Weight Loss and Cardiovascular Benefits of the Infrared Sauna
As your body increases sweat production to cool itself, your heart works harder pumping blood at a greater rate to boost circulation, supplying the conditioning benefits of continuous exercise. Heart rate, cardiac output and metabolic rate increase, while diastolic blood pressure drops, for improved overall cardiovascular fitness.
As reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), August 7, 1981
"A moderately conditioned person can easily sweat off 500 gms. in a sauna, consuming nearly 300 kcal - the equivalent of running 2 - 3 miles. A heat-conditioned person can easily sweat off 600 - 800 kcal with no adverse effects. While the weight of the water loss can be regained by rehydration with water, the calories consumed will not be." Since an infrared sauna helps generate two to three times the sweat produced in a hot-air sauna, the implications for increased caloric consumption are quite impressive.
In Guyton's Textbook of Medical Physiology, we find that producing one gram of sweat requires 0.586 kcal.
Burns 600 or more calories in just one 30-minute session!
Calories a 150-pound person normally burns up in 30-minutes of exercise:
|
SPORT
|
CALORIES
|
| Marathon Running |
593
|
| Vigorous Racquet Ball |
510
|
| Swimming (crawl stroke) |
300
|
| Jogging |
300
|
| Tennis (fast game) |
265
|
| Cycling (10 mph) |
225
|
| Golfing (without a cart) |
150
|
| Walking (3.5 mph) |
150
|
| Bowling |
120
|
The JAMA citation referred to above goes on to state that,
"Many of us who run do so to place a demand on our cardiovascular system, not to build big leg muscles. Regular use of a sauna may impart a similar stress on the cardiovascular system, and its regular use may be as effective, as a means of cardiovascular conditioning and burning of calories, as regular exercise."
As a confirmation of the validity of this form of cardiovascular conditioning, extensive research by NASA in the early 1980's led to the conclusion that, infrared stimulation of cardiovascular function would be the ideal way to maintain cardiovascular conditioning in American astronauts during long space flights.
An infrared sauna can therefore, play a pivotal role in both weight control and cardiovascular conditioning. This would be most valuable for those who don't exercise and those who can't exercise yet want an effective weight control and fitness maintenance program. This also allows for more variety in any ongoing training program.
Some weight loss authorities believe that our bodies use fat to dilute toxins. As an infrared sauna is an unsurpassed expeller of toxins, it is also a great way to get rid of any fat our bodies are using to dilute toxins we are storing.
Call Cynthia at (403) 451-6784 or (705) 451-3801
