Search
Related Links

 

 

Informative Articles

Dirty White Boy! (MHM-Mental Health Matters!)
What exactly do I mean by the name of this chapter? What I mean is this, when you don't have any money because you are on social security you are frowned upon and looked down upon, hey let's face it when you are this low, you never take a shower...

Globalization
ABOUT GLOBALIZATION My Dear: It was still in the 20th century when the Polish weekly "Wprost" published an article titled "The opponents of globalization - who are they?" Let me ponder what too an average person, GLOBALIZATION is.  Here it comes:...

Is Vitamin E Lethal?
Recently the news carried the story that a researcher had discovered that taking vitamin E at a level of 400IU or more increases the risk of death. (Jan 2005, Annals of Internal Medicine http://www.annals.org/content/vol142/issue1/) I was...

The Real Solution for Ulcers
The 2005 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine has been awarded to Australians Barry J. Marshall and Robin Warren, for showing that stomach and intestinal ulcersare caused by bacterial infection rather than stress. Their discovery, made in 1982,...

What is Botox Treatment?
Botox treatment is useful widely for wrinkles ,frown lines,migraine headaches crow’s feets and others alike. Your doctor will decide if you can have cosmetic treatment with botox. Before starting treatment, tell your doctor if you have any...

 
"Heat up" your New Year with Far Infrared Bodywrap

Did you know your could lie back, breath deeply & burn 900+ calories in 1 hour?



Neither did I...



And it sounded too good to be true so I did some research on my own to find out about this seemingly wonderful bodywrap treatment. First I had to try it. Let's face it if it doesn't feel great and get results it isn't worth doing all of the research on finding out how it works and all the rest. So I dressed up in my cotton sweats and drove up to Ventura California to try it out. Hydrating and drinking my water as I headed up highway 101.



Before the bodywrap, I measured the circumference of my upper arms, ribcage, waist, hips and upper thighs before the first treatment and kept it as a reference. I was really skeptical, but you never know unless you try it. I didn't expect to have any change.



I laid down on a table and 6 large warm pads were wrapped around my upper arms, waist, hips and thighs. Then I was covered with a blanket and padded with towels where it was appropriate and it was that easy. I could hear relaxing music and actually it was wonderful to do a breathing meditation and actually take an hour for myself. Now I'm sort of a lizard - I love the heat - so the pads got warmer and warmer and I broke put is a good sweat. I continued to sweat, a lot. I hadn't sweat that much since the dance classes I had loved back at Broadway Dance center a few summers ago in New York City and I knew I would love this treatment. I had been busy building a business and going back to school so I had not been keeping myself in shape like I did before. I had a thought that this bodywrap thing might be a good way to start to get myself back on track.



After an hour, I was drenched - and very happy. I re-measured myself and lost 3 inches total. Not much, but the treatment felt so good it didn't matter too much and I drove home drinking another huge bottle of water. The gentleman who helped me with the treatment said that the process would continue overnight after the bodywrap had finished and the more fluids the better so I took his advice and planned to measure myself again in the morning.



To my surprise, after measuring myself the next morning I had lost 13 inches total! Wow! I called them up and they said that this was more than average - maybe because I have a good diet and stayed hydrated - but regardless I was psyched. I had to learn more...



So how does this Infrared BodyWrap Work?



Infrared light, which we feel in our bodies as heat is an abundant form of energy we receive from sunlight. We as humans radiate infrared heat every second of every day (The army uses infrared binoculars for night vision - to see humans in the darkness). It is part of our human biology. I would discover that FAR Infrared treatments are used worldwide by medical practitioners as they are one of the most resonant (closely matched) forms of heat for the human body.



Radiant Heat or Infrared energy is a form of energy that is part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Everything can be described by electrical principles after all we are all electrons protons and neutrons arranged in different patterns. The infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum happens just below red light waves and is not visible to human eyes but can be felt as heat. (This explains the night vision binoculars example above). The sun produces most of its energy in the form of infrared energy, our atmosphere allows it in and the earth radiates it back - living out in nature we are daily surrounded by infrared waves. But not so - in these days of indoor living, SPF sunblock and hiding away from the sun.



Our bodies, on average, radiate infrared energy at about 9.4 microns. The internal production of infrared energy


that normally occurs within us is associated with a number of healing responses and may require a boost to assist the fullest healing response to assist homeostasis, metabolism and tissue under repair.



As related to Oriental / Chinese Medicine, when our circulation is impeded (described as Blocked Qi flow in Chinese Medicine) our body's healing capacity, metabolism, and daily functioning are diminished. By enhancing circulation, the infrared therapeutic treatment is helping to unblock the Qi and increase energy and improve body function. Moxa, cupping, Infrared lamps and gua sha are related but different methods of achieving the same result in an Oriental Medicine Treatment.



Because of this special nature of the wavelength, when applied as a treatment, FAR Infrared heat therapy (i.e. bodywrap) activates a more thorough and extensive stimulation of local circulation which positively impacts enzymes, metabolism & immune function. The IR therapy helps the body get at toxins & cellulite trapped in the tissue through this increase in circulation and metabolism. The bodywrap treatment I had received had "super charged" this process.



So how does all this calorie burning happen?



The amount of sweat an infrared treatment can induce is 2-3 times that of a conventional sauna without creating that claustrophobic feeling, without drying out the sauna or causing undue stress on the cardiovascular system. I know I can barely stay in a regular sauna for 10 minutes - I lasted easily 1 hour in this bodywrap treatment. The best research on this type of infrared treatment has described "Its regular use may be as effective as a means of cardiovascular conditioning and burning of calories as regular exercise." in the Journal of the American Medical Association 8/7/81. In fact, NASA in the early 1980's concluded that infrared therapy would be an ideal way to stimulate cardiovascular function during long space missions.



Someone not used to saunas can easily sweat 500 grams and consume 300 kcalories which is the equivalent of jogging for 30 minutes. The bodywrap is a great in between workouts way to ease the stiffness and once becoming acclimated to the sauna - burning up to 900+ calories are achieved each session. But remember - Hydration is very important you need to constantly replenish the fluids to see results.



The benefits of Infrared Therapy are impressive. Research from Sweden, Japan, Finland, China and Germany cite an impressive list of conditions that can be treated, including:



Arthritis & Joint Stiffness Acne Soft Tissue Injuries Menstrual Pain Eczema Wound Healing Neurodermatitis GI Problems Cardiovascular Circulation Pain & Stiffness Collagen Metabolic Changes Weight Loss Endocrine, Immune and Autonomic Function





The FDA has approved the use of FAR infrared treatment for pain relief and more is learned each day. I have more research to do but this was good enough for me. I decided that I wanted to try it again and learn more.



So now I offer it in my practice and medspa... I hope that I've opened your eyes to something that might be new, different and helpful. I've given you a place to start if it sounds interesting to you as well. Or come experience it for yourself if you're in the Los Angeles Area. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

About the author:

Debra Clydesdale LAc DNBAO is President of the Oriental Med SPA. She has been helping people improve their inner and outer beauty and lead healthier lives for over 15 years offering specialized anti-aging, acupuncture facial renewal, and pain management treatments, products and services with roots in Oriental Medicine and Chinese Nutrition. Learn more at www.OrientalMedSPA.com.


 

National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health
Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Library of Medicine offers access to health information for consumer, patient, and physicians ...
www.nlm.nih.gov
 
Health and Medical Information produced by doctors - MedicineNet.com
Doctor-produced health and medical information written for you to make informed decisions about your health concerns.
www.medicinenet.com
 
Medicine in the Yahoo! Directory
Collection of sites for health professionals, with sections on specific disciplines, organizations, continuing education, conferences, publications, ...
dir.yahoo.com
 
MedlinePlus Health Information from the National Library of Medicine
Health information from the National Library of Medicine. Easy access to Medline and Health topics, medical dictionaries, directories and publications.
medlineplus.gov
 
Medicine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Medicine is a branch of health science and the sector of public life ... The practice of medicine combines both science as the evidence base and art in the ...
en.wikipedia.org
 
Journal Home - Nature Medicine
Nature Medicine has a vacancy for a Locum Assistant Editor for six months. The position involves working in all aspects of the editorial process, ...
www.nature.com
 
The New England Journal of Medicine: Research & Review Articles on ...
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is a weekly general medical journal that publishes new medical research findings, review articles, and editorial ...
content.nejm.org
 
eMedicine Clinical Knowledge Base
eMedicine features up-to-date, searchable, peer-reviewed medical journals, online physician reference textbooks, and a full-text article database in 62 ...
www.emedicine.com
 
Open Directory - Health: Medicine
the entire directory, only in Health/Medicine. Top: Health: Medicine (11429). Description · Medical Specialties (4888); Surgery (2265) ...
dmoz.org
 
the www virtual library biosciences medicine
www.ohsu.edu/cliniweb/wwwvl/ - Similar pages
 
Medicine - home
Bimonthly journal covering the latest results in clinical investigation relevant to hospital and office practice.
www.md-journal.com
 
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine serves as adviser to the nation to improve health.
www.iom.edu
 
ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News
Medical Research News. Health news on everything from cancer to nutrition. Full-text, images, updated daily.
www.sciencedaily.com
 
Google Directory - Health > Medicine
Search only in Medicine Search the Web. Medicine. Health > Medicine, Go to Directory Home. Categories. Alternative Medicine (6308) Basic Sciences (66) ...
www.google.com
 
the world wide web virtual library biosciences medicine
www.mcb.harvard.edu/biopages/medicine.html - Similar pages
 
PLoS Medicine - A Peer-Reviewed Open-Access Journal
PLoS Medicine is a peer-reviewed, international, open-access journal published ... Every issue of PLoS Medicine contains a selection of readers' responses. ...
medicine.plosjournals.org
 
Medicine On-Line - Medicine Online -The International Medical Journal
Medicine Online - independent and peer reviewed journal published by Priory Medical Journals - priory.com.
www.priory.com
 
Entrez PubMed
PubMed is a service of the US National Library of Medicine that includes over 16 million citations from MEDLINE and other life science journals for ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
 
Stanford University School of Medicine
Home Page of the Stanford University School of Medicine.
med.stanford.edu
 
Medicine OnLine
Meds.com offers medical information and education on cancer (lung cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, leukemia) and HIV / AIDS for patients, ...
www.meds.com