Sauna Use For Heart Health

September 26, 2019

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Nathan Waters - Total Health Performance

There are many benefits to using the sauna regularly. Recently, I have been looking into heart health again as it is something I try to understand in more depth as I have a poor family history and want to try and do as many things as possible to reduce my risk of suffering some form of complication with my heart. This lead me to come across a very detailed article from Dr. Rhonda Patrick about the beneficial effects sauna can have on the heart. 

In the article she breaks down a study and highlights some of the positive benefits that sauna can have "In recent decades, sauna bathing has emerged as a means to increase lifespan and improve overall health, based on compelling data from observational, interventional, and mechanistic studies. Of particular interest are the findings from studies of participants in the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor (KIHD) Study, an ongoing prospective population-based cohort study of health outcomes in more than 2,300 middle-aged men from eastern Finland, which identified strong links between sauna use and reduced death and disease.

The KIHD findings showed that men who used the sauna two to three times per week were 27 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular-related causes than men who didn't use the sauna.[2] Furthermore, the benefits they experienced were found to be dose-dependent: Men who used the sauna roughly twice as often, about four to seven times per week, experienced roughly twice the benefits – and were 50 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular-related causes.[2] In addition, frequent sauna users were found to be 40 percent less likely to die from all causes of premature death. These findings held true even when considering age, activity levels, and lifestyle factors that might have influenced the men's health.[2]

The KIHD also revealed that frequent sauna use reduced the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease in a dose-dependent manner. Men who used the sauna two to three times per week had a 66 percent lower risk of developing dementia and a 65 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, compared to men who used the sauna only one time per week.[3]"

This is another reason why we are investing in a sauna for Total Health Performance and our members. We will have both far and near infra red as well as a traditional dry heat sauna to try and cover all basis and potential benefits.

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sauna

heart health

Some Benefits of Cholesterol

June 3, 2018

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Nathan Waters - Total Health Performance

A few years ago I wrote about a little encounter I had with a doctor who was really trying to push statin drugs onto me to lower my cholesterol levels.  In that article I wrote as a reply to why I didn't want to take a statin, “well, I have read that they only help 1% of the population, mainly middle aged men who have already had a heart attack. They lower CoQ10 which is an important antioxidant for heart health, among others. It’s a 30 billion dollar a year industry which I believe means there is probably other reasons behind why we are told to take them considering the lack of results the drugs produce, and finally I said to the doctor, I don’t believe total cholesterol means all that much”.

In an article I read this morning they listed some of the critical things that cholesterol does which are as follows:

• Essential structural component of the myelin sheath, which insulates and protects neurons and facilitates communication between them
• Essential structural component for cell membranes
• Required for synthesis of all steroid hormones, including testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, and more
• Serves as a raw material for endogenous (internal) production of vitamin D, via the interaction of sunlight with your skin
• Required for proper function of serotonin receptors in the brain
• Essential component of bile salts, which are required for the digestion of fats and fat-soluble vitamins
• Repair substance, needed for repair and regeneration of damaged tissue
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

The article then goes on to explain how cholesterol can be beneficial for multiple sclerosis, ALS, and mental health. 

In regards to ALS:

"In ALS patients, “an abnormally elevated LDL/HDL ratio significantly increased survival by more than 12 months.”  Maybe it’s not really abnormal, then, but the body actually trying to protect and sustain itself.  It only seems “abnormal” when we operate under the premise that LDL is unquestionably harmful and should always be kept low."

Talking about mental health:

"Low cholesterol is also associated with violent behavior and substantially increased risk for suicide.  In a cohort of Canadian subjects, individuals with the lowest total cholesterol had more than six times the risk of committing suicide compared to subjects with the highest cholesterol.  By itself, this doesn’t mean that low cholesterol causes people to attempt suicide, but the association between low cholesterol and increased risk for violence and suicide has been found numerous times, and it bears more detailed investigation, especially when you consider that cholesterol is essential for hormone production, cognitive function, healthy moods, and just about anything else you can think of that affects physical and mental health."

Now this doesn't mean you should go and blow your cholesterol levels way out of range and everything will be fine. It is just saying that it is not the villain it has been made out to be and does actually serve some beneficial purposes within the body. Having low cholesterol is just as bad as having very high cholesterol.  

Tags:

Cholesterol

mental health

ALS

Multiple sclerosis

hdl

ldl

heart health

Heart Disease

statins