“Can a sauna kill cancer?” Infrared heat, encapsulated in an infrared sauna, shows a lot of promise that it could be used as a preventative to cancer and to help in treating certain symptoms of cancer.
Infrared saunas were developed as a more efficient version of a traditional sauna, boasting stronger health benefits. The detoxification and the initiating of the body’s natural healing response to heat has been shown clinically to produce many interesting benefits. Our bodies process heavy metals and come into exposure with chemicals every day that are absorbed throughout our circulatory systems and tissue. A sauna’s a way to pull out the bad stuff from our bodies, helping create healthier, more relaxed human beings. But what about cancer – well, infrared saunas and cancer do have a connection.
Why cancer’s such a big problem
Every year, there are roughly 1.9 million new cases of cancer diagnosed in North America. Approximately 700,000 people will pass away from cancer next year. Though treatments are improving and research is in full force towards finding a cure, cancer rates continue to grow. Chances are, if you haven’t been diagnosed yourself, you know a friend or family member who has experienced this issue.
Using infrared heat to treat cancer
In some healthcare settings, heat treatments – infrared and non-infrared – are used to treat cancer. This is because heat causes high temperatures which creates hypothermia. This eradicates cancerous cells however at the expense of all cells. The abrasiveness of heat treatments are such that they end up hurting normal cells and cancer cells both.
Infrared heat is an ideal cancer treatment because it increases body temperature without exposure to the harmful ultraviolet spectrum. Current research conducted on infrared heat demonstrates how it can selectively kill off cancer cells, allowing normal cells to withstand the infrared heat and to remain unharmed.
Using infrared saunas as a cancer preventative
Where you will find an infrared sauna is most effective, at least as it pertains to cancer, is in prevention. As mentioned, infrared heat initiates cellular heat stress. Cancer cells get killed because they can’t adapt, as opposed to our non-cancer cells which can.
Another critical element of using infrared saunas in the prevention of cancer is with FOX family proteins. These play a critical role in tumor suppression. Cells with high acidity and low pH, like cancer tumor tissues, are more susceptible to death through heat because these cells don’t receive sufficient blood flow. A lot of good happens through blood flow to an area of the body so when you don’t have it, understandably, that puts an area or component at disadvantage. More and more, we are seeing infrared heat added on top of radiation, chemotherapy, and other cancer treatments, enhancing their effectiveness.
Ways an infrared sauna fights cancer
Infrared saunas have potential to be one of the most effective and affordable cancer-fighting therapies we have. There are a number of ways that infrared saunas fight cancer without attacking cancer cells directly. These are worth mentioning as they are also relevant to the protection from cancer cells and providing your body the tools it needs to fight cancer by less dangerous means than chemotherapy or other treatments.
Cancer-promoting hormones and carcinogens reside in fatty tissue. The more fatty tissue carried, to some degree, the more likely there will cancer prevalent in the body. Infrared saunas cut weight, burning approximately 500 calories per 30 minute sessions. That’s like moderate cardio exercise without you having to do anything other than sit in infrared heat.
Cancer treatments like chemotherapy suppress the immune system. They attack cancer cells while also going after normal cells. A part of the mechanisms inside the body which respond to infrared heat involving shocking the proteins residing on the surface of cancer cells. This makes them more prone to an immune system attack, weakening them and allowing your immune system to do the dirty work rather than riskier treatments.
The development of cancer is directly associated to the presence of heavy metals, chemicals, and pesticides. Detoxification in a sauna remove lead, copper, mercury, cyanide, and arsenic, rebalances pH levels, neutralizes acids, and helps to take the toxin overload from internal organs like the liver and kidneys. No one should be living with toxicity just sitting in the body. Even if they don’t develop cancer, there’s still a risk of a chronic health issue or simply not feeling well.
Cancer cells do not thrive in a high oxygen environment, which is why they tend to grow across areas where there is poor circulation in the body. A sauna increases circulation, spreading nutrients, oxygen, and other helpful elements. As you sit in a sauna, new circulation is sent to the skin, internal organs, lungs, and all over, protecting the body from cancer and upping its ability to defend itself.
Which cancers have been shown clinically to respond to infrared heat?
Hyperthermia – whether it’s local, regional, or whole-body – has a response rate of 13 percent. That said, hyperthermia via infrared heat added to radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy improves response rates by up to 50 percent, facilitating stronger survival rate and more tumor control.
The cancers most responsive to infrared sauna therapy, with significantly improved outcomes according to studies, include cancers in the head and neck, brain, bladder, cervix, rectum, esophagus, lung, breast, vulva, vagina, and induces cell death in melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer cells.
Clinically shown to increase chance of survival
When you’re in a fight against cancer, you require every weapon you can get your hands on. Infrared heat, you will find, will help you feel better while undergoing treatment and is itself a weapon you don’t want to ignore.
Research shared in this article has shown a number of benefits. Ultimately, all these equate to increased chance of survival. At the end of the day, this is what all cancer patients are chasing. Assuming there’s a way to survive and overcome, or simply extend one’s life and survive more days or weeks or months or even years, anyone would want to take it. Infrared heat is demonstrable as a promising area of cancer-fighting systems.
This isn’t medical advice
Evidently, this is not to say to refrain from other cancer treatments and to jump into an infrared sauna – absolutely, do not do this. This isn’t intended as any sort of medical advice or substitute for seeing a physician. If you have other health conditions, such as heart issues, a sauna can actually be more risky than anything. Trying to self-treat cancer can have consequences so always check with your physician.
Infrared sauna as a part of your cancer remission journey
If you’re recovering from cancer and are in remission, we recommend an infrared sauna. The health benefits are very real and in terms of maintaining wellness, infrared heat is an excellent method of doing so. Used regularly an infrared sauna allows you to feel better, look better, and continue living your life the way you want to live it.
So can an infrared sauna actually kill cancer?
Can an infrared sauna kill cancer – no, it cannot. Can it assist in cancer treatment or in cancer prevention – yes, we believe so and there’s plenty of scientific research supporting this. For individuals undergoing cancer treatments or who are at a higher risk of developing cancer, an infrared sauna can be life-saving. Installing one in your home has never been easier or more affordable. Alternatively, there are spas, gyms, hotels, and facilities throughout many cities offering infrared sauna time. If you are unsure about installing one for yourself in your home, definitely seek out treatment at a local resource.
Infrared saunas are not a standalone treatment. Combined with traditional chemotherapy and radiotherapy however, there’s significant medical research showing infrared saunas are very beneficial towards cancer and cancer pain.