Best in Sauna

Rhonda Patrick on Sauna Use and COVID-19

Posted: 21 Apr 2020 04:33 PM PDT

Rhonda Patrick on Sauna Use and COVID-19

0 Comments

Written by Mike



April 21, 2020



benefits

"I think there’s a convincing argument that sauna use promotes broader changes in immune function that may bolster defense in a contextually beneficial way."- Dr, Rhona Patrick

Note- This post contains quotes from Dr. Rhonda Patrick’s recent Found My Fitness newsletter and her Q and A video. She promotes research demonstrating sauna use as a promising wellness tool but does not promote any particular brand of sauna.

For many sauna fans and fitness conscious people Dr. Rhonda Patrick needs no introduction. Despite her relatively young age she has made a name for herself in the health world while retaining the respect of the medical world. Dr. Patrick's combination of thorough research and utilizing her website Found My Fitness that she has been able to make a name for herself in promoting preventative approaches to health and longevity. She is a high profile advocate for the health benefits of sauna use, speaking about its benefits on platforms as diverse as the National Heart Health Summit to the Joe Rogan Experience.

She has recently spoken about the possibility of sauna benefits on the current COVID-19 pandemic. She points out that she does not feel sauna can cure any acute illness such as COVID-19 and that it is not her field of expertise. Although there has not been any testing at this time, she sees some strong potential benefits to sauna use at this time.

"I think there’s a convincing argument that sauna use promotes broader changes in immune function that may bolster defense in a contextually beneficial way."

"Sauna use has been associated with a reduced risk of developing certain chronic or acute respiratory illnesses including pneumonia. Sauna use promotes mild hypothermia which in turn induces a wide array of physiological responses. These responses reduce oxidative stress and inflammation and activate cellular defense systems such as heat shock proteins, which provide protection against many diseases."
Studies indicate sauna use reduces the risk of developing some acute or chronic respiratory illnesses by 40%.

Sauna use reduces lung inflammation and oxidative stress while benefiting lung tissue.

"Frequent sauna use may decrease pulmonary congestion and lead to other improvements in lung function including vital capacity, tidal volume, minute ventilation, and forced expiratory volume." She continued, "sauna use also reduced the incidence of common colds in 25 participants who used the sauna one to two times per week for six months compared to 25 controls who did not.

Sauna may reduce pneumonia instances by modulating the immune system

"Levels of white blood cells (especially lymphocytes, neutrophils, and basophils) are increased in both trained and non-athletes after sauna use."

(It is worth noting that white blood cells "might be very important to help COVID-19 patients resist inflammation and maybe survive,"according to immunologist Yufang Shi of the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University in China.)

Protective Heat Shock Protein Levels Increase During a Sauna Session

"Heat shock proteins (hsps) are a conserved class of proteins with critical roles in maintaining cellular homeostasis and in protecting cells from stressful conditions. Heat shock proteins increased by ~50 percent after 30 minutes in a 163℉ (73℃) sauna in healthy young men and women. Once activated, heat shock proteins can remain so for up to 48 hours."

"Heat shock proteins like hsp70 are also readily induced by fever. When HSP70s are released from cells, they can stimulate innate immune responses through toll-like receptors 2 and 4. Increasing evidence suggests that certain heat shock proteins play a role in both innate and adaptive immunity."

"Heat shock proteins can directly stimulate innate immune responses, such as the maturation and activation of dendritic cells and the activation of natural killer cells."

"This suggests a direct role for heat shock proteins in regulating the innate immune response, which plays an important role in the body’s ability to fight off a disease that it has never been exposed to before."

Browse All Categories

Chris Cuomo is using Sauna to Help Recover from COVID-19

Apr 15, 2020

Chris Cuomo is using Sauna to Help Recover from COVID-190 Comments On the advice of an "energy medicine physician" Chris Cuomo has been spending 30 minutes a day in his sauna along with a healthy diet, 45 pills, and CBD. Cuomo's wife has been updating the public on...

Can Saunas Kill Corona Virus?

Feb 5, 2020

Can Saunas Kill Corona Virus?0 Comments No you can not raise your body temperature high enough to kill viruses, but sauna use is generally good for our immune systems. So there has been a lot of virus talk in the past few weeks, I have been seeing dubious claims that...

Dave Asprey on Infrared Sauna

Jan 22, 2020

Dave Asprey on Infrared Sauna 0 Comments Dave Asprey Sauna Dave Asprey is a leading figure in bio-hacking, especially after the release of his book Super Human and the popularization of his Bulletproof Coffee, he is leading the vanguard of longevity and health...

The post Rhonda Patrick on Sauna Use and COVID-19 appeared first on Best in Sauna.