Infrared Saunas, Detoxification, And The Importance Of Measuring Biomarkers With Omnos

Hey, I’m Johannes Kettelhodt, the founder and CEO of Clearlight Infrared^® Saunas (1). In this blog post I will make a topic that’s scientifically really complicated more simple. That topic is the relationship between infrared saunas, detoxification, and the importance of measuring biomarkers.

With “biomakers” I mean markers of your biology that give you data about your health. You’re probably aware that measuring your blood pressure gives you insight into the risk of getting heart and blood vessel diseases (2; 3). And, if you’re an athlete, you probably know about VO2 max that is a predictor of your body’s ability to carry oxygen to the cells (4; 5).

What people don’t know is that the science on measuring biomarkers is developing extremely quickly. Your urine, blood, and other tissues carry treasures of data within them that supply clinicians about many domains of your overall health. 

Today, I’ll mostly focus on detoxification. As it turns out, different biomarkers for measuring detoxification exist. These biomarkers then supply clinicians and health coaches with information on what you’re exposed to and what health strategies to implement to detoxify. 

But before I cover that topic, I’ll first get you up to date about the basics of detoxification in the next section. I then explain why measuring biomarkers is important and how they can help you detox with Omnos. For you, improved detox means that you’ll be getting better results from every Clearlight Infrared Saunas^® session (1).

Let’s start with the basics:
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Detoxification Basics And Infrared Saunas

Let’s give you a crash course in detoxification. I’ll first debunk some false preconceptions that many people have. 

Many prestigious online sources like the New York Times and the Atlantic claim that detoxification from infrared saunas is a myth (6; 7). That idea is categorically false. Different compounds in the categories of pesticides, heavy metals, phthalates and drugs are preferentially expelled through the skin by the human body (8-12). 

For other toxins, your stools and urinary system are the main method of expelling toxins. Both these options are thus important. Nevertheless, the more you sweat, the more you will detoxify different toxins from your body.

Removing toxins from your body obviously reduces the total amount of toxins stored in your body. That’s amazing news, as the lower your overall toxic burden, the easier it gets for the body to detoxify present compounds (13)

As a result, by removing toxins stored in your body through the skin, the amount of toxins removed through the urinary system and your stools also improves. You end up with a win-win here.

Now onto the topic of infrared saunas:

Infrared saunas allow you to sweat profusely while giving you an extremely relaxing experience at the same time. The more you sweat, the more you toxins will be removed and the better your detoxification system becomes. Below I’ve added a few short guidelines on how to optimise your sauna sessions:
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• Go gentle on yourself if you don’t have much experience with infrared saunas or if you’ve got a chronic health condition
• For a short sauna session, drink 1% of your bodyweight in water to replenish your stores. For a long session with lots of sweating, drink 2% of your bodyweight in water
• Shower with lukewarm water after your sauna session
• If you’re extremely tired after an infrared sauna session or have side effects such as headaches, do less
• If you tolerate infrared sauna sessions very well, you can start exercising before a session. Exercising 20-30 minutes before a session improves blood flow and activates the lympahtic system, further increasing detoxification.

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Hopefully, I’ve convinded you that infrared saunas are a great tool for helping your body detox. If you'd like to learn more about how to optimise your infrared sauna sessions, just keep reading our blog. In the next section, I’ll explain how you can improve this detoxification process even further by measuring biomarkers:

Why Measuring Your Biomarkers Is Important

As stated in the introduction of this blog post, the science on measuring biomarkers develops extremely quickly. And, for detoxification, that’s a great benefit.

You see, your nutrient status greatly affects how well your body detoxifies. For instance, if your body removes heavy metals through your skin, minerals like zinc and vitamins like vitamin E are necessary to remove them (8). If your body is deficient in some vitamins and minerals, the detoxification processes won’t work as well as they should.

The same is true for internal detoxification processes that end in your stools and urine. The liver plays a very important role in that entire detoxification chain. The detoxification processes in the liver can be broken down into three phases, whereby compounds are made water soluble so they can be easier removed from the body and where their damaging effects are impeded. 

I won’t go into detail regarding these detoxification phases because it’s an extremely complicated process. Instead, what I want you to remember is that all of these phases are highly dependent on your nutritional status.

Phase I, for instance, relies on the proteins you get in your diet, different B-vitamins, and Glutathione. Glutathione is also called the “master antioxidant” of the body. That antioxidant, in turn, is dependent on your consumption of vitamin C, protein, sulphur, and other nutrients.

So if you have nutritional deficiencies, both the internal detoxification system through your stools and urine, and your external detoxification system through your skin, won’t work as well. 

Now here’s the big takeaway of this section: biomarkers provide feedback on your nutritional status and a whole host of other domains such as exposure to toxins. By measuring your nutritional status and toxins exposure you’ll learn what to change to improve detoxification.

Very often, before testing, people simply aren’t aware what issues they have. For instance, you may genetically need higher levels of folate (vitamin B₉) or your body may be prone to excessively store iron (ferritin). The same is true for a whole host of nutrients. As a result, detoxification and energy production go down while you assume you’re doing great.

The solution is to test your nutritional status and toxin exposure among others. Red blood cells have a turnover rate of 120 days, for instance (14; 15). That means by analysing your red blood cells you can gain insight in your health choices over the last four months. 

Urine provides insight in a different but also important way. Every day, a tiny amount of toxins can be expelled through your urine. And, end product as a result of energy production are also expelled in that urine. By analsying your urine you thus gain insight into how well your body produces energy and what toxins you’re exposed to.

Naturally, you may think: “but what does energy-production have to do with detoxification?”

Well, first of all, every process in the human body relies on energy. So once energy production is suboptimal, even processes like detoxification work less efficiently. Secondly, you also need energy-production for your sauna sessions. If you’re 30 years old and have less energy than the average great-grandparent, you’re less likely to use your infrared sauna. And, as a result, you’ll sweat less and your detoxification will be impeded. Everything is thus interrelated in a way.

You can only manage something after you measure it. For each nutrient, you either have an excess, optimal levels, or a deficiency. And for toxins, you either have normal exposure levels or excessive ones. 

Measuring your biomarkers thus allows you to massively improve your detoxification levels. Sure, simply using a premium-quality infrared sauna will do wonders for your health. But if you’ve got a chronic condition or if you simply want to upgrade your results even more spectacularly, then testing biomarkers is an amazing way to accomplish that goal.

At the very core of this principle is knowing what goes into your body and how your body processes these materials. For instance, you may assume that you’re consuming sufficient vitamin B12 because you’re eating meat a few times per week but your blood may tell you this is not the case. Or, you may be exposed to an airborne toxin from an industrial plant nearby without your knowledge, that shows up in your urine.

Again, the only way to know for sure is to measure.

Building a house is a simple analogy to understand this process. Before you build a house, you’ll need to know exactly what materials go in and which shouldn’t. You also need to know how these materials are used during the construction process. Measurement and monitoring over time allows you to allow the construction process to finish well.

In the same way, if you don’t know how much of a certain nutrient needs to go into your body and how that nutrient is being used, you’re merely guessing. You may also inadvertently be exposed to toxins without your knowledge, and, by measuring that exposure modern clinicians can often give you suggestions on what to avoid. That way, you can totally take your health to the next level.

In the next section, I’ll talk about Omnos. Clearlight Infrared^® Saunas in the UK has partnered with Omnos because we believe they offer the highest quality lab testing that you can do from the comfort of your own home:

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Why Omnos Is A Game-Changer For Measuring Biomarkers

So let’s talk about Omnos and why we’ve partnered with them. There are a few unique advantages to Omnos over the competition that I’ll consider in this section. I’ll consider three of these unique advantages below although more exist in reality:

First, Omnos is made for consumers not clinical professionals. The science behind lab testing is actually quite complex, but with Omnos, all the data and results are translated into easy to understand recommendations. Examples of such recommendations can be to “eat more animal protein” or “include more plant foods in your diet for the diversity of the gut microbiome” or “supplement with vitamin C.

All of this information is given to you in a simple app that’s easy to understand. You get clear recommendations about what you need to prioritise to improve your overall health and what strategies don’t have priority. And, if you ever need help with implementing these recommendations, you can book consults with one of the Omnos consultants to break the recommendations down into even easier to understand steps.

Secondly, Omnos offer lab tests that aren’t available through your general physician. Examples here are the Enviro-Toxins test that give you insight into what toxins you’re potentially exposed to and your body’s energy production processes, the Elements test of your hair that gives insight into your nutritional status and exposure to heavy metals, and a Hormones test that’s extraordinarily much deeper than what is offered through your doctors office. All of these recommendations are based upon scientific research as much as possible.

Thirdly and lastly, these tests can be carried out from the comfort of your own home. You don’t need to go to the doctor’s office to order a test. You simply take the test, return the sample, get your results, and have a short consultation with an Omnos employee. Through this strategy, you can completely take control of your own health choices, without needing approval from your family doctor. 

You may think: “But Johannes, the website offers so many tests, what test should I consider for aiding my detoxification?”

If your budget allows I’d recommend the following two blood tests:

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• Wellness 360 Male/Female Blood Test for gaining insight into your overall health. The better your overall health is and the more you improve it, the better your overall detoxificaiton pathways generally will work - exceptions always exist but are rare.
• The Enviro-Toxins Test that yields insight into how energy-production in your body works, the possible nutritional deficiencies you have, and different toxins that you might be exposed to but are unaware of.

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By taking the Enviro-Toxins test, for instance, I found out that I needed more vitamin B1, B3, and C, up my protein intake and the intake of specific building blocks of protein called “amino acids” - tyrosine in my case. And, I needed to supplement with Glutathione, consume more omega-3 fatty acids, and finally breath more in such a way that the “rest and digest” part of the nervous system was activated more.

Without testing, I would have never learned these things. Also, I learned that I was exposed to certain toxins. And by fixing these problems that you only gain insight into by testing, you can dramatically upgrade your overall health and your detoxification specifically.

And with that being said, let’s conclude:

Conclusion: Choose The Best If You Want To “Test And Not Guess”

Hopefully I’ve convinced you that by testing with Omnos, you gain an almost unfair advantage if you want to improve your body’s overall detoxification. Sure, you can do great with just following the common-sense strategies such as eating enough fibre, getting sufficient sleep, eating a wholesome diet, and moving a lot throughout the day.

But, if you want to take things a step further then collecting more data and deriving conclusions from that data is the next step. Omnos has a natural advantage in that department for three reasons: 1) the recommendations based upon complex science are easy to understand; 2) you can order lab tests that aren’t available through your family physician; 3) you are in control as most of these lab tests can be carried out from the comfort of your home. 

Curious? Check out the Omnos website to learn more…

Also, if you'd like to learn more on this topic, read our infrared sauna detoxification benefits. You can also read about the general health benefits of infrared saunas.

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References:

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1. Clearlight Infrared^® Saunas UK. Website: https://www.infraredsauna.co.uk/
2. Fuchs FD, Whelton PK. High Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Disease. Hypertension. 2020 Feb;75(2):285-292. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.119.14240. Epub 2019 Dec 23. PMID: 31865786.
3. Brunström M, Carlberg B. Association of Blood Pressure Lowering With Mortality and Cardiovascular Disease Across Blood Pressure Levels: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2018 Jan 1;178(1):28-36. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.6015. PMID: 29131895; PMCID: PMC5833509.
4. Hawkins MN, Raven PB, Snell PG, Stray-Gundersen J, Levine BD. Maximal oxygen uptake as a parametric measure of cardiorespiratory capacity. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007 Jan;39(1):103-7. doi: 10.1249/01.mss.0000241641.75101.64. Erratum in: Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007 Mar;39(3):574. PMID: 17218891.
5. Strasser B, Burtscher M. Survival of the fittest: VO2max, a key predictor of longevity? Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 2018 Mar 1;23(8):1505-1516. doi: 10.2741/4657. PMID: 29293447.
6. K. Conaboy. Infrared Saunas Will Not ‘Detoxify’ You. The Atlantic 2017.
7. Meltzer M. Infrared Saunas: Why Some Like It Hotter. The New York Times 2016.
8. Sears ME, Kerr KJ, Bray RI. Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury in sweat: a systematic review. J Environ Public Health. 2012;2012:184745. doi: 10.1155/2012/184745. Epub 2012 Feb 22. PMID: 22505948; PMCID: PMC3312275.
9. Genuis SJ, Birkholz D, Rodushkin I, Beesoon S. Blood, urine, and sweat (BUS) study: monitoring and elimination of bioaccumulated toxic elements. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2011 Aug;61(2):344-57. doi: 10.1007/s00244-010-9611-5. Epub 2010 Nov 6. PMID: 21057782.
10. Genuis SJ, Beesoon S, Lobo RA, Birkholz D. Human elimination of phthalate compounds: blood, urine, and sweat (BUS) study. ScientificWorldJournal. 2012;2012:615068. doi: 10.1100/2012/615068. Epub 2012 Oct 31. PMID: 23213291; PMCID: PMC3504417.
11.  Genuis SJ, Lane K, Birkholz D. Human Elimination of Organochlorine Pesticides: Blood, Urine, and Sweat Study. Biomed Res Int. 2016;2016:1624643. doi: 10.1155/2016/1624643. Epub 2016 Oct 5. PMID: 27800487; PMCID: PMC5069380.
12. Genuis SJ, Beesoon S, Birkholz D, Lobo RA. Human excretion of bisphenol A: blood, urine, and sweat (BUS) study. J Environ Public Health. 2012;2012:185731. doi: 10.1155/2012/185731. Epub 2011 Dec 27. PMID: 22253637; PMCID: PMC3255175.
13. Pizzorno J. The Toxin Solution: How Hidden Poisons in the Air, Water, Food, and Products We Use Are Destroying Our Health--AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO FIX IT. HarperOne,  2018. 

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