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Q: Evidence for mechanism of action in far infrared saunas for human detoxification ( No Answer,   1 Comment )
Question  
Subject: Evidence for mechanism of action in far infrared saunas for human detoxification
Category: Science > Technology
Asked by: furyu-ga
List Price: $50.00
Posted: 16 Sep 2003 09:06 PDT
Expires: 16 Oct 2003 09:06 PDT
Question ID: 257311
This is a question about the claimed mechanism of action of far
infrared saunas to release toxins from the human body.  The question
has 3 parts that are best answered by one person (rather than
submittting 3 separate questions):

What is the empirical evidence and scientific reasoning 
(1) that far infrared waves in the 7 – 14 micron  range vibrate the
water molecules in human bodies,
(2) and that this reduces ion bonds therefore releasing gases and
toxic material into sweat?
(3) and that far infrared waves in the 9.1 - 9.5 micron range are more
efficient at this that those in the 7 – 14 micron range (supposedly
“because” the human body heat wavelength is about 9.5)?

Request for Question Clarification by techtor-ga on 16 Sep 2003 09:30 PDT
What sort of evidence would you like? Would lists of scientific
studies and articles do for your questions?

Clarification of Question by furyu-ga on 16 Sep 2003 18:51 PDT
Dear Techtor-ga
   Yes, lists of studies (annotated with the points they cover) would
be fine IF they actually cover the information; that is, if you've
read them and see that they claim that their empirical evidence or
reasoning from from other evidence support, e.g, that water moecules
in human increase vibration in the 7-14 micron range or, e.g., that
when this vibration is increased the molecule breaks down releasing
gas and toxins or, e.g., that this action is significantly greatest
with a large concentration of waves of about 9.5 microns or, e.g, that
human body heat leaves the body in waves of 7-14 or mostly at 9.5 or,
e.g, that infrared waves penetrate past skin level most efficinetly in
this range and peak at 9.5 or,e,g, that toxin-bearing sweat is either
most voluninous or that its toxins are most heavily concentrated if
exposed to infrared in this range.  I'm not asking you to evaluate the
research.

Clarification of Question by furyu-ga on 16 Sep 2003 18:53 PDT
Dear Techtor-ga
   Yes, lists of studies (annotated with the points they cover) would
be fine IF they actually cover the information; that is, if you've
read them and see that they claim that their empirical evidence or
reasoning from from other evidence support, e.g, that water moecules
in human increase vibration in the 7-14 micron range or, e.g., that
when this vibration is increased the molecule breaks down releasing
gas and toxins or, e.g., that this action is significantly greatest
with a large concentration of waves of about 9.5 microns or, e.g, that
human body heat leaves the body in waves of 7-14 or mostly at 9.5 or,
e.g, that infrared waves penetrate past skin level most efficinetly in
this range and peak at 9.5 or,e,g, that toxin-bearing sweat is either
most voluninous or that its toxins are most heavily concentrated if
exposed to infrared in this range.  I'm not asking you to evaluate the
research.
   I hope this is helpful.  
   Many thanks for taking this on.
   Fufyu-ga

Request for Question Clarification by techtor-ga on 20 Sep 2003 11:35 PDT
I'd like to let you know I've tried researching on your questions, but
some of the information you seek, especially on the #3 topic, is hard
to come by on the Internet. What I've found are mainly articles that
accompany product pages, mainly to do the usual "support with science"
technique. If I can't find it, I hope another researcher will have
better luck.

Clarification of Question by furyu-ga on 20 Sep 2003 18:06 PDT
Dear Techtor-ga,
   Thanks for keeping me up to date.  I too was only able to find, by
usual web pages, commercial claims and vague references to
researchers' work.  It looked more promising to restrict domains to
.org and .gov and search on infrared + human body + 
(detoxification)(therapy). At that point I turned to you.
   Please let me know if you give up.  I hope you don't.  But if you
do, do you think I should resubmit the question to biology or health,
rather than technology?
   Thaks again, Furyu

Request for Question Clarification by techtor-ga on 21 Sep 2003 11:09 PDT
Hello Furyu,
Don't worry about the subject category, it doesn't matter really. We
researchers often look at the unanswered question list based on last
modification time or date. What's keeping your question unanswered now
is basically the diffuculty. I for one doubt the information you need
is easily found on the Net, and may more likely be found in printed
references, like medical journals, which I normally don't have access
to. But don't fret, should a reference exist, it can be found. I'll
try other search terms. Perhaps a more scientifically or medically
inclined researcher will have a better chance.

Cheers,
Techtor

Clarification of Question by furyu-ga on 21 Sep 2003 19:04 PDT
Thanks, Techtor, for your persistence and encouragement. (And it
sounds like being a ga researcher is pretty enjoyable.  Good.)  Look
forward to hearing more,
   Furyu

Request for Question Clarification by knowledge_seeker-ga on 15 Oct 2003 10:35 PDT
Hi furyu,

Well, this has been quite a fruitless search. I have spoken to Techtor
and he has been unable to come up with anything additional and I
haven't been able to find anything more substantial than what I
provided you in the comment.

As it stands, your question will expire tomorrow unanswered. In light
of our inability to "prove the negative" as it were, is there anything
else we can possibly provide you that you would be willing to accept
as an answer? Or is there anything else you'd like us to research
instead?

If not, thanks for using the service anyway! Your question was a
facinating one that kept me busy for many hours.

Regards -

-K~
Answer  
There is no answer at this time.

Comments  
Subject: Re: Evidence for mechanism of action in far infrared saunas for human detoxification
From: knowledge_seeker-ga on 22 Sep 2003 04:56 PDT
 
Hi Furyu,

I've done a check of the medical literature avalailable online and
have found nothing that corroborates the claims that the promotional
websites have put forth. What I did find is that there has been a
little bit of research in the area of far infrared rays (FIR) and
wound healing, and some in the area of tumor growth control, and these
isolated studies by only a handful of researchers. Overall there is
very little research that addresses the medical uses of FIR.

I did find one Japanese study relating Infrared wavelength to the
sweating response.

Dynamic sweating response of man to infrared irradiation in various
spectral regions

"In an attempt to detect differences in the thermal effect of infrared
irradiation of different wave-lengths, transient sweating response to
infrared irradiation in various spectral regions was examined. In
Series 1, the ventral or dorsal surface of the nude subject was
irradiated repetitively for a period of 4 min (2 min on, 2 min off) by
each of three kinds of infrared heaters with main emissivity in
'near-infrared' (NIR; 0.7-2.8 microns), 'intermediate-infrared' (MIR;
1.5-5.8 microns), and 'far-infrared' (FIR; 2.8-25 microns) regions..."


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1917122&dopt=Abstract


I also found two judge's rulings against claims that a sauna (regular,
not FIR) can help to release mercury or other toxins from the body via
sweat.

Administrative Law Judge's Conclusions about Hal A. Huggins, D.D.S.

" ...169a. Respondent represents that both massage and sauna help
remove toxins from the body. Respondent represents that sweating from
a sauna aids a normal excretory mechanism of the body and removes
mercury. . . . Respondent admits that there is no scientific evidence
supporting his contentions in relation to sauna but relies on his
experience. There is no scientific evidence that mercury is eliminated
from the body through perspiration..."

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/huggins.html


And this one ...

" ...The Committee, therefore, finds Dr. Krop guilty of professional
misconduct in that he failed to maintain the standard of practice of
the profession in the care of the patients in question in that he:
...... inappropriately recommended sauna therapy for chemical
detoxification; .."

http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/Krop/krop.html


I would suggest, in substantiating the theraputic claims of FIR
saunas, the absence of ANY medical research, supporting or otherwise,
speaks to our answer.

-K~

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