As long nights give way to shorter and colder days make sure you prioritize your health this holiday season. Sniffling, sneezing, and coughing your way to holiday parties is not fun, and it puts your family and friends at risk for contracting the common cold. With less outdoor time and limited sun exposure it may seem that the common cold is an inevitable part of the winter season.
If you could avoid getting sick this winter would you? For most people the answer to this question is a resounding YES! To prevent contracting the common cold, or at least shorten the length of its grip on you, and avoid a long lasting lung infection then you may want to consider thermal medicine.
Thermal medicine has its roots in ancient civilizations, and has existed in nearly every known time and place. The ancients knew well the healing power of warm water and steam as the Homeric poems pay homage to them in several verses. The indigenous people of the Americas have known the power of the sweat lodge since before recorded history, the Japanese have bathed in hot springs, the Finnish created the Sauna as it is known today, Romans, Egyptians, Africans, and nearly every known culture has had its version of thermal medicine. (1)
It was not only the ancients that knew the benefits of thermal medicine, as the monarchs of Europe in the late 19th century turned Dr. Kellogg’s incandescent light bath to stave off an array of diseases. In the 1960s NASA turned to the power of infrared light to heal its astronauts returning from space. As recently as today there is roughly 1 sauna per household in Finland, including in the house of Parliament. Recently saunas have hit the health and wellness mainstream with a bang, and none of this is a coincidence. The reality is that thermal medicine, in whatever form you choose to use it, works to keep the body healthy in nearly every conceivable facet.
As you struggle to stay healthy this winter, follow in the traditions of your ancestors to stave off the common cold, as well as other lung related infections, and don’t miss out on the holiday gatherings this year!
Avoid the Common Cold With Thermal Medicine By Enhancing Your Immunity
Without the sunshine during the cold winter months vitamin D levels plummet, which is a key element in immune function. As immune responses decline it is much easier to contract and get sick from airborne pathogens. Additionally, the sometimes stressful preparations for the holidays can hinder the immune system. This is why the first step in avoiding the common cold and long lasting lung infections is to boost your immunity.
It may not be possible for you to pile into an airplane with retired snowbirds and head south for the sun, so perhaps consider turning to your own heat source, a sauna! Saunas in their many iterations have been proven to be a means of supporting immunity.
Saunas are able to support both the innate and the adaptive immune system. (2) Saunas, when used regularly, are able to boost overall health and wellness which means that individuals will be less susceptible to contracting viruses in the first place. Moreover, saunas are able to enhance the presence of T-cells that are an intricate portion of the body’s immune system. T-cells are created within the soft bone marrow and are then delivered to the necessary regions of the body in need of back-up. (3)
The basic premise behind the reason why saunas as a form of thermal medicine are able to help the immune system thrive, including the distribution of T-cells throughout the body, is simply by producing Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs).
According to the journal Nature Reviews Immunology in their publication: ‘Heat-shock proteins induce T-cell regulation of chronic inflammation:’ (4)
“In experimental disease models, HSPs can prevent or arrest inflammatory damage, and in initial clinical trials in patients with chronic inflammatory disease, HSP-derived peptides have been shown to promote the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines, indicating that HSPs have immunoregulatory potential.” (4)
HSPs are an essential aspect of any healthy immune response. Furthermore, among the most accessible ways to encourage HSP production is to sit in a sauna for 20 minutes (a cold plunge for significantly less time will also do the trick).
According to Nature Reviews Immunology publication here are the primary assets from increasing HSPs presence in your body for the purpose of improving immunity.
- “Heat-shock proteins (HSPs) are highly immunogenic, despite there being a high level of sequence conservation between bacteria and mammals.
- Intrinsic features of HSPs seem to endow them with an ability to induce T-cell regulation during chronic inflammation.
- In particular, HSP60 and HSP70 have been shown to effectively induce immunoregulation and suppress disease in experimental models of inflammatory disease and in early-stage clinical trials.
- In animal models, immunization with microbial HSPs leads to the production of T cells that cross react with self-HSPs. Such self-HSP specific T cells produce regulatory cytokines, such as interleukin-10, and have disease-suppressive potential.
- Immune responses to HSPs develop in chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and atherosclerosis.
- T-cell responses to human HSP60 in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis are associated with a benign course of disease and the induction of disease remission.
- In clinical trials for the treatment of type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, HSP-derived peptides have been shown to promote a switch from a pro-inflammatory cytokine-secretion profile of T cells to a regulatory cytokine-secretion profile.
- Through triggering receptors of the innate immune system and the subsequent production of regulatory cytokines, HSPs might ‘set the scene’ for the development of regulatory adaptive immune responses.” (4)
As you can see, increasing the presence of heat shock proteins in your body is critical at all times of the year, but especially during the coldest months of the year to protect yourself and family from contracting viruses. If you are low on sunshine, then get high on sauna time!
If you do get sick from the common cold, then be sure it does not turn into a long lasting lung infection such as bacterial pneumonia.
Take a look at this table to see how saunas work to increase immunity and overall healthspan throughout a lifetime. (4)
Guard Yourself From Bacterial Pneumonia This Winter With Sauna Use
Even if you get caught by the common cold this holiday season make sure that it does not linger around in your lungs for weeks and even months on end. Very relevant research has demonstrated the relationship between regular sauna baths, and staving off bacterial pneumonia.
Published by the National Institute of Health (NIH) this peer reviewed article outlines the critical role saunas may play in preventing bacterial pneumonia, and possibly treating walking pneumonia. ‘High fitness levels, frequent sauna bathing and risk of pneumonia in a cohort study: Are there potential implications for COVID‐19?’ (6)
This study was performed over the course of 26.6 years and followed 2275 men between the ages of 42-61 years. During the time that the study was conducted 529 cases of pneumonia occurred, and all of the individuals who contracted pneumonia took significantly less frequent sauna baths compared to the other participants in the study who did not contract bacterial pneumonia. These findings indicate that the more an individual is able to sauna, within reason, the more protected they will be from developing bacterial pneumonia (6)
The study concludes with these remarks:
“Frequent sauna sessions reduce the risk of respiratory tract infections, such as common colds and pneumonia caused by viral and bacterial infections via (a) direct inhibition of pathogens; (b) boosting both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system; dampening of inflammatory responses; and by having direct effects on lung tissue which include improvement in lung function and reduction in pulmonary congestion.” (6)
This particular style of a cohort study that examines a large group of individuals over a long period of time is perhaps the most reliable. The limitations to this study are simply that they did not include any demographic other than white men. It can, with fair certainty, be deduced that the rest of the human demographic would do equally well to take saunas regularly to improve immunity, avoid the common cold, and stave off bacterial pneumonia. This study, however, only collected data on a particular demographic, which should be taken into account.
The study does show that the more saunas you can take in a week (4-7 as opposed to less than 3) is more effective in protecting individuals from developing lung infections, and saunas should last roughly 20 minutes.
**** If you are using saunas to improve Human Growth Hormone you should follow the appropriate protocol for this, which is quite different from other sauna protocols for immunity, as an example.****
Turn to Your Sauna to Protect You From the Common Cold and Bacterial Pneumonia This Holiday Season
Remember your ancestors this winter because they most definitely turned to thermal medicine to combat viruses such as the common cold and bacterial infections such as pneumonia. From eastern African dugouts, to the sweat lodges of the Americas, to the Japanese hot springs,Turkish Hammans, and the Finnish sauna, humans have always used heat as medicine.
Joyfully move through the holidays as you abide within a healthy body with a strong immune system. Remember you can turn to thermal treatments for their biological, pharmacological actions, and therapeutic effects. (1) Saunas are no longer a spa luxury to use as a form of relaxation, but are in fact medicine.
The research suggests that regular use of a sauna can help boost both branches of your immune system to avoid the common cold. Even if you contract a virus make sure it does not evolve into a lingering bacterial lung infection such as pneumonia.
If you do have a lung infection or any other lung disease please consult your medical care professional. Remember that saunas are not a substitute for medical attention.
As you enjoy your sauna time this holiday season remember to never drink alcohol before your sauna, and stay well hydrated even if it is cold outside.
Happy and healthy holidays to you!
Sources Cited:
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5535692/
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/the-immune-system
- https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/t-cell
- https://www.nature.com/articles/nri1593
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8285605/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7995101/