Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
Many of my patients tell me that they use their heating pads and electric blankets regularly. They tell me that the heat makes them feel better. What they don’t know is that the price of that heat is direct, intense exposure of harmful EMFs to their body. EMF stands for electromagnetic field. This is emitted from any electric wires that have current running through them. These become a problem with nearly any electric heat source. There is evidence indicating that EMFs can be harmful, especially with prolonged and direct exposure, such as a heating pad. So what do you do if you love the heat but want to eliminate the EMFs? You explore the amazing benefits of far infrared (FIR) therapy.
Far infrared therapy does NOT produce any harmful EMFs like regular table warmers, electric blankets and heating pads. FIR therapy allows you to harness the healing power of the sun without the dangerous ultraviolet rays. The Jade Vitality FIR heating pads are made from high-quality, natural polished jade stones and tourmaline discs. These stones provide powerful, penetrating far infrared heat and abundant negative ions. Jade is known to open the heart chakra.
Studies of Far Infrared (FIR) Therapy Show:
• Chronic Pain Relief
• Faster wound healing
• Improved quality of life
• Improved cardiac and vascular function
• Reduction of PVCs
• Reduced oxidative stress
• Significant reduction of allergy symptoms
• Reduction of menstrual cramp pain
• Improved mood
• Anger Reduction
• Increased ability to relax
• Lowers blood pressure
Biological Effects of FIR:
• Decreases inflammation
• Increases cellular metabolism
• Increases circulation
• Promotes angiogenesis
• Increases nitric oxide production
• Increases detoxification
Conditions that Respond Well to Far Infrared Therapy:
• Rheumatoid Arthritis: reduction of pain, stiffness and fatigue
• Ankylosing Spondylitis: reduction of pain and stiffness
• Type 2 Diabetes: Improved quality of life
• Chronic Heart Failure: improved cardiac and vascular function and reduced oxidative stress
• Allergies: significant improvement of eye itching, nasal itching, nasal stuffiness, runny nose, and sneezing
• Depression: statistically significant improvements in somatic complaints, hunger, and the ability to relax.
• Dysmenorrhea: reduction of menstrual cramp intensity
• High Blood Pressure: Diastolic blood pressure drop was 1.8 times greater and the systolic drop was 3.3 times greater than the exercise only control group
• Obesity: Subjects in the FIR study group lost 1.8 times as much weight and 4.6 times as much body fat as the control group
• Congestive heart failure: 3 Japanese studies have shown that there was a significant improvement in numbers and clinical symptoms.
• Lymphedema: significant reduction of limb circumference
Research has been done on all of the above conditions. However, I would like to highlight three intervention studies by Japanese researchers looking at the effect of FIR for patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). The first study looked at the ability of FIR to improve endothelial function. The endothelium is the inside lining of the blood vessels. The at-risk group enjoyed a significant improvement in brachial artery dilation without the use of nitroglycerin. This widening of the artery was almost as good as the widening seen in the control group of healthy men.
The second study looked at FIR therapy versus bed rest for congestive heart failure patients. The FIR group experienced improvement in the endothelial dependent dilation of the brachial artery, while the control group had no change. In addition, 17/20 in the FIR group reported an improvement in their clinical symptoms.
The third study investigated the effects of FIR therapy in a group of patients experiencing at least 200 premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) in a 24 hour period. The treatment group experienced a dramatically lower number of PVCs than the control group. The treatment groups average of PVC reduced from 3,161 per 24 hours to and average of 848 per 24 hours. The control group only reduces from 3,161 to 3,097 PVCs per hour.
Many massage therapists and acupuncturists use electric table warmers to keep their clients warm. Unfortunately, many are unaware of the harmful EMFs that clients are exposed to during the entire treatment session. These EMFs are working against the healing you went there to experience. In my office, the treatment tables all have a far infrared mat. This will keep you warm AND provide all of the benefits discussed in this article. Just by laying on the table, healing will begin before I even start the acupuncture. Studies show that the far infrared table mat can increase the effectiveness of the acupuncture by up to 30%.
If you want to experience the healing benefits of far infrared paired with a balancing acupuncture treatment, schedule now. You can call my office during regular business hours, (239) 260-4566 or check out my website at www.AcupunctureSolutionsOnline.com. Come on in and melt the stresses of this crazy world away.
In addition to the FIR aspect of the Jade Vitality heating pads, negative ions are also produced. Negative ions are invisible molecules in the air produced in nature. They are considered the anti-oxidants of the air. When inhaled, negative-ions have been shown to improve mood, reduce depression and boost energy.
One of the most sought out benefits of the FIR mat is full body pain relief. There is a noticeable reduction in stiffness, tension, inflammation and pain. FIR speeds healing to wounds and injured body parts. While your pain is dissolving, internally the mind starts to calm and you become emotionally more balanced as stress and tension melt away.
