Diabetes and insulin resistance requires daily on-the-go treatment to keep a person healthy. Saunas are one way to minimize the symptoms of insulin resistance and combat diabetes. Thankfully, they aren’t nearly as expensive as some pharmaceuticals and as long as you keep regular sessions up, there’s no telling how much benefit you could derive from a sauna. Why infrared saunas are so helpful comes down to several factors.
Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are one of the reasons why. When you enter into a sauna, HSPs are activated. HSPs are associated with many things, including repairing damaged cells, helping in recycling old damaged cells, and preventing future damage. Higher levels of HSPs have been associated with many positive things including helping with Type 2 diabetes, helping with insulin resistance, and managing glucose control.
There’s more and more research being done on HSPs, and the power their activation contains. More therapies using HSPs, like a sauna, are being recommended for Type 2 diabetes and metabolic diseases. HSPs aren’t the only thing that can help type 2 diabetes from a sauna. FOX family proteins are longevity genes activated under heat stress. They can help in several ways managing diabetes and insulin resistance
FOXOs are known to help with DNA repair, cell death, immune function, stress resistance, activating stem cells, and even with tumor suppression. They are a powerful weapon. FOXOs increase insulin sensitivity as well, by inducing expression of the insulin receptor. When you take time in a sauna, this is another process that begins happening in the body.
There was a recent study examining diabetic mice who were exposed to whole-body hyperthermia three times a week over a 3-month period. This is akin to what happens in a sauna. Over a 3-month period, these diabetic mice experienced a 31% reduction in insulin levels. Not only that but they also found fasting blood glucose levels to have significantly decreased! This became evidence suggesting saunas increase insulin sensitivity. Further testing on glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance only served to confirm these findings.
As has been shared recently in several mainstream media headlines, saunas are very similar to moderate to intense physical activity. Any time we increase our physical activity, this benefits metabolic health. Unfortunately, with diabetics, a lot cannot perform exercise due to issues with pain, medical conditions, disabilities, or mobility trouble. Although a sauna is a not necessarily a perfect substitute for exercise, it can offer a lot of the same benefits physical activity can.
Thankfully, all a user needs to do is sit there in an infrared sauna and be surrounded by the heat. Immediately, processes begin to kick in, activating HSPs, getting more FOXOs out, slowly working to reduce insulin levels, increasing insulin sensitivity, and getting your body in a healthier place.
If you have diabetes and are interested in trying an infrared sauna, speak with your family physician first. Confirm with them that you’re not putting yourself at any risk with any pre-existing medical conditions you may have. After you have their blessing, you may be surprised by how much better you feel and how easier it can be to manage your condition after a few months experiencing 3-7 sessions a week. Yes, it takes time but it’s well worth it if you see these type of benefits.