153 - Saunas - are the health benefits real?

Nick Tiller returns to discuss whether saunas actually have health benefits and possibly completely contradict himself after his previous episode about ice baths. We dig into the data from Kuopio and the Finnish Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor study and investigate whether there might be some risks associated with saunas.

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Editor: Robyn Flynn

Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl

Rod of Asclepius designed by Kamil J. Przybos

Chris’ book, Does Coffee Cause Cancer?: https://ecwpress.com/products/does-coffee-cause-cancer

Obviously, Chris is not your doctor (probably). This podcast is not medical advice for you; it is what we call information.

References:

1) Nick’s Skeptical Inquirer article on the subject of saunas: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/are-saunas-good-for-you-yes-but/

2) The study purporting to show a 60% benefit in cardiovascular risk

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/07853890.2017.1387927#d1e290

3) A scientific review of the health benefits of sauns from the same authors: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025619623000083

4) One of the few RCTs on the issue although it only uses surrogate endpoints: https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00322.2023