Saunas

The central objection Aajonus raised against saunas and steam baths was always temperature. The minimum operating temperature of a conventional dry sauna is 132 degrees Fahrenheit at the lowest, with typical ranges running from 136 to 168 or even 167 degrees depending on the source passage. Steam baths operate at 212 degrees Fahrenheit at the point of steam generation, and by the time that steam reaches the person inhaling it, it has cooled to approximately 160 degrees. Infrared saunas, which some in his audience regarded as a cooler and therefore safer alternative, operate at a minimum of 132 to 137 degrees Fahrenheit, with some running as high as 152 degrees.

Every one of these temperatures is above 110 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the threshold at which Aajonus said destruction of vitamins and enzymes in the skin begins. He stated this threshold with precision: "It only takes 110 degrees to start destroying the enzymes in your sinuses and skin." He extended the damage to every membrane system exposed: the sinuses, lungs, bronchi, bronchioles, ears, eyes, throat, urethra, vagina, and penis in the case of infrared saunas where the person is unclothed and heat reaches internal cavities. He described the result as scar tissue forming in the mucous membranes from repeated exposure, with the skin losing its ability to respire properly over years of sauna use. "I've seen people try using a sauna for that, and of course it will get right underneath the skin going, but then over a period of 6 to 8 years, it damages your skin. They stop respiring properly because you've damaged, you've scarred the skin, and you've created a problem."

He was equally direct about steam baths: "Steam burns mucous membranes, including those in the lungs, bronchi and sinuses." He described the steam as distilled water vapor, which he regarded as particularly erosive because it thins mucus. "A steam room is even worse. 212 degrees or higher, that steam does a massive amount of damage. And that water is distilled water, and that just eats away at the system, thins the mucus." Deaths from steam room record attempts were cited as evidence of the danger at extremes, and he noted that even short stays of seven to ten minutes are the practical maximum before the environment becomes life-threatening, which is far below the 90-minute duration he considered necessary to begin moving the deep lymphatic system.

The comparison he made repeatedly was to the physics of an air buffer versus a water buffer. In a sauna or steam room, the body maintains a cooling boundary of six to twelve inches in the surrounding air or steam. If you move a foot in a sauna, you begin to feel the heat again, demonstrating that the body has been successfully regulating its thermal boundary across that distance. In water, that boundary collapses to approximately one inch or less. Moving even slightly in a hot bath immediately brings the heat back against the skin. This means water conducts heat into the body's deeper tissues in a way that air-based heat environments cannot replicate, regardless of how hot the air is made. Increasing the air temperature to compensate only causes greater surface and membrane damage without actually delivering more heat to the lymphatic nodes, glands, and deeper circulatory channels.

Aajonus cited specific temperature ranges with consistency across multiple sources:

Conventional dry saunas run from approximately 132 to 168 degrees Fahrenheit depending on position in the room. The lower end of 132 to 136 degrees represents the coolest point, typically near the floor, while 167 to 168 degrees represents the upper zone. All of these exceed the 110-degree threshold for tissue destruction.

Steam baths generate steam at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. By the time that steam is being inhaled, Aajonus estimated it arrives at approximately 160 degrees. The range at body level runs from approximately 112 degrees at minimum to well above that in functioning steam rooms. He stated that even at the lower end, 112 degrees, the temperature is already above the tissue-destruction threshold.

Infrared saunas, described by some of his patients as substantially cooler than conventional saunas and therefore preferable, still operate at a minimum of 132 to 137 degrees Fahrenheit. In one Q&A exchange from August 2013, he acknowledged in writing that infrared saunas "are substantially less hot than normal saunas, however the heat is still above the temperature at which vitamins and bacteria are destroyed in the skin: 43.4 degrees C (110 degrees F)."

His safe range for therapeutic hot water immersion was 102 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit, with the preferred working range being 105 to 108 degrees. He considered 110 the upper limit: "110 as high as you can go or else you'll damage the vitamins and nutrients, enzymes in your skin, your mucous membranes." He noted that 100 to 101 degrees is warm but still functional for daily shorter baths, and that the ideal therapeutic temperature for the deeper 90-minute lymphatic work is 105 degrees sustained consistently.

The positive goal behind the heat therapy Aajonus described was the melting and mobilization of lymphatic congestion. In his framework, the lymphatic system becomes clogged with plastic-like waste from industrial foods, chemicals, and environmental toxins, and this congestion blocks the body's ability to cleanse itself. Heat is required to melt this material so it can be moved through the lymphatic vessels, passed under the skin, and perspired out of the body. He described the lymphatic system as needing to be heated to a sufficient temperature for a sufficient duration before this melting begins.

His analogy was a stick of cold butter in a sealed glass jar placed in 105-degree ambient heat. It takes approximately 60 minutes of sustained 105-degree heat on the outside of the jar before the butter inside even begins to melt. The body behaves similarly: the internal tissues, particularly the lymphatic nodes and glands, require sustained heat over time before the congestion in those deeper structures begins to liquefy. For superficial lymphatic waste in the connective tissue just under the skin, approximately 40 minutes of immersion at 105 degrees is sufficient. For the deeper lymphatic nodes, glands, and vascular channels of the lymphatic system, 90 minutes is required to begin meaningful movement.

Saunas and steam baths, because of their air buffer, cannot heat the body's interior to these functional temperatures without destroying the surface tissues first. He stated plainly: "If you put it in a sauna, twice as long. It doesn't work. It doesn't work for steam either." Even at their extreme temperatures, the air buffer prevents the heat from penetrating deeply enough, and the only tissue being significantly heated is the skin surface and the mucous membranes, which are simultaneously being damaged by temperatures well above 110 degrees. The result is that saunas produce superficial perspiration and membrane scarring simultaneously, without achieving the lymphatic goals that justify the practice.

Exercise was also addressed as an insufficient substitute. Even vigorous exercise does not raise internal body temperature enough to melt lymphatic congestion. In a fever, the body temperature reaches 101 degrees; under exercise without fever, the internal temperature does not reach therapeutic levels. "You could be running as hard as you can be and exercising. I don't care, your body's not getting hot enough to melt that lymphatic tissue."

Aajonus addressed infrared saunas with particular attention because they were repeatedly brought up by patients and workshop attendees as a more modern and supposedly gentler option. His objections encompassed both the temperature problem, which applies to all sauna forms, and two additional concerns specific to infrared technology.

The first additional concern was the electromagnetic field generated by infrared sauna heating systems. He stated that the EMF field inside an infrared sauna exceeds 200 milligauss. His stated threshold for cellular alteration was 3 milligauss: "Your body cells are altered at 3 milligauss. At 3 milligauss. Your cells, all of your molecular structure, animal cells are altered negatively. And that's 200 milligauss. That's 197 milligauss over what changes the molecular structure of cells." He described the infrared sauna on this basis as compounding the temperature damage with substantial EMF damage to the cellular structure.

The second concern was the nature of infrared radiation itself. He stated that infrared is not a natural light and does not represent the full spectrum of the sun. "It will reactivate certain cells and damage other cells." He allowed that infrared might function as a temporary therapy for specific situations but stated clearly that extended or repeated use is inadvisable. He also described the radiation effect in terms of its action on bacteria: "One 20 minute sauna is like consuming one antibiotic pill. Infrared pads can be helpful for very short applications, but will cause lower bacteria levels in the areas applied." The destruction of bacteria in the skin and respiratory system was presented as a gradual but serious harm distinct from the heat-based destruction of vitamins and enzymes.

In the context of a question about using an infrared BioMat for a child with autism, he distinguished between the infrared mat (which does not expose the respiratory system to heated air) and an infrared sauna (which does), but maintained that the heat itself, from either device, still exceeds the destruction threshold and will gradually harm the child's sinuses and respiratory system by destroying bacteria and mucous membranes. The improvement observed from such devices, he said, came not from the infrared rays but from the heat causing perspiration of stored toxins such as mercury. "It is not the infrared sauna that is causing improvements; it is the heat causing perspiration of stored toxins."

Aajonus acknowledged that some people have access to saunas but not to bathtubs or hot tubs, and he addressed this situation directly rather than simply refusing to engage with it. In his book "We Want to Live" and in the beneficial home baths document, he described a protocol for sauna use that attempts to minimize the reabsorption of toxins that have been perspired out through the skin.

The protocol requires showering and rinsing off the toxic perspiration every three to four minutes during sauna use. The rationale is that perspired toxins sitting on the skin surface will be reabsorbed if not removed, eventually reentering the body. By rinsing every three to four minutes, the toxins are cleared before they can be taken back in. He described this as the healthier way to use a sauna if a sauna is the only option available, while making clear it is inferior to hot water immersion because of the membrane damage that cannot be avoided at sauna temperatures.

Steam baths were described as the least desirable form of heat-induced perspiration among all the options, including dry saunas. If someone is going to use a steam bath, he specified that good mineral water should be used to generate the steam rather than municipal water, which carries chlorine and other chemicals that become toxic vapors when heated. Showering and rinsing frequently was again specified as necessary. He also described the specific danger of chlorinated water vapor in any heated water context: "chlorinated water vapor is toxic because it kills cells and bacterium necessary for good health. Chlorine vapors are toxic to sinuses, bronchi, lungs, blood, brain and nervous system." Chloroform, the form chlorine takes as a vapor, was identified as gradually weakening and damaging the lungs, blood, thyroid, and brain, and as predisposing people to pneumonia, other respiratory conditions, and meningitis.

Beyond the temperature and radiation concerns specific to infrared saunas, Aajonus raised the issue of electromagnetic fields in any electrically heated environment, including hot tubs with motors positioned too close to the body. In workshop discussions, he referenced a meter reading taken at a patient's home during a hot tub installation, where the motor's EMF field extended eight feet in all directions. He advised placing the motor in the basement, at least eight feet from the tub, so that the person could use the jet action and heat of the tub without exposure to that field.

He stated that the molecular structure of animal cells is altered negatively at just 3 milligauss, and that common electrical heating devices including infrared saunas expose the user to EMF levels many times that threshold. For this reason, he also recommended against electrical heating pads and similar devices for home use: "I did not use electrical heat because electrical heating devices emit enormous harmful electromagnetic fields." His preferred substitute for situations where a hot bath was not available was hot water bottles filled to approximately 130 degrees and placed inside flannel pillowcases, which lowered the broadcast temperature to approximately 110 degrees while maintaining heat for two to three hours during sleep.

For situations where sauna use is occurring, and perspiration is being generated in an air environment rather than water, Aajonus did not describe adding bath formula ingredients to the sauna experience itself. The formula additions he specified are specific to water baths, where the water acts as a medium to capture perspired toxins, bind them, and prevent their reabsorption through the skin during the bath.

For hot water baths, two formulas were described. The first combines two to three cups raw milk, three tablespoons raw unpasteurized apple cider vinegar, and two tablespoons sun-dried sea salt. The second combines half a cup of sun-dried clay, two ounces raw unpasteurized apple cider vinegar, and three tablespoons raw coconut cream, with the coconut cream described as optional but beneficial for preventing skin dryness caused by the clay. Either formula was described as working by binding with perspired toxins in the water so they are not reabsorbed into the skin, and also by binding with chemical toxins in municipal water to prevent them from entering the body through the skin during the bath.

The reason these additions are relevant to the sauna discussion is that in a sauna, there is no water medium to capture toxins as they leave the skin, which is why the three-to-four-minute rinse protocol is necessary. In a hot water bath with the formula additions, the toxins are captured immediately as they exit the skin surface, eliminating the need for repeated rinsing and providing continuous protection against reabsorption throughout the bath duration.

Aajonus made comparative statements about outcomes for people who used saunas versus those who used hot water baths or hot tubs for lymphatic detoxification. He stated that results in hot bath and hot tub users were "5 to 12 times better without the damage" compared to sauna users. He described observing people who used saunas for lymphatic purposes over extended periods of six to eight years and noted that their skin eventually became damaged and unable to respire properly. By contrast, people who used hot water immersion consistently, particularly at 90 minutes daily, showed advancement in health outcomes two to three times faster than those who did not use hot baths at all.

He described a specific case in which a 66-year-old man with thyroid problems and prostate cancer began doing daily hot tub sessions at 110 degrees for 90 minutes. After approximately a year and nine months on the diet, with the last three months including daily 90-minute baths at 110 degrees, the man reported having no energy at all. Aajonus identified 110 degrees as too high for sustained daily use and advised stopping the baths for three weeks. At the end of three weeks, the man was described as a different person, having melted out the congestion and needing only to cool and recover. This case was used both to illustrate the power of the hot water method and to establish that even within the safe temperature range, overuse at the upper limit can exhaust the body.

By contrast, saunas were described as producing short-term perspiration effects that appear beneficial but that create cumulative membrane scarring and reduced skin function over time. He explicitly said that the sauna does not move the deeper lymphatic system correctly "without severe damage," and that the hot tubs do accomplish it properly.

Aajonus's position on saunas and steam baths was consistent and unambiguous across every source. Dry saunas are damaging to the skin, mucous membranes, lungs, sinuses, eyes, ears, and brain due to operating temperatures that begin at 132 degrees Fahrenheit and range up to 168 degrees, all of which are above the 110-degree threshold for tissue destruction. Steam baths are more damaging still, operating at steam-generation temperatures of 212 degrees with inhaled steam arriving at approximately 160 degrees, causing membrane scarring, mucus thinning, and lung damage, and they are described as the least desirable method of heat-induced perspiration. Infrared saunas, while operating at lower temperatures than conventional saunas (132 to 152 degrees), still exceed the destruction threshold, add EMF exposure in the range of 200 milligauss (against a cellular alteration threshold of 3 milligauss), and deliver radiation that acts bactericidally in the same manner as an antibiotic. None of these modalities can accomplish what hot water immersion accomplishes because the air buffer prevents deep tissue heating, while the surface temperatures involved destroy the very biological structures that make detoxification possible.

If access to a sauna is the only available option, the best harm-reduction measure is showering and rinsing every three to four minutes to prevent toxin reabsorption, using mineral water rather than municipal water if a steam bath is being used, and installing non-chemical filters on any shower used with chlorinated municipal water. The correct alternative to all of these practices, in Aajonus's framework, is a hot water bath or hot tub maintained at 102 to 108 degrees Fahrenheit, sustained for 40 minutes for superficial lymphatic work and 90 minutes for deep lymphatic node and gland work, with appropriate bath formula ingredients added to the water when the water source is municipal.