| Most people
laugh when they hear that the Finnish Olympic team lugs
a portable sauna with them wherever they go. However, the
fair-haired Nordic athletes might be doing more than simply
acting out a home-sick longing for the slender birch trees
and island dotted lakes of the homeland. They could be on
to a secret, non-drug-induced means of giving themselves
an edge in the fierce competition of modern-day Olympics.
Although most people simply consider steam sauna a pleasant
means of relaxation, sweat therapy might in fact have powerful
heath-enhancing effects.
In the test of time is any measure, steam bathing has
certainly withstood it. For thousands of years people
of all cultures have indulged in the soothing warmth of
sweat baths. The Romans are well-known for their elaborate
baths. The wealthy of 200 B.C. India did not consider
their mansion complete unless it included a bathhouse
with a steam room. The Muslim Hamman, or bathhouse, with
its domed, central steam chamber is stall an integral
part of life in Muslim countries. A derivation of the
Hamman, the Turkish bath, has been popular in Europe for
centuries.
Today, steam and sauna facilities are an integral part
of the hydrotherapeutic offerings at European and American
spas, and steam rooms and saunas are a common feature
of health clubs and public pools. Yet, there is surprisingly
little awareness of the wide ranging benefits of steam
and sauna bathing. There is evidence that these sweat-inducing
treatments stimulate the immune system, improve circulation,
and help the body to purge itself of impurities.
Hippocrates, the founder of Western medicine more than
two-thousand years ago said, "Give me the power to
create a fever, and I shall cure any disease."
Although often misunderstood as a symptom of disease,
fever actually is a part of the body's natural healing
response. Steam baths, steam sauna, and other heat-inducing
treatments elicit similar healing responses in the body,
and consequently are often called "artificial fevers".
During a fever, the functioning of the immune system
is stimulated, while the growth of bacteria and virus
is forced to slow down. The production of white blood
cells, the primary agents of the immune system, is increased,
as is the rate of their release into the blood stream.
The generation of antibodies speeds up, as does the production
of interferon, an anti viral protein that also has powerful
cancer-fighting properties.
Apart from stimulating the immune system, fever slows
down the proliferation of invading organisms by creating
an inhospitable environment. At 104 degrees F., for example,
the growth rate of the polio virus is reduced up to 250
times; at 106 degrees pneumococcus, a bacterium responsible
for pneumonia, dies.
Before the advent of antibiotics, syphilitics were often
infected with malaria to prevent the spread of the disease.
In addition, there is evidence that the frequent fevers
of malaria might function as a cancer-protecting factor.
Dr. Paavo Airola in his book, Worldwide Secrets of Staying
Young relates the story of the Pontine swamps near Rome
in Italy, which, until a few decades ago, were a breeding
ground for malaria-carrying mosquitoes. The swamps were
dried out, and the malaria disappeared. However, during
the next decades, that area, which had before been almost
free of cancer, saw an increase in cancerous diseases.
After a generation, the cancer incidence level of that
area had reached the level of the rest of Italy.
Malignant cells are selectively destroyed at temperatures
of 106 to 110 degrees F., so the frequent fever attacks
of people in the malaria-infected area might have mobilized
the body's own defenses too frequently for a cancer to
take hold.
Although the artificial fever induced by sweat therapy
does not have the comprehensive effect of real fever,
it still produces a striking effect on a number of bodily
processes.
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.
In addition, as in the case of bodily induced fever,
the raised temperature during the artificial fever reduces
the growth rate of most bacteria and viruses, giving the
immune system time to mobilize its own forces. Indeed,
many regular steam or sauna bathers have experienced that
a good, long sweat bath at the early onset of a cold or
flu can help ward off the disease before in manifests
as actual symptoms.
Apart from the immune system-stimulating effects of sweat
therapy, many thought it as one of the most effective
and painless detoxifying treatments available.
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.
According to the classical Ayurvedic texts, for maximum
results, a swedena or steam bath should be given while
keeping the head cool and the client supine.
"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."
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.
However, more than common metabolic waste products are
secreted through the skin. Natural health practitioners
often notice that when heavy smokers get a steam bath
for a body wrap (where the body 'simmers' for up to 45
min. Under hot covers), they will leave a yellow residue
on the towels. Reino Tarkianinen, President of Finlandia
Sauna, reports that when the company replaces sauna benches
from public baths, a thick, black layer of accumulated
tar can be found underneath the benches.
In Finland, research is being done on the use of sweat
therapy in the treatment of people who are chemically
affected. The purifying effects of perspiration could
also be behind claims that steam and sauna treatments
can help cur or control such ailments as acne and arthritis.
Last but not least, steam and sauna bathing produces
powerful therapeutic effects simply by increasing circulation.
As the carrier of the rebuilding forces of the nutrients
to all parts of the body, the bloodstream plays a crucial
role in the maintenance of health.
Steam and sauna treatments have a stimulating effect
on the cardiovascular system. The pulse rate increases
from 75 beats per minute to between 100-150 beats per
minute during a 15-20 minute treatment. This increases
blood circulation, but not blood pressure, since the heat
also causes the tiny blood vessel in the skin to expand,
accommodating the increased blood flow. The dilation of
the capillary vessels enables the bloodstream to carry
great amounts of nutrients to the skin, enhancing the
nutritive status of the skin. The flushed, youthful look
that steam and sauna bathers maintain for up to several
hours after treatment is due to this effect.
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