Heat Therapy Restores Mitochondrial Function In Human Muscles

[managing]

A really cool study, and I think the reported effects would have been even more impressive if instead of diathermy the scientists used a simple incandescent red bulb to both heat the muscle and expose it to red light. Maybe somebody can email them and suggest this as a follow up study...

Heat therapy to promote mitochondrial function in muscles - Top Health Journal
https://www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00383.2018

"...Some studies also link exercise to augment the generation of new mitochondria, as well as enhance the function of existing ones. Studies suggest two hours of exercise daily for a healthy mitochondrial count. However, people with chronic diseases are not able to exercise daily and thus cannot reap this benefit. A research at Brigham Young University confirms that heat therapy equally works on humans like that on rodents. The researchers employed 20 individuals for the study. The participants had not exercised for three months. During the study, the participants were given shortwave diathermy to the thigh muscles of one leg. Shortwave diathermy is a therapy that uses heat generated by electrical impulses. This therapy was given for two hours daily and continued for six days. The therapy heated the treated thigh muscles by approximately seven degrees Fahrenheit. This imitated the increase in temperature that exercises cause on the muscles. In order to test the effects of the therapy, the mitochondrial content of the participants’ leg muscles was checked after the first day and 24 hours after the last day of treatment. The researchers found that the therapy increased the mitochondrial function by an average of 28 percent. Moreover, the heated legs exhibited enhanced levels of certain mitochondrial proteins. Thus, the researchers concluded that heat treatments benefit people by improving the number and function of their mitochondria. This therapy works for individuals who cannot engage in long-term exercises."

Looks like you have to have a healthcare license (PT or MD) to buy a machine and they are $6-12k.

What hacks might approximate this?

What would you expect long term benfits to be? (if any?)

 

[jb116]

not to mention he is anti-carb which further increases cortisol. In his book he says he goes 0% carb in winter and 30% carb in summer which is still pretty low. he is also a fan of blunting appetite to lose weight. While effective at losing weight, is not effective at gaining health.

I gave his philosophies a fair chance (I read a good amount of his book) but I think the part that made me finally discount him is the part where he basically says your body temperature is going to drop a lot doing cold therapy (I could have told you that LOL), and that it takes years of applying his theories for your body temp to reach "normal" (98.6F) temperatures.

Ummm, yeah. That's when I stopped reading basically. JK is going to cause a lot of people to have suppressed metabolisms...

Also I get the feeling JK has rather high serotonin, given how negatively he responds to people giving him very well thought out critiques, showing that he knows deep down he is wrong but is not willing to admit it.

I agree with your assessment. I'd also add, plain and simple, looking at him, I honestly don't see health but stress. He's aged rapidly in the past few years and for his age, I don't think he looks great. Kind of hammy and doughy to be frank. Cold dough LOL

 

[haidut]

Looks like you have to have a healthcare license (PT or MD) to buy a machine and they are $6-12k.

What hacks might approximate this?

What would you expect long term benfits to be? (if any?)

Prolonged exposure to red light bulbs of at least 200W is probably a good approximation considering many of them are also infra-red and as such specifically produce heat on top of the red light.

 

[Inaut]

Can using heat lamps throughout the day replace the need for thyroid (I know thyroid does so much more than just raise temps and pulse) if somebody was committed to hanging out in front of lights all day? I guess my question is, can this method be used as an alternative for those like me that don't want to start taking thyroid..? Checked my pulse during a light session and it was in the low 90s. Hour after session, my pulse was still in the low 80s which is good for me (typically pulse is much lower).

 

[Hans]

Can using heat lamps throughout the day replace the need for thyroid (I know thyroid does so much more than just raise temps and pulse) if somebody was committed to hanging out in front of lights all day? I guess my question is, can this method be used as an alternative for those like me that don't want to start taking thyroid..? Checked my pulse during a light session and it was in the low 90s. Hour after session, my pulse was still in the low 80s which is good for me (typically pulse is much lower).

Although it won't replace it as you mentioned, it will give you many benefits such as stimulating the metabolic rate. One additional thing you can do is add in aspirin. One study found that 8g of aspirin daily can completely restore the metabolism in a hypothyroid person. If you combine magnesium with aspirin, the effects should be even better. If you take lower doses of aspirin, say 2g daily with magnesium and combine it with a heat lamp, then it should work even better.

 

[Innergetic]

Would this also apply to sauna usage? I’ve always felt amazing after 10-20 minutes in a steam sauna.

 

[Hans]

Would this also apply to sauna usage? I’ve always felt amazing after 10-20 minutes in a steam sauna.

To a degree, but your body will cool again some time after the sauna and return to normal after a few hours. Sometimes heat needs to be applied for multiple hours.

 

[tankasnowgod]

Can using heat lamps throughout the day replace the need for thyroid (I know thyroid does so much more than just raise temps and pulse) if somebody was committed to hanging out in front of lights all day? I guess my question is, can this method be used as an alternative for those like me that don't want to start taking thyroid..? Checked my pulse during a light session and it was in the low 90s. Hour after session, my pulse was still in the low 80s which is good for me (typically pulse is much lower).

I think there is possibilities with heat, red light, and infrared.

Here's a thread talking about using the infrared mats-

Recover To Optimal Body Temperature With Sleeping On Far Infrared Heating Mat

Hello, I stumbled over a book called "37°C the secret of ideal body temperature for optimal health" on amazon.de. It is written by a German doctor. He found, that more and more of his patience have chronic low body temperature. He treats them with an infrared heating mat. I haven't read the...

raypeatforum.com

One member here reported that red light replaced his thyroid medication-

Redlightman Review For Thyroid

Here a little review for the Red Light device: Red light device - Red Light Man I ordered this device some months ago, and I've been using it extensively, mainly on my thyroid for 10-15 min, using 20-30 cm distance. I actually stopped taking NDT, because it felt as giving a similar effect...

raypeatforum.com

I think red light and heat may be a good substitute, but could depend on a host of factors. You'd probably have to experiment with a few. But if you could jump in a Thor pod for 10-15 minutes everyday and also had a sauna in your shower that gave you 10 minutes of heat........ I bet that would work on almost anybody.

 

[Cheese liver]

Very helpful thread ! After thorough analysis it seems that Red light therapy as well as Incandescent/Sauna therapy both have their uses. It would be a good idea to combine the heat + the full spectrum from incandescent/sauna as well as the specific wavelengths from red light for optimum results.