Earlier quoted context omitted.
Reading the article here are the things Jack does: 1) 10 day meditation retreats 2) Sauna and ice baths 3) Walking 5 miles to work 4) Daily intermittent fasting 5) Drinking salt juice Could you point out which of these activities would be deemed 'quackery'? These all seem like fairly benign things, with backing from scientific studies or centuries of tribal knowledge being passed down. I doubt we will ever escape the…
> Could you point out which of these activities would be deemed 'quackery'? These all seem like fairly benign things, with backing from scientific studies or centuries of tribal knowledge being passed down. You conveniently omitted the parts that aren't backed by science. It's not just a sauna, it's a "near infrared" sauna. Saunas aren't quackery but a near infrared Sauna is. It's also probably dangerous. The article…
From a quick Google Scholar search it seems that there are plenty of studies showing the efficacy of near-nfrared light treatment, so I can see why he would upgrade his sauna with one. Whereas I haven't seen you back up your claim of the danger of infrared saunas (Done in moderate dosages, not in extremes).
1) A Controlled Trial to Determine the Efficacy of Red and Near-Infrared Light Treatment in Patient Satisfaction, Reduction of Fine Lines, Wrinkles, Skin Roughness, and Intradermal Collagen Density Increase https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3926176/
"RLT and ELT are large-area and full-body treatment modalities for skin rejuvenation and improvements in skin feeling and skin complexion. The application of RLT and ELT provides a safe, non-ablative, non-thermal, atraumatic photobiomodulation treatment of skin tissue with high patient satisfaction rates. RLT and ELT can extend the spectrum of anti-aging treatment options available to patients looking for mild and pleasant light-only skin rejuvenation."
2) Biological effects and medical applications of infrared radiation https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5505738/
IR appears to be more versatile than other electromagnetic wavelengths (such as visible light) as it can induce neural stimulation effects as well as promoting a wide range of therapeutic benefits in cells or tissues. An increasing number of new reports in recent years have indicated that different forms IR application have clear clinical benefits, and the mechanisms of IR are becoming clarified. Moreover therapeutic levels of IR can be delivered using devices without any external power source, simply by using the heat production of the human body to drive emission of FIR from materials containing minerals.
3) Far-infrared therapy for cardiovascular, autoimmune, and other chronic health problems: A systematic review https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4935255/
"As a potential complementary therapy, FIR radiation had both thermal and non-thermal effects. The thermal effect of FIR therapy could increase blood flow and vasodilation by heating the tissue (hyperthermia), similar to ordinary thermal therapy composed of heat pads or hot water.87 In addition, FIR treatment with low levels of delivered energy (non-thermal effect) also had biological activities.88,89 A study of patients receiving HD treatment had shown decreases in stress and fatigue levels by FIR stimulation rather than thermal treatment (heat pads), which was probably attributed to the non-thermal effect.10 An explanation of non-thermal effect of such low energy levels was that nanoscopic water layers got disturbed by low irradiances, leading to the change of cellular membrane structure, then made the therapeutic effects.87"