level Reduced Dramatically for Patients from Sauna Study
Zane and Gard’s data demonstrate compellingly that their sauna and detoxification program acts through chemical detoxification. It is not clear whether sauna alone would also demonstrate such an effective toxin elimination; their protocol required high doses of niacin, vitamin, mineral, and oil supplementation as well as vigorous exercise prior to sauna. However, given the success of their protocol, clinicians have followed their model in detoxification programs. In April 2006, Cecchini, Root, Rachunow, and Gelb reported the outcome of their treatment approach for workers who were exposed to toxicants following the September 11 World Trade Center destruction.[4] Among the more than 450 individuals who underwent sauna detoxification, a majority demonstrated improvement in quality of life, reduction in symptom severity, reduction in use of medications, improvement in balance and reaction time, and reduction in elevated TSH levels.

Recent technology has enabled sauna treatment to be possible with nontraditional sauna facilities. The least expensive and most portable devices employ far infrared heat. Infrared heat provided at 5 to 15 microns enables a safe form of sauna heating that can be tolerated comparably to traditional sauna treatment. Typically, infrared sauna programs do not require as much heat as traditional saunas; infrared sauna sessions are set at 120 to 130 ºF compared with 150 to 180 ºF in traditional saunas. The infrared saunas allow for a sauna/detoxification protocol to be administered in the office or at home.

Martin Pall, PhD, and the NO/ONOO− Cycle
Martin Pall, PhD, has written extensively over the past decade about the role that nitric oxide (NO) and peroxynitrite (ONOO−) play in chronic medical conditions including multiple chemical sensitivity, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and myalgic encephalomyelitis. Pall thinks that the fundamental disorder created by the NO/ONOO− cycle may also play a role in neurodegenerative, inflammatory, and autoimmune disease. In the Feb./March 2010 Townsend Letter, he outlined 10 strategies that may be employed in disrupting the “vicious” mechanism of the NO/ONOO− cycle, most of which require nothing more than nutritional supplementation administered orally, intramuscularly, or intravenously.[5] The lynchpin in the NO/ONOO− cycle is tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4). BH4 decreases dramatically when the NO/ONOO− cycle is in disarray: elevated peroxynitrite and depleted tetrahydrobiopterin form the “central couplet” of the deranged cycle. To the degree that BH4 decreases and ONOO− increases, there is greater oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and inflammatory response. Pall demonstrates that a deranged cycle increases NF-kappaB leading to an increased production of inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-alpha. IV buffered ascorbate functions as a peroxynitrite scavenger, enables reduction of BH3 to BH4, and increases the synthesis of BH4. 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) also acts as a potent peroxynitrite scavenger indirectly increasing BH4 levels. Perhaps the most intriguing approach to normalizing the NO/ONOO− cycle is the use of the sauna.

In this issue Pall, Tapan Audhya, PhD and John Green, MD, present intriguing data demonstrating the effect of sauna on raising BH4 and improving the NO/ONOO− cycle dysfunctioning.[6] As compared with the rationale espoused by Gard and Ware, sauna treatment is shown to be effective not by chemical detoxification but by increasing BH4 synthesis and by stabilizing the NO/ONOO− cycle. Pall et al. show that in the chronic fatigue/chronic Lyme disease patient, biopterin (BH4) levels are low compared with normal controls. Even more remarkable, the peroxynitrite levels (ONOO−) in chronic fatigue patients average more than five times higher than controls (as measured in the peroxynitrite marker 3-nitrotyrosine). Sauna treatment significantly increased BH4 levels and decreased the ONOO− marker 3-nitrotyrosine. A related marker, neopterin, was also dramatically reduced. Pall et al.’s work offers an important scientific rationale for sauna therapy in the treatment of chronic disease that deserves further medical investigation.

This Editor’s Letter by Jonathan Collin, MD was originally published in the November 2013 Issue of the Townsend Letter, The Examiner of Alternative Medicine.
 

sb4

Senior Member
Messages
1,654
Location
United Kingdom
Infrared will be far better than just detox. It builds the exclusion zone of water in your blood, cells, etc, giving you an increased electric potential.

It also shrinks the water between the cytochromes of your mitochondria meaning the electrons have a higher chance of tunneling through to ATPase. More electrons + greater efficiency = more energy for the cell = less illness.