Take a sauna to de-tox

[RichardR]

It is commonly claimed that saunas and steam rooms can help the body to get rid of toxins. Apparently, the toxins are expelled from the body in sweat. A lot of people go to saunas for this reason.

I have tried to research this but only found information on woo woo sites. Does anybody know if there is any actual scientific basis for this claim?

 

[garys_2k]

Sweat is VERY dilute urine, or so I've heard. People with bad kidneys can forgo some treatments if they sauna often enough (so I've heard -- urban legend?).

 

[Patricio Elicer]

Sweat is VERY dilute urine, or so I've heard. People with bad kidneys can forgo some treatments if they sauna often enough (so I've heard -- urban legend?).

This is just a guess: water that is eliminated through sweating needs not be "processed" by the kidneys. I use to run long distances under the sun in a high temperature enviroment. Of course I sweat a lot, and though I drink up to 2 liters of water right after the run, I've noticed that I feel almost no need to urinate in the next 8 or 10 hours.

Also, as sweat tastes salty, it occures to me that sweating is a good way to get rid of the extra salt intake, that many people like so much in foods (myself included)

 

[RichardR]

This is just a guess: water that is eliminated through sweating needs not be "processed" by the kidneys. I use to run long distances under the sun in a high temperature enviroment. Of course I sweat a lot, and though I drink up to 2 liters of water right after the run, I've noticed that I feel almost no need to urinate in the next 8 or 10 hours.

Yes, but does that sweat include the toxins that you would, otherwise, have passed in your urine? And have you got rid of any more toxins that way?

 

[Darwin]

According to what I´ve been told,it is healthy for some 5-10 minutes or something but becomes unhealthy in long run.

 

[HarryKeogh]

the church of scientology's Narconon wing has a detox program that requires staying in saunas for hours at a time. pretty damn dangerous.

 

[garys_2k]

the church of scientology's Narconon wing has a detox program that requires staying in saunas for hours at a time. pretty damn dangerous.

Almost as dangerous as what they do to your wallet.

 

[Baker]

This is all I could find on it.
http://www.ozonelab.com/products/med/steam/articles/001.htm

 

[RichardR]

This is all I could find on it.
http://www.ozonelab.com/products/med/steam/articles/001.htm

Thanks, Baker. From that reference:

Although often misunderstood as a symptom of disease, fever actually is a part of the body's natural healing response. Steam baths, sauna, and other heat-inducing treatments elicit similar healing responses in the body, and consequently are often called "artificial fevers".

(snip)

There is evidence that artificial fever works as an immune system stimulant by increasing the number of white blood cells in the body. In a 1959-review of studies on the effects of heat treatments, Mayo Clinic researcher Dr. Wakim and colleagues cite findings indicating that the number of white blood cells in the blood increased by an average of 58% during artificially induced fever. Researchers also have found increases in the activity of the white blood cells during induced fever.

I know that the body produces a fever to fight off illness, but does anybody know if a sauna will raise your body temperature and have the same effect? Surely you’re not in the sauna long enough?

I searched the Web and found the claim about this Mayo Clinic research repeated verbatim on several websites that are selling sauna gear. No sign of the actual study, that I could find.

The article goes on:

Dr. Veronica Butler, medical co-director at the Raj, a health center based on principles of Ayurveda, recommends herbalized steam baths, called swedenas, to clients as part of the ancient Ayurvedic purification treatment, known as panchakarma.

(snip)

"A swedena clears the shrotas, the channels through which the biological intelligence flows," says Dr. Butler. "If impurities clog these channels, the flow of intelligence in the body becomes more susceptible to disease."

Hum, “shrotas”, “biological intelligence”. Red flags flying.

Heat speeds up the chemical processes in the body, making steam and sauna bathing one of the simplest and most comfortable ways to rid the body of accumulated toxins. As the pores open up and the million of sweat glands start to excrete, the body rids itself of metabolic and other waste products. Sweat contains almost the same elements as urine, and for this reason, the skin is sometimes called the third kidney. It is estimated that as much as 30% of bodily wastes are eliminated by way of perspiration.

OK, this is the type of claim always made for saunas / steam baths. Does anyone know if this is actually correct?

 

[Michael Redman]

You're risking serious trouble if you sauna to the point that your core body temp is raised to fever levels. Doctors cool the bodies of people with severe fever because the heat does more damage than good.

Kidneys filter stuff out of your blood for elimination. What mechanism does the skin have to filter out toxins for release? None. Sweat isn't a method the body uses to eliminate toxins, it's a method to keep body temp from getting too high. It contains salt because the water in your body is salty. I don't think there's any reason to think that sweating eliminates any more "toxins" (whatever the hell that means) or anything else than is proportionally dissolved into that portion of the water in your body you are losing. Sweat contains "almost" the same elements as urine because they are both comprised primarily of your body's water. The difference between sweat and urine is the waste that the kidneys filter out and put into the urine.

The woo-woos would have you believe that the body concentrates toxins and stores them in pores, just waiting for some sweat to come along and wash it out. Nonsense, in my opinion.

 

[Darwin]

Thanks everyone.

"There is evidence that artificial fever works as an immune system stimulant by increasing the number of white blood cells in the body. In a 1959-review of studies on the effects of heat treatments, Mayo Clinic researcher Dr. Wakim and colleagues cite findings indicating that the number of white blood cells in the blood increased by an average of 58% during artificially induced fever. Researchers also have found increases in the activity of the white blood cells during induced fever."

lmao.

 

[RichardR]

I just found this article by Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch, on sauna treatments:

There is no logical reason to believe that the methods described could actually work as naturopaths claim. For example, although the application of heat can increase sweating, people can't sweat out toxins because the sweat glands are not connected to the liver or any other organs that process toxins.

 

[Patricio Elicer]

Yes, but does that sweat include the toxins that you would, otherwise, have passed in your urine? And have you got rid of any more toxins that way?

Sorry Richard for not replying earlier, I missed you asking me . Anyway, I don't think I have anything to add to what has previously been said. I don't have any especialized knowledge on the matter whatsoever. As I said I was just guessing from my own experience

 

[-=Vagrant=-]

All I know is that sauna relaxes me better than anything else. And I do mean sauna with temperatures of approx 80-90 celsius. Not some wussy sauna with 50-60 celsius.

 

[DrMatt]

Yes, but does that sweat include the toxins that you would, otherwise, have passed in your urine? And have you got rid of any more toxins that way?

If sweat contained toxins the way urine does, our skins would be yellow and constantly itching. Interestingly enough, exactly that happens when visceral organs are malfunctioning...