Sweating is an amazing way to boost immunity and sweating for detoxification works! You don’t need any fancy equipment or motivation to do it, though you can get additional benefits with far infrared.  If you don’t have access to an infrared sauna, regular old sunshine does the trick.

The Benefits of Sweating

Anything that raises your core temperature (exercise, sex, sauna, hot baths, the BioMat®, laying in the sun, even fevers) activates heat shock proteins. Heat shock proteins act as cellular chaperones, guarding other proteins against wandering off, disassembling, or folding improperly. They also activate an immune response, identifying cancerous or damaged cells and sounding the alarm.

In regular doses, activating this system can help your immune system function better, be it fighting off a cold or flu, infection, or managing an autoimmune condition. There is evidence that heat shock proteins protect brain cells from aging and degenerating, boost muscle regrowth, maintain glutathione (cellular antioxidant) and increase longevity. Inducing sweating for healing has a long tradition across cultures.

Research confirms that sweating helps detoxify dangerous heavy metals and petrochemicals. A 2011 study published in the Archives of Environmental and Contamination Toxicology found that many toxic elements were preferentially excreted through sweat. The study concluded that inducing sweating is a legitimate method of elimination for many toxic elements in the body.

The Unique Benefits of Far Infrared

Far infrared light heats up your core temp from the inside out. The infrared rays do not heat the air around you but instead heats the cells inside of you. This light spectrum penetrates much deeper than heated air in traditional saunas. Here are some of the benefits unique to far infrared (FIR):

• Metabolic stimulation/weight loss: According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, a 30-minute infrared sauna session could burn roughly 600 calories.
• Detoxification: Compared to non-infrared heat, far infrared is thought to be seven times more effective at detoxifying heavy metals, cholesterol, alcohol, nicotine, ammonia, sulfuric acid, and other environmental toxins. 
• Reduce Blood Pressure: Medical researchers from Germany found that a one-hour session of FIR therapy can significantly reduce blood pressure levels—as a result of a persistent dilation of peripheral blood vessels.
• Pain Reduction: According to Clinical Rheumatology, infrared saunas shows short-term improvement of pain and stiffness in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.
• Inhibits Cancer Cell Growth: FIR treatment inhibits the growth of cancer cells (including breast, lung, and tongue cancer), due to stimulation of heat shock proteins (as referenced above) according to Medical Oncology in London.
• Improves Allergy Symptoms: A 2007 study by Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society found, “during the period of FIR therapy, the symptoms of eye itching, nasal itching, nasal stuffiness, rhinorrhea and sneezing were all significantly improved.”

When More is Not Better

Just like other types of stress, this system works against you if activated too often or for too long. Acute stressors boost immunity, chronic stressors suppress immunity. For instance, if you worked a 40-hour week in the sun sweating, you’re more likely to chronically stress your system, as opposed to an hour a day of high heat.

As another example, hot yoga is an activity that can easily be overdone to the point of causing harmful stress to the body. This aligns with the Traditional Chinese Medicine view as well, which emphasizes the importance of balancing the thermal effects of temperature, food, and activity in our lives. In hot weather, choose unheated yoga or participate in heated classes less frequently as you will be sweating for detoxification from the climate. In cold weather months, hot yoga is less likely to throw the body out of balance. Be smart, hydrate, and don’t overdo it!

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